Randy Feenstra Beats Nine Term Incumbent Steve King in Iowa Republican Congressional Primary
Representative Steve King, R-Iowa, who has served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from a conservative district in northwest Iowa, was defeated Tuesday in the Republican primary by state senator Randy Feenstra. In a 5-way race, Feenstra garnered almost 46% of the vote compared to King’s 36%.
King, a conservative on issues such as abortion, marriage and illegal immigration, was also heavily criticized on both sides of the political aisle for his extreme, sometimes bizarre comments to the press and on social media.
For example, in explaining his views on why there should be no exceptions for rape or incest as part of a law banning abortion, King said this last year:
“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that? Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that.”
Most pro-life politicians would have simply explained that all innocent life should be protected, and you ought to punish the rapist, not the baby. For his strange response, King had to publicly defend himself against charges that he supported rape.
King’s dalliances with white supremacy over the years, however, are what finally moved Republican House leadership to strip him of his valuable committee assignments last year and make him persona non grata within the party. Things came to a head when, in a 2019 interview with The New York Times concerning immigration issues, he stated, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
Although King protested that he was misunderstood and that he rejects the ideology of white nationalism and white supremacy out of hand, the damage was done. Mainstream Republicans and organizations such as the National Right to Life threw their support to Feenstra in the primary, who raised almost three times as much cash as King in the lead-up to Tuesday’s vote.
As if to underscore the reason for King’s ouster, National Republican Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted: “Congratulations @RandyFeenstra on winning the GOP primary in #IA04! Steve King’s white supremacist rhetoric is totally inconsistent with the Republican Party, and I’m glad Iowa Republicans rejected him at the ballot box.”
Democrats were overjoyed at King’s departure and eager to take credit for what Iowa GOP voters had done, including the noted abortion supporter, actress Alyssa Milano, who tweeted: “Steve King lost the Iowa GOP primary. That’s what we do. We vote racists out of office.” That prompted a reply tweet poking fun at her from the Republican Campaign Committee: “Welcome to the Iowa Republican Party?”
Feenstra, a conservative, has been in the Iowa State Senate since 2009. He faces Democrat J.D. Scholten in November.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bruce Hausknecht, J.D., is an attorney who serves as Focus on the Family’s judicial analyst. He is responsible for research and analysis of legal and judicial issues related to Christians and the institution of the family, including First Amendment freedom of religion and free speech issues, judicial activism, marriage, homosexuality and pro-life matters. He also tracks legislation and laws affecting these issues. Prior to joining Focus in 2004, Hausknecht practiced law for 17 years in construction litigation and as an associate general counsel for a large ministry in Virginia. He was also an associate pastor at a church in Colorado Springs for seven years, primarily in worship music ministry. Hausknecht has provided legal analysis and commentary for top media outlets including CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS Radio, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and BBC radio. He’s also a regular contributor to The Daily Citizen. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. Hausknecht has been married since 1981 and has three adult children, as well as three adorable grandkids. In his free time, Hausknecht loves getting creative with his camera and capturing stunning photographs of his adopted state of Colorado.