GOP Rep. Steve King wins reelection amid mounting criticism

GOP Rep. Steve King is projected to win reelection in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, holding onto his seat despite intense criticism from Democrats as well as some Republicans.

King, who has served in Congress since 2003, represents a northwestern Iowa district that went for President Trump by double digits in 2016. But the race became more competitive in the final days of the campaign.

{mosads}Following the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in late October, King faced increased scrutiny for his association with white nationalist politicians and groups and past remarks that were viewed as racially insensitive. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Steve Stivers (Ohio) tweeted that King’s comments and actions were “completely inappropriate,” and several businesses said they would stop making donations to his campaign.

King’s Democratic opponent, J.D. Scholten, vastly outraised King and visited every county in the district multiple times while traveling in an RV. Toward the end of the campaign, he started running two-minute long campaign ads.

King didn’t start running a television ad until the last few days before the election. During the campaign, King emphasized his hard-line stance on immigration and his position against abortion. He also defended himself after Stivers’s comments, saying the attacks against him “are orchestrated by nasty, desperate and dishonest fake news.”