It’s official: On June 2, amid protests against anti-Black racism in all 50 states, notoriously racist nine-term Iowa Rep. Steve King lost his Republican primary bid to Randy Feenstra, an Iowa state senator who harbors every noxious belief King does — he just says it the Iowa nice way.
King’s downfall was a long time coming. His history of racist comments was enough to make Democrats pour money into defeating him in 2018, and they came very close. When he barely won reelection in his deeply conservative corner of the state, Republicans also turned on him. But unseating an incumbent in a conservative corner of the state during a pandemic is no small task.
On May 11, five white men sat in the Clay County Fair & Events Center for the Iowa 4th Congressional District Republican Forum. “You’re all here because you believe the New York Times,” King shouted during his opening remarks. “No legitimate person believes the New York Times!”
King, who has represented Iowa’s 4th Congressional District since 2003, was removed by Republican leaders from his…
