In a rare move, the Republican Jewish Coalition announced on Thursday its endorsement of Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) primary opponent, Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra.
“Current Iowa Congressman Steve King does not represent the values of the Republican Party or those of the Republican Jewish Coalition,” said the organization’s executive director, Matt Brooks, in a fundraising email. “His record of inflammatory comments condoning white supremacists and anti-Semites is the antithesis of our goals and values as an organization. King’s egregious record even includes meeting with and endorsing a candidate who appears on neo-Nazi podcasts.”
Ahead of the June 2 primary, RJC PAC has donated $5,000 to Feenstra’s campaign, the maximum amount a political action committee can give to a candidate in an election year.
“In Congress, I’ll be a champion for a strong, pro-Israel foreign policy. Honored to have the support of the @RJC,” tweeted Feenstra.
In Congress, I'll be a champion for a strong, pro-Israel foreign policy. Honored to have the support of the @RJC. #IA04https://t.co/jBqEqicbSk
— Randy Feenstra (@RandyFeenstra) May 7, 2020
The RJC last hosted an event with King in 2012.
In 2018, King endorsed white supremacist Faith Goldy, who unsuccessfully ran in the Toronto mayoral race. His endorsement was slammed by right-wing groups.
The Washington Post reported that King spoke in Vienna with Unzensuriert (“Uncensored”), a website associated with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, following a five-day tour in August of Jewish and Holocaust historical places in Poland, funded by From the Depths, a group that seeks to educate lawmakers about the Shoah.
Last year, King lost his committee assignments and was condemned in a passed resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives that called him out by name after he asked how the term “white supremacist” was offensive.