Steve King's 2020 Campaign Is Running Dry As PACs And Politicians Jump Ship

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who has all but politically self-destructed by supporting white supremacy, promoting neo-Nazis on Twitter and, most recently, suggesting there would be no human race without rape and incest , appears to be nearly broke.

Data from OpenSecrets , an initiative of the Center for Responsive Politics, shows that the congressman’s 2020 reelection campaign committee had just $18,365 in cash on hand as of June 30, and hasn’t filed another report since.

King has raised a total of $153,203, most of which came from individuals, and spent $161,057. (Federal Election Commission data shows that in the first quarter of 2019, King’s campaign operated at a deficit of about $8,000 .) More than half of his individual donors gave less than $200 and political action committee contributions totaled a mere $4,000, accounting for a tiny fraction of his overall funds. 

According to The Daily Beast , which first flagged the numbers, King hasn’t received any contributions from any PACs connected to sitting members of Congress, and corporate PACs have spurned him, too.

Meanwhile, one of King’s challengers, Republican Randy Feenstra, has raised $400,893 and spent only $63,579, the rest of which was listed as cash on hand as of June 30.

Though they’ve raised significantly less overall, two of King’s other GOP challengers, Bret Richards and Jeremy Taylor, also have more cash on hand, with $51,200 and $23,070, respectively.

The eventual end of King’s tenure in Congress has become increasingly likely, especially after he asked The New York Times in January why the terms “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” are offensive, generating bipartisan backlash. The latest scandal regarding his comments to the Des Moines Register on rape and incest has prompted renewed calls for his resignation.