The fifth congressional district is the largest in Iowa, covering the western third of the state. It’s made up of 32 of Iowa’s 99 counties. Its largest cities are Council Bluffs and Sioux City. Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kiron, has represented the district since 2003.
This year his Democratic challenger is Rob Hubler, a Democrat from Council Bluffs who served in the Navy, worked in the 1970s for former Senator Dick Clark and other Democrats, then he became a Presbyterian minister. Hubler’s retired now and he’s been running full-time for congress for over a year. Hubler repeats this line at nearly every stop: "The fifth district of Iowa wants a servant, not a King."
Hubler’s been predicting an "earthquake" on election day for Democrats because of the economic meltdown. (as said) "What is happening is a direct result of the McCain/Bush/King philosophy of unfettered free enterprise with no oversight and no regulation," Hubler said during a speech at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in early October.
But the fifth district is decidedly Republican, with over 44,000 more registered Republicans than Democratic voters. Congressman King is among the Republicans who voted against the Wall Street bailout. King has also been a staunch advocate of staying the course in Iraq. King warns that Russia is a looming threat, too, and he points to Russia’s incursion into Georgia.
"Georgia is the first square on the chess games of what is potentially and what I’m afraid is the beginning of Cold War II." King sparked controversy in March with these comments about the impact of a Barack Obama victory in November. "What does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam?" King asked. "And I will tell you that if he is elected president then the radical Islamists, the al Qaeda and the radical Islamists will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11th."
King made his remarks on KICD in Spencer as he stopped by the station to announce his bid for re-election.
AUDIO: Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson profile of Iowa’s 5th Congressional District. 1:44 MP3