Rep. Steve King—Who Embraced White Supremacy—Loses Primary Amid Nationwide Protests Against Racism

TOPLINE

As protests against racism and police brutality continue to erupt across the country,  Iowa State Senator Randy Feenstra defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve King, who alienated much of his party by embracing white supremacy, in the Republican primary in Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District on Tuesday, according to Cook Political Report Editor Dave Wasserman.

KEY FACTS

Key Background

Iowa’s Fourth District is a largely rural area in the northwest of the state. The district leans heavily Republican and has returned King to Congress by landslide margins most cycles of his nine terms in office. But Scholten was able to come close to a narrow upset in 2018 thanks to the spotlight on King’s comments.

Big Number

41%. Early polls had King leading by wide margins, but Feenstra’s entry into the race and emergence as the frontrunner narrowed the gap considerably. In April, Feenstra’s internal poll had him down by 7 points, but by May that narrowed to just 3. A Public Opinion Strategies poll later in May put Feenstra 2 points ahead of King, 41% to 39%.

News Peg

The primary comes as the United States is grappling with a wave of protests over police brutality toward minorities sparked by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black Minneapolis resident who was seen on video gasping for air and saying “I can’t breathe” as a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes last Monday.

What To Look For

With Feenstra as the nominee, Democrats may put fewer resources into vying for the seat, which was seen as a worthy target mainly due to King’s weakness as an incumbent.

Tangent

The other big winner in Iowa on Tuesday was real estate executive Theresa Greenfield, who won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate with backing from much of the Democratic Party establishment. Greenfield defeated three rivals for the nomination, most prominently former Navy Admiral and Senate aide Michael Franken. Greenfield will now face Republican incumbent Joni Ernst. She outraised Ernst in the latest filing period, but still trails by a few million in cash-on-hand. The most recent poll of the race shows a statistical dead heat.