With several polls showing a closer-than-ever race for Rep. Steve King (R-IA), the controversial Republican assured Newsmax that he was in strong shape to win a ninth term.
As national Democratic money pours into Iowa’s 4th District, King dismissed media claims he was facing a defeat.
“Things aren’t as bad for me as you’re hearing,” King told Newsmax. King is best known for his outspoken opposition to illegal immigration.
A new Emerson Poll shows him leading Democrat J.D. Scholten by 51 to 42 percent.
But the New York Times/Siena College poll showed the race even tighter, with King edging Scholten by 45 to 40 percent.
“Our own polls a week before these other polls showed us up by twenty points,” said King.
“And, look, I’ve been traveling all over the district and I’m meeting Republicans all the time. I have yet to meet one who says ‘I’m bailing on you’ or ‘I can’t support you anymore.’”
King has long been under fire from national media over his hardline stand against illegal immigrants.
This year, the “Des Moines Register” abandoned King and gave its endorsement to Democrat Scholten.
In addition, political action committees, including Land O'Lakes dairy company, have switched from King to Scholten.
“Then, last week, the manure storm hit,” said King, referring to a questioner at a town meeting who said that the congressman and the shooter at the Pittsburgh synagogue “share an ideology that is fundamentally anti-immigration.”
An angry King cut the questioner off and declared him an “ambusher.”
“He is a known left-wing operative and he has come to other events I’ve been at,” the congressman told us.
Rep. Steve Stivers, R-OH, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, tweeted that King’s “actions, comments and retweets are completely inappropriate. We must stand up against white supremacy….”
“The NRCC hasn’t backed me since 2012 and I always figured ‘fine,’ so they can’t control what I say and do,” King said, “But [Stivers] found a way to hurt me and the publicity of this sure helped my opponent’s fund-raising.”
The embattled Republican noted that in 2012, he was outspent heavily by Democratic opponent Christie Vilsack, wife of former Gov. Tom Vilsack.
At the time, polls showed the race tightening. But then, he recalled, “people got fed up, said ‘enough of these attacks,’ and I won with 53 percent. We are at that point again.”
As we spoke, King interrupted to say his campaign just received a tweet from Scholten saying “let’s do an impromptu debate tonight” and saying the voters needed to see the two candidates exchange ideas.
“His polls must be giving him some bad news,” King laughed.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.