Rep. Steve King Blasts National Republicans For Supporting A Gay Candidate

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) criticized the National Republican Congressional Committee on Monday for supporting a candidate for Congress who is gay.

They sent money over to support a candidate in a primary in California who had a same-sex partner that they put all over glossy mailers, King said at an event Monday night, footage of which was posted online by a Democratic campaign tracker. Thats hard to write a check to those guys when they do that, so Im hoping we get conservative leadership in the House.

Now @SteveKingIA is attacking the NRCC for backing a gay candidate:

\"They sent money over to support a candidate in a primary in California who had a same-sex partner that they put all over glossy mailers...That's hard to write a check to those guys when they do that.\" #IA04 pic.twitter.com/TXrF67KIoE

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Now @SteveKingIA is attacking the NRCC for backing a gay candidate:

"They sent money over to support a candidate in a primary in California who had a same-sex partner that they put all over glossy mailers...That's hard to write a check to those guys when they do that." #IA04 pic.twitter.com/TXrF67KIoE
Andrew Bates (@AndrewBatesNC) November 6, 2018

King didnt identify which candidate he was referring to, but Republicans supported former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, who is gay, for a House seat in 2014.

Last week, Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the NRCC chair, condemned King over his increasingly racist rhetoric and behavior, saying in a tweet that we must stand up to white supremacy and hate in all forms.

The eight-term Iowa congressmans overt embrace of white supremacists in the U.S. and abroad has sparked a backlash among donors and the business community, with companies including Intel and Land o Lakes dropping their financial support for his re-election.

In 2015, then-Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) made a similar comment about the NRCC that ended up costing him his bid for re-election the following year . The remark prompted donors and the Congressional Leadership Fund a super PAC with ties to GOP leadership to sever ties with the New Jersey Republican.

King represents a far more conservative district in a rural portion of Iowa, however. He is still expected to prevail over Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten on Tuesday, according to the most recent polling, despite not running any ads or campaigning until last week.

Earlier Monday, King also made a bigoted joke about Supreme Court justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor by saying he hoped they would elope to Cuba so conservatives can take control of the countrys highest court.

The backlash over Kings comments hasnt hurt his standing among other top Republican officials from Iowa. King appeared at a rally Monday evening with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is similarly at risk of losing re-election.

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And he received a vocal endorsement from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Chuck Grassley gives a number of reasons why Steve King has earned his vote and deserves your vote. pic.twitter.com/8067DblXHl

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Chuck Grassley gives a number of reasons why Steve King has earned his vote and deserves your vote. pic.twitter.com/8067DblXHl
Steve King (@SteveKingIA) November 6, 2018

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misidentified former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio.