Steve King is a long-time member of the United States House of Representatives. Initially, he was elected from Iowa's 5th District. Eventually, Iowa lost that Congressional seat, and its House delegation dropped to four. At that point, he began representing the 4th District.
For several years, King has been a frequent source of stress for leading members of the Republican Party.
Despite his many controversies, King managed to keep being re-elected to his seat, notes Reuters. Until the 2020 election cycle.
Loses in the Republican primary election
King has been ousted by Republican voters in Iowa's 4th District. The result came after years of various incendiary remarks from King on a wide array of topics. Many traditionally conservative organizations had turned against him, as indicated by Yahoo.
King's political career began in earnest, representing the 6th District in the Iowa Senate. He'd defeated incumbent Wayne Bennett in the Republican primary for the northwestern Iowa seat.
His time in the Senate was not without controversy. At one point, he introduced a bill mandating how public schools teach children about the United States. The bill stated that America 'is the unchallenged greatest nation in the world.'
After joining the U.S House of Representatives, the controversies continued. His tenure includes numerous racial remarks that outraged many. Among them, calling Mexican immigrants 'dirt' and expressing sympathy for Neo-Nazi and white supremacist views. At one point, he suggested that the human race wouldn't have survived if not for rape. His comments appalled members of his own party and beyond. It also raised eyebrows when he displayed a lack of basic knowledge about the sea level when discussing climate change.
Strong negative feelings about King weren't just limited to matter directly related to humans. Animal rights supporters were not amused when to gloated on Twitter about killing a raccoon. Not to mention his enthusiastic pursuits of weakening laws against animal cruelty.
By the time the 2020 cycle rolled around, King was largely ostracized. He'd been stripped of all of his Committee posts by House Republican leaders, leaving him with very limited influence.
Randy Feenstra wins the GOP nomination
Randy Feenstra is set to run the Republican race for the 4th District in 2020. Feenstra is a longtime state senator. He represents the 2nd District, which is also based in northwestern Iowa.
Feenstra is a former local politician in Hull, Iowa, and Sioux County, Iowa. Before going into politics, he was a sales manager for a candy company. He is a graduate of Dordt University and Iowa State University.