A House Republican colleague of Rep. Steve King contributed $2,000 to the Iowan’s 2020 GOP primary challenger, a sign of deep unease about the incumbent returning to Congress amid a string of racist comments.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois gave the sum to King’s chief primary rival in his northwest Iowa district, state Sen. Randy Feenstra. It’s rare for sitting lawmakers to back primary challengers to a congressional colleague. But King, 70, is effectively an outcast in the House Republican Conference over comments about immigration, multiculturalism, and other topics. In January, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California stripped King of all committee assignments after he asked when “white supremacist” and “white nationalist” became offensive terms.
Kinzinger isn’t the only Republican official to donate to King’s primary challenger. U.S. ambassador to China and former Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad donated $1,000 to Feenstra’s campaign.
Although members of his own party abandoned King, one Congressional Black Caucus member stood by him. Back in April, Missouri Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver said in an interview, “Steve King and I have a good relationship as far as I know. We talk and joke and. You know, I think a couple of years ago … he said I guess, somebody had called him a racist or something.”
Cleaver added, “I can’t remember clearly, but I said, ‘Steve, I don’t call people racist. You know, I think we all have to be very careful about the words we use.’ But, I get along with him fine.’”
The Iowa Republican, who played a key role in helping President Trump win the state during the last Republican presidential primary, was summarily removed from his committee assignments, despite protestations he was misquoted by the New York Times reporter.
King has struggled with fundraising for his campaign since July but insists an internal poll last week showed him with a large lead over his four Republican primary challengers.
