From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 53 min
Steve King (Republican Party) was a member of the U.S. House, representing Iowa's 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 7, 2003. He left office on January 3, 2021.
King (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Iowa's 4th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on June 2, 2020.
Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, King is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills. Click here to read about key votes made by Steve King.
Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, King started a construction business in 1975, which is now owned by his son, and he served as a member of the Iowa State Senate from 1996 to 2002.[1]
King was born on May 28, 1949, in Storm Lake, IA, and raised in Denison, IA, where he also attended high school. Although he attended Northwest Missouri State University from 1967-1970, he does not have a college degree. Prior to his political career, King worked as a businessman.[1]
Below is an abbreviated outline of King's academic, professional, and political career:[2]
At the beginning of the 115th Congress, King was assigned to the following committees:[3]
King served on the following committees:[4]
King served on the following committees:[5][6]
King served on the following House committees:[7]
Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here.
| Key votes (click "show" to expand or "hide" to contract) |
|---|
Key votes: 115th Congress, 2017-2018[edit]
114th Congress[edit]The first session of the 114th Congress enacted into law six out of the 2,616 introduced bills (0.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 1.3 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the first session. In the second session, the 114th Congress enacted 133 out of 3,159 introduced bills (4.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 7.0 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[46][47] For more information pertaining to King's voting record in the 114th Congress, please see the below sections.[48] Economic and fiscal[edit]Trade Act of 2015[edit]Trade adjustment assistance Defense spending authorization[edit]
2016 Budget proposal[edit]
2015 budget[edit]
Foreign Affairs[edit]Iran nuclear deal[edit]
Export-Import Bank[edit]
Domestic[edit]USA FREEDOM Act of 2015[edit]
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act[edit]
Cyber security[edit]
Immigration[edit]
113th Congress[edit]The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[89] For more information pertaining to King's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[90] National security[edit]DHS Appropriations[edit]
Keystone Pipeline Amendment[edit]
CISPA (2013)[edit]
NDAA[edit]
Economy[edit]Farm bill[edit]
2014 Budget[edit]
Government shutdown[edit]
Immigration[edit]Morton Memos Prohibition[edit]
Healthcare[edit]Healthcare Reform Rules[edit]
Keep the IRS Off Your Healthcare Act[edit]
Social issues[edit]Amash amendment[edit]
Government affairs[edit]HR 676[edit]
Previous congressional sessions[edit]Fiscal Cliff[edit]
Legislation[edit]
|
| Steve King Endorses Ted Cruz for President November 16, 2015. |
✓ King endorsed Ted Cruz for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[112]
King supports:[113]
King opposes:[114]
See also: Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2020
Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)
Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)
Randy Feenstra defeated J.D. Scholten in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Randy Feenstra (R) |
62.0
|
237,369 |
|
|
J.D. Scholten (D) |
37.8
|
144,761 | |
| Other/Write-in votes |
0.2
|
892 | ||
| Total votes: 383,022 | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
J.D. Scholten advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
J.D. Scholten |
99.6
|
46,370 |
| Other/Write-in votes |
0.4
|
166 | ||
| Total votes: 46,536 | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Randy Feenstra defeated incumbent Steve King, Jeremy Taylor, Bret Richards, and Steve Reeder in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Randy Feenstra |
45.5
|
37,329 |
|
|
Steve King |
35.8
|
29,366 | |
|
|
Jeremy Taylor |
7.8
|
6,418 | |
|
|
Bret Richards
|
7.5
|
6,140 | |
|
|
Steve Reeder
|
3.1
|
2,528 | |
| Other/Write-in votes |
0.2
|
176 | ||
| Total votes: 81,957 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office: U.S. House of Representatives (Assumed office: 2003) Iowa State Senate (1996-2002)
Biography: Steve King was born in Storm Lake, Iowa, and attended Denison High School and Northwest Missouri State University, where he studied math and science. In 1975, he founded King Construction, which remained in operation under the management of his oldest son as of the 2020 election.
