By Mitch McAndrew | [email protected]
They say a king is only as powerful as his fortress. If that’s true, then few are seen as more powerful than ultra-conservative Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
Fortified with the conservatism so prevalent in western Iowa, Iowa’s 4th Congressional District has become a right-wing stronghold that seems impossible to infiltrate for Democrats and moderate Republicans alike.
But almost a month after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, capitalized on King’s endorsement to win the Iowa caucuses, some Iowa Republicans are focusing their efforts to penetrate Iowa’s 4th District and overthrow the far-right incumbent.
King has been heavily criticized by many for his support of Cruz, whom Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad criticized as bad for Iowa’s ethanol interests. Rep. Rob Taylor, R-West Des Moines, said King’s conduct is “unbecoming to Iowans,” referring to a tweet King sent on caucus night falsely proclaiming that Republican Ben Carson had dropped out of the race.
Taylor also said many Iowans are complaining that King is disconnected from his constituents.
“I’ve received a number of phone calls in the last two or three weeks from people saying [King] rarely returns phone calls,” he said.
Fed up with what they see as King’s misbehavior, Taylor said a handful of Republicans have contemplated leading a siege against him in the primary, but no valid candidates have stepped forward yet, with the nomination paperwork deadline rapidly approaching on March 18.
The biggest potential threat to King is Sen. Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, who indicated Feb. 19 that he intends to vie for King’s spot, a move that would give the seven-term representative his toughest primary competition yet. Bertrand could not be reached for comment.
Kim Weaver, the O’Brien County Democrat chairwoman and a member of the state party’s Central Committee, is also running for the 4th District seat.
State operatives have also pledged support for any Republican willing to run against King. For example, Nick Ryan, the founder of the American Future Fund, a PAC that advocates for free-market economics, has been fiercely critical of King on Twitter, calling him “truly pathetic” and “dishonest and deceitful.”
In short, Republican officials are dissatisfied with King and, Taylor said, Republican groups are willing to throw support behind any opposing candidate. Could this be the year establishment Republicans stage a coup and overthrow King?
Despite the expressed outrage toward King, western Iowa GOP leaders and political experts alike believe the answer is no and that King’s conservative fortress will protect him from his own party’s dethroning efforts.
“No one is growing tired of Congressman King; he’s a true conservative,” said Brian Rosener, the Woodbury County Republican chairman.
Western Iowa’s conservative climate has propelled King to some wide victory margins in recent elections. He defeated Christie Vilsack, Iowa’s former first lady, by almost 8 percentage points in 2012. Two years later, he bested Jim Mowrer, an Iraq War veteran and former Pentagon aide, by 23 percentage points.
“[King] knows any serious challengers can only come from his own party,” said Jeff Angelo, a former Iowa senator and assistant minority leader who is remains involved in the Iowa GOP.
But even his own party poses little threat. King, who has become a Fox News celebrity for his hard-line stances on immigration, is widely considered one of the most conservative representatives in Congress.
Arthur Sanders, a professor of politics at Drake University, said extremist views are often overrepresented in the primaries, which plays to King’s advantage.
“With incumbents, as long as you can fend off challenges from the right, you’re OK,” he said.
If challenges from the right are all King has to worry about, then he is indeed a formidable opponent. King is one of the hardest current congressman to outflank on the right, Rosener said.
“He’s unquestionably the most conservative Iowa representative I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Additionally, Sanders and Angelo believe the criticisms of King’s failure to protect ethanol interests won’t be important enough to sway western Iowa voters.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard is going to be a big issue, but it won’t move people emotionally to vote against King,” Angelo said.
He noted that King’s support of Cruz upset Branstad and other state Republicans because the ethanol industry, which Cruz would cut subsidies for, is the direct result of the longtime governor’s efforts to pull the state out of the farm crisis of the 1980s.
“When King came out in support of Cruz, an opponent of renewable fuels, he struck a nerve with Branstad,” Angelo said.
Sanders also suggests that Cruz’s Iowa victory is evidence that Iowans do not consider whether or not to drop the Renewable Fuel Standard a serious issue.
“If it really is as important as Terry Branstad thinks, then Cruz wouldn’t have won,” he said.
Interestingly, King’s conservative, fortress-like district is not the only one of its kind. Sanders said the kind of partisan domination found in Iowa’s 4th District can also be found nationwide.
“There are a relatively small number of people who are in genuinely competitive districts,” he said. “The non-competition increases high partisanship, and the way the district lines are drawn only exacerbates it.”
So, just what will it take to topple Steve King?
“Barring redistricting, King is untouchable,” Sanders said. “But you can say that for 75 percent of Congress right now.”