Congressman Steve King. (file photo)
Congressman Steve King and three Republicans who’re planning to challenge King in next year’s GOP primary spoke to a gathering of Christian conservatives Saturday night.
King, who was last to speak, was cheered when he started and many in the crowd gave him a standing ovation as he concluded with this: “I’m walking in the fire now and I’m going to walk through the fire and we’re going to prove their bullets aren’t real.”
State Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for his campaign against King, but Feenstra did not mention the congressman during his remarks at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition gathering. Feenstra talked about his own faith instead.
“By God’s blessing, I was put into a Christian family…My folks told me at a young age that I am in God’s image…I am created for a special purpose, a special reason: to further his kingdom,” Feenstra said.
Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor mentioned King’s narrow three-percent win in 2018 and said keeping the fourth district in GOP hands was crucial if Republicans are to win back the U.S. House in 2020.
“If we don’t take back the House of Representatives from the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I don’t believe that our children are going to recognize the country that our parents and our grandparents and our founding fathers left to us,” Taylor said.
The other Republican who’s planning to challenge King is Bret Richards, the former mayor of Irwin.
“Many candidates will boast about their achievements, what they can do for you,” he said. “What they really need to do is show their heart and their character to the voters.”
This was the first time all four candidates — including King — shared the same stage. King, who will be seeking his 10th term in the House next year, told the crowd the party’s “hierarchy” has targeted him.
“It’s not the grassroots. You are the grassroots…and I have never let you down,” King said, to applause. “And I will not.”