Sources: Steve King 2020 campaign website, "About," accessed May 29, 2020, Sioux City Journal, "Steve King: Here's why you should vote for me in 4th District U.S. House primary," May 20, 2020; U.S. House of Representatives, "Steve King - Biography," accessed May 29, 2020
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Iowa District 4 in 2020
Incumbent Steve King defeated J.D. Scholten, Charles Aldrich, and Edward Peterson in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Steve King (R) |
50.3
|
157,676 |
|
|
J.D. Scholten (D) |
47.0
|
147,246 | |
|
|
Charles Aldrich (L) |
2.0
|
6,161 | |
|
|
Edward Peterson (Independent) |
0.6
|
1,962 | |
| Other/Write-in votes |
0.1
|
206 | ||
| Total votes: 313,251 (100.00% precincts reporting) |
||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
J.D. Scholten defeated Leann Jacobsen and John Paschen in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
J.D. Scholten |
51.3
|
14,733 |
|
|
Leann Jacobsen |
32.0
|
9,176 | |
|
|
John Paschen |
16.7
|
4,806 | |
| Total votes: 28,715 | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Incumbent Steve King defeated Cyndi Hanson in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Steve King |
74.8
|
28,053 |
|
|
Cyndi Hanson |
25.2
|
9,437 | |
| Total votes: 37,490 | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Steve King (R) defeated Kim Weaver (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. King defeated Rick Bertrand in the Republican primary on June 7, 2016, while Weaver ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.[115][116]
| U.S. House, Iowa District 4 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | 61.2% | 226,719 | ||
| Democratic | Kim Weaver | 38.6% | 142,993 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.1% | 547 | |
| Total Votes | 370,259 | |||
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State | ||||
| U.S. House, Iowa District 4 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
|
64.7% | 29,098 | ||
| Rick Bertrand | 35.3% | 15,872 | ||
| Total Votes | 44,970 | |||
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State |
||||
King ran for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. He ran unopposed for the Republican nomination in the primary election. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
| U.S. House, Iowa District 4 General Election, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | 61.6% | 169,834 | ||
| Democratic | Jim Mowrer | 38.3% | 105,504 | |
| Write-in | Other | 0.1% | 295 | |
| Total Votes | 275,633 | |||
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
| Steve King 2014 re-election bid | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Steve King | Democratic opponent | Undecided | Sample Size | |||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling October 2-3, 2013 | 45% | 49% | 8% | 855 | |||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
King considered a run for outgoing Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's seat in the November 4, 2014 U.S. Senate election before opting not to run.[117][118][119]
King conducted after an interview with the Des Moines Register on May 1, 2013, in which he stated that he was “embarrassed” he didn’t have an answer yet about his plans to run for U.S. Senate.[120] He also commented that he never expected to still be undecided in May, saying “Things are stacking up on me so fast, I hardly have time to deal with the issue...There’s a lot of support to do this, and I just don’t know the answer. And I’m embarrassed that I don’t know the answer....I’ve just been pinned down doing my job, believe it or not. It just keeps me busy representing people in Congress," citing events pending in Congress, especially the farm bill and the immigration issue, as the primary issues receiving his attention.[120]
King announced on May 6, 2013, that he would not be running for the Senate seat.[121][122]
King ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Iowa's 4th District. King won the nomination on the Republican ticket.[123] King ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Candidate Christie Vilsack ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The two faced off in the general election on November 6, 2012, and King won the contest. Candidates wishing to run were required to file by the signature filing deadline of March 16, 2012. The primary elections took place on June 5, 2012.[124]
| U.S. House, Iowa District 4 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | 53% | 200,063 | ||
| Democratic | Christie Vilsack | 44.9% | 169,470 | |
| Independent | Martin James Monroe | 2.2% | 8,124 | |
| Total Votes | 377,657 | |||
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Incumbent Steve King, who defeated 2010 opponent Matthew Campbell by over 65,200 votes, faced a considerably more difficult race in 2012. As the New York Times reported, this occurred at the same time support for tea party candidates nationwide had dwindled. In the election's first debate, Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack asked pointed questions regarding a Farm Bill that the U.S. House failed to pass.[125]
However, Christie Vilsack faced an uphill battle in a socially conservative district. Like other Democratic candidates running in socially conservative areas, notably Jim Graves who challenged tea-party favorite Michele Bachmann in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, Vilsack steered away from hot button, national issues like abortion. Instead, she focused on local initiatives and ways the government might assist farmers.[126]
| Steve King vs. Christie Vilsack | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Steve King | Christie Vilsack | Don't know | Sample size | |||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling (September 24-25, 2012) | 48% | 45% | 7% | 577 | |||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Steve King's first TV ad of the election was launched on August 27, 2012.
