Republican voters in Iowa finally said goodbye to Steve King on Tuesday, ending a decades-old era of controversy to a heavily conservative district. The Des Moines Register is reporting that the AP has called the 4th Congressional District Primary race for state Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull.

Feenstra had the backing of the Republican Party as well as many state elected officials. He won with 45.7% of votes cast compared to 36% for King. The Secretary of State's office says the margin of victory was over 8,000 votes. The Register reports that Feenstra heavily outraised King and spent much of that money on television ads. Those ads painted King as ineffective since being stripped of his committee seats by Republicans in January of 2019.

King, a nine-term representative, was first elected back in 2002. He was stripped of his committees last year after remarks he made to the New York Times about white nationalism. All four of his challengers in this race used that against him, saying they would be a more effective leader in Congress. The Register points out that King has long been criticized for his comments and positions. He is a critic of legal abortions and illegal immigration. He has made many remarks on both issues that have drawn criticism from his own party.

Last year he made disparaging comments and wondered if there would be any population left if it were not for "rape and incest." In 2018 he met with a far-right Austrian political party associated with the Neo-Nazi movement while on a trip to a Holocaust memorial.

 

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