Steve King’s campaign spent more than it raised last quarter

Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) campaign operated in a deficit last quarter, spending about $8,000 more than the amount it took in.

King’s campaign took in just $61,666.52 during the first quarter of 2019, including $4,000 from PACs and the remainder from individual donors. His expenditures, meanwhile, topped $69,501.68 for the quarter, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

{mosads}A request for comment to King’s reelection campaign was not immediately returned. According to his FEC filings, King’s campaign has just over $26,000 cash on hand following the Iowa congressman’s close reelection battle last November against Democrat J.D. Scholten, who came within single digits of ousting King.

The nine-term lawmaker could face another heated battle for reelection in 2020, as Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra (R) announced in January that he would mount a primary campaign against the controversial congressman. King has faced criticism from members of both parties over remarks he made about white supremacy.

Feenstra’s bid to unseat King raised more than $100,000 in its first 10 days, and has raised a total of $260,442 so far, more than four times the amount raised by the sitting incumbent.

Earlier this year, King was rebuked by Republicans and removed from his committee assignments after questioning during an interview how terms such as “white supremacist” and “white nationalist” became “offensive.”

He later walked those remarks back, stating that he rejected those ideologies.

“I want to make one thing abundantly clear; I reject those labels and the evil ideology that they define. Further, I condemn anyone that supports this evil and bigoted ideology which saw in its ultimate expression the systematic murder of 6 million innocent Jewish lives,” King said in a statement at the time.

King has stoked controversy for years with comments on immigration and race, but his most recent comments led to a number of corporate donors, including Purina and Land O’Lakes, cutting ties with the Iowa congressman.