Steve King "Land"[127] |
On November 2, 2010, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Matthew Campbell (D) and Martin James Monroe (I) in the general election.[128]
On November 4, 2008, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Rob Hubler (D) and Victor Vara (I) in the general election.[129]
On November 7, 2006, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joyce Shulte (D), Roy Nielsen (Nominated by Petition) and Cheryl L. Brodersen (Nominated by Petition) in the general election.[130]
On November 2, 2004, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated E. Joyce Shulte (D) in the general election.[131]
On November 5, 2002, Steve King won election to the United States House. He defeated Paul Shomshor (D) in the general election.[132]
| U.S. House, Iowa District 5 General Election, 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | 62.1% | 113,257 | ||
| Democratic | Paul Shomshor | 37.8% | 68,853 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.1% | 127 | |
| Total Votes | 182,237 | |||
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Steve King did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
The following issues were listed on King's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.
| “ |
|
” |
| —Steve King's campaign website, http://www.steveking.com/issues/ | ||
On January 14, 2019, the House Republican Steering Committee voted to remove King from all committee assignments in the 116th Congress following comments that he made in a New York Times interview.[134] In the interview published on January 10, King said, "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?"[135]
Rep. King responded on January 14 to his removal from committee assignments, saying that his quote was taken out of context and that the committee's decision was a political decision. He said, "When I used the word 'THAT' it was in reference ONLY to Western Civilization and NOT to any previous stated evil ideology ALL of which I have denounced."[136]
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
| Steve King campaign contribution history | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions |
| 2018 | U.S. House Iowa District 4 | ✔ | $869,934 |
| 2016 | U.S. House, Iowa District 4 | ✔ | $943,840 |
| 2014 | U.S. House (Iowa, District 4) | ✔ | $2,000,377 |
| Grand total raised | $3,814,151 | ||
|
Source: Follow the Money |
|||
| U.S. House Iowa District 4 2018 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top industry contributors to Steve King's campaign in 2018 | |
| Agriculture | $57,170.00 |
| Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | $55,050.00 |
| General Business | $47,200.00 |
| Ideology/Single Issue | $44,950.00 |
| Energy & Natural Resources | $38,725.00 |
| Total Raised in 2018 | $869,934.36 |
| Source: Follow the Money | |
| U.S. House Iowa District 4 2018 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top individual contributors to Steve King's campaign in 2018 | |
| LAMBERTI, DONALD F | $5,400.00 |
| GRIEND, DAVID VANDER | $5,400.00 |
| STARK JR, C RICHARD | $5,400.00 |
| KIRKE, GERALD M | $5,400.00 |
| HILLMAN, ROBERTA W (BOBBIE) | $5,400.00 |
| Total Raised in 2018 | $869,934.36 |
| Source: Follow the Money | |
King won re-election to the U.S. House in 2016. During that election cycle, King's campaign committee raised a total of $943,840 and spent $878,046.[137] This is less than the average $1.46 million spent by U.S. House winners in 2016.[138]
King spent $3.87 per general election vote received in 2016.
| U.S. House, Iowa District 4, 2016 - Steve King (Iowa) Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $943,840 |
| Total Spent | $878,046 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $159,274 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $139,603 |
| Top contributors to Steve King (Iowa)'s campaign committee | |
| Wells Blue Bunny | $10,800 |
| College Loan Corp | $10,600 |
| American Bankers Assn | $10,000 |
| American Podiatric Medical Assn | $10,000 |
| AT&T Inc | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Retired | $95,602 |
| Republican/Conservative | $69,264 |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $52,977 |
| Misc Business | $43,582 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $32,300 |
| Source: Open Secrets | |
King won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. During that election cycle, King's campaign committee raised a total of $2,000,377 and spent $1,983,500.[139] This is more than the average $1.45 million spent by House winners in 2014.[140]
King spent $11.68 per general election vote received in 2014.
| U.S. House, Iowa District 4, 2014 - Steve King (Iowa) Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $2,000,377 |
| Total Spent | $1,983,500 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $2,172,730 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $2,167,517 |
| Top contributors to Steve King (Iowa)'s campaign committee | |
| Sukup Manufacturing | $14,500 |
| AG Processing | $13,000 |
| Doll Distributing | $11,900 |
| Holden's Foundation Seed | $10,400 |
| Mail Services LLC | $10,400 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Retired | $171,035 |
| Republican/Conservative | $120,888 |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $120,190 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $48,000 |
| Leadership PACs | $41,945 |
To view the breakdown of campaign funding by type click [show] to expand the section. | |
|---|---|
Below are King's FEC reports.[141]
| Steve King (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[142] | April 15, 2013 | $119,193.14 | $108,630.54 | $(137,675.17) | $90,148.51 | ||||
| July Quarterly[143] | July 15, 2013 | $90,148.51 | $139,715.62 | $(124,086.40) | $105,777.73 | ||||
| October Quarterly[144] | October 13, 2013 | $105,777.73 | $109,871.37 | $(122,861.40) | $92,787.70 | ||||
| Year-end[145] | January 31, 2014 | $92,787 | $162,850 | $(116,209) | $139,428 | ||||
| April Quarterly[146] | April 15, 2014 | $139,428 | $121,041 | $(72,917) | $187,551 | ||||
| July Quarterly[147] | July 15, 2014 | $223,530 | $325,247 | $(106,216) | $442,672 | ||||
| October Quarterly[148] | October 15, 2014 | $442,672 | $601,537 | $(307,339) | $736,871 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,568,892.53 | $(987,303.97) | ||||||||
King won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, King's campaign committee raised a total of $3,753,859 and spent $3,815,764.[149] This is more than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[150]
King spent $19.07 per vote received in 2012.
