Does Rep. Steve King have a political death wish? In the final hours before Election Day, the Iowa Republican joked about two female Supreme Court justices eloping to Cuba, complained about the House GOP campaign arm supporting a gay candidate, and continued to generate negative national headlines.
None of this would normally matter in King’s conservative Iowa district — his constituents have traditionally embraced the eight-term congressman’s political incorrectness — but his poll numbers have looked weak, and both businesses and some national Republicans have begun to cut him loose.
King’s retweets of far-right and “alt-right” figures earned him a rebuke from Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Congressman Steve King’s recent comments, actions, and retweets are completely inappropriate,” Stivers tweeted. “We must stand up against white supremacy and hate in all forms, and I strongly condemn this behavior.”
Asked why Stivers would pick a public fight with a troubled incumbent while trying to defend a 23-seat majority with little margin for error, an NRCC spokesman replied, “His actions and comments recently.”
“I only wish Stivers had done it earlier,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist. “King has been dabbling way too much into white supremacist territory lately, which is wrong morally and unsustainable politically.”
King endorsed Faith Goldy, a Toronto mayoral candidate who appeared on a Daily Stormer-hosted podcast and attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. He also retweeted a reference to George Soros as “Satan,” especially controversial in light of recent anti-Semitic violence.
Other candidates have already been ensnared in the King controversy. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is facing a spirited Democratic challenger, was peppered with questions after he called King, a former co-chairman of his presidential campaign. (Cruz did not defend King’s Twitter activity, and the Texan’s campaign declined to comment.) Some Republicans fear that his associations and comments will damage the party more than the loss of his seat would.
“That decision will be up to voters in Iowa,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant. “If they re-elect Steve King, I’d expect he’ll return to Washington emboldened and even more outspoken than before. I’ve spent a lot of time in his district, and his comments are definitely out of sync with Iowans that I’ve spoken to there. It will be interesting to see what happens on Tuesday.”
King’s views on immigration, including denying birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants and strengthening border security, have gained traction in the Republican Party under President Trump after being more of an outlier when George W. Bush was president. But as this shift has occurred, King has become more provocative, developing a fascination with European far-right figures fellow Republicans have found unsettling.
Veterans of the Bush-era immigration battles defended King from the charge of racism and argued it was the GOP establishment that had a political death wish. “Steve King stands out from all other members of Congress because he tells the truth,” said former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. “He does so without an ounce of racial bias in his soul. As a result, he is vilified by those who envy his courage and resent his popularity in his district. That envy and resentment is not, as recent events have shown, partisan in nature.”
King, whose campaign did not respond to a request for comment, has denied he harbors any racial animus. “Americans, all created equal by God, with all our races, ethnicities, and national origins — legal immigrants & natural-born citizens, together make up the Shining City on the Hill,” he said in a statement. “These attacks are orchestrated by nasty, desperate, and dishonest fake news.” He said “Never Trumpers” were “complicit” in their efforts to “flip the House and impeach Donald Trump.”
Tancredo concurred. “If [King] or the president extol the virtues of nationalism (which simply means a love of one’s country), it is the very essence of racism to suggest that a black or brown person cannot experience that same love,” he said. “I and Steve and the president love this country because it offers so much to so many — regardless of one’s ethnicity. The president’s agenda, supported by Congressman King, has brought greater prosperity to minorities in American than anything ever envisioned by left-wing ideologies. Hence Trump’s popularity within those communities has spawned a ‘walk away’ movement that threatens the very foundation of the Democrat Party. That is why both men are despised by the media and the Left. God bless them both.”
Voters headed to the polls across the country on Tuesday, with Iowa having House races and a gubernatorial contest hanging in the balance. Trump has tried to shore up flagging Republican majorities with a special emphasis on immigration in the closing weeks of the midterm campaign. Democrats have argued that Trump is fostering a racially intolerant, even violent, national climate.
