Iowa's Steve King (R) won't pursue Senate seat

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

DES MOINES (AP) — Iowa Rep. Steve King said Friday he will not run for the U.S. Senate, opening the race to succeed Democrat Tom Harkin to lesser-known Republicans.

King, a conservative firebrand from the state's GOP-heavy west, had long eyed a challenge of Harkin, who was elected to the Senate in 1984 but has decided not to seek a sixth term. But King, a six-term U.S. House member, said in a press statement Friday: “I will not be a candidate for the United States Senate in 2014.”

King said he had more pressing battles to fight in the House and that a long Senate battle would be a distraction.

He also reported raising $93,000 in the first quarter of 2013, a fraction of what would be required to wage a competitive Senate race that's expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20130504/NEWS/706239998/1707#iowa-s-steve-king-won-t-pursue-senate-seat

[madaboutharry]

1. $93,000

Too much of a loon to win state wide.

[rurallib]

2. Well, most of us in Iowa didn't think he had the guts to run

Why give up a totally safe seat?
But we thought he'd string it out a bit longer

[Champion Jack]

3. Just means he got a better paying gig as a lobbyist…

[Inspired]

4. He knew he wouldn't beat Braley.

I kind of wish he was running. It would have been so entertaining.

[4dsc]

5. King is a coward and always will be

He's safe within his district and knows its not safe to go around the state spreading his style of BS.

[onehandle]

6. Darn. Any other potentially pro-rape loons out there? nt

[jwirr]

7. Conservative forebrand - more like a pure ass.

[Bette Noir]

8. I'd be happy if he'd retire to spend more time with his family.

How his family would feel about his, I couldn't guess.

[hrmjustin]

9. He never had a shot at all. I was kind of looking forward to see his defeat.

[Orsino]

10. King would probably say that the Senate seat is pursuing him. n/t

[alp227]

11. More details from the Des Moines Register:

Steve King decides against running in Senate race:

King chose not to moderate his message to appeal to Iowa’s purple state voters. Instead, he fought back against Republicans trying to re-brand the party to be more inclusive and tolerant. He reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion and illegal immigration — political arrows that win points in deeply conservative northwest Iowa, but are less likely to hit their mark in more liberal eastern Iowa.

A February Iowa Poll by The Des Moines Register showed King was a favorite candidate of Republican primary voters, but less appealing to the general electorate. King also did some polling, and strategists said he wouldn’t go for the Senate seat if the numbers looked bad for him.