| U.S. House, Iowa District 5, 2012 - Steve King (Iowa) Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $3,753,859 |
| Total Spent | $3,815,764 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $3,359,507 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $3,355,947 |
| Top contributors to Steve King (Iowa)'s campaign committee | |
| Club for Growth | $255,021 |
| Susan B. Anthonly List | $16,250 |
| Cnos | $14,000 |
| National Rifle Assn | $11,300 |
| Terra Industries | $11,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Republican/Conservative | $384,816 |
| Retired | $220,199 |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $161,955 |
| Misc Business | $114,595 |
| Agriculture Services/Products | $99,250 |
To view the breakdown of campaign funding by type click [show] to expand the section. | |
|---|---|
King won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that re-election cycle, King's campaign committee raised a total of $1,015,039 and spent $1,013,945.[151]
| U.S. House, Iowa District 5, 2010 - Steve King (Iowa) Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $1,015,039 |
| Total Spent | $1,013,945 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $249,782 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $261,265 |
| Top contributors to Steve King (Iowa)'s campaign committee | |
| American Crystal Sugar | $10,000 |
| AT&T Inc | $10,000 |
| Honeywell International | $10,000 |
| National Assn of Home Builders | $10,000 |
| Beef Products Inc | $9,600 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $70,060 |
| Retired | $43,185 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $42,879 |
| Health Professionals | $27,900 |
| Automotive | $24,310 |
To view the breakdown of campaign funding by type click [show] to expand the section. | |
|---|---|
The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, King's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $155,015 and $551,000. That averages to $353,007.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2012 of $6,956,438.47. King ranked as the 305th most wealthy representative in 2012.[152] Between 2004 and 2012, King's calculated net worth[153] decreased by an average of 6 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.[154]
| Steve King Yearly Net Worth | |
|---|---|
| Year | Average Net Worth |
| 2004 | $632,635 |
| 2012 | $353,007 |
| Growth from 2004 to 2012: | -44% |
| Average annual growth: | -6%[155] |
| Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.[156] | |
Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). King received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Republican/Conservative industry.
From 2001-2014, 21.92 percent of King's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.[157]
| Steve King (Iowa) Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $8,681,783 |
| Total Spent | $8,183,786 |
| Top five industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Republican/Conservative | $542,844 |
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $429,764 |
| Retired | $427,544 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $311,345 |
| Leadership PACs | $191,549 |
| % total in top industry | 6.25% |
| % total in top two industries | 11.2% |
| % total in top five industries | 21.92% |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, King was a "far-right Republican leader," as of July 31, 2014. This was the same rating King received in June 2013.[158]
The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.[159]
|
King most often votes with: |
King least often votes with: |
According to the website GovTrack, King missed 210 of 9,303 roll call votes from January 2003 to September 2015. This amounted to 2.3 percent, which was higher than the median of 2.2 percent among representatives as of September 2015.[160]
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. King paid his congressional staff a total of $967,473 in 2011. He ranked 72nd on the list of the highest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 227th overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Iowa ranked 16th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[161]
According to an analysis by CNN, King was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. King's staff was given an apparent $3,721.49 in bonus money.[162]
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year.
King ranked 59th in the conservative rankings in 2013.[163]
King ranked 12th in the conservative rankings in 2012.[164]
King ranked 74th in the conservative rankings in 2011.[165]
The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.
King voted with the Republican Party 94.4 percent of the time, which ranked 110th among the 234 House Republican members as of July 2014.[166]
King voted with the Republican Party 96.9 percent of the time, which ranked 82nd among the 233 House Republican members as of June 2013.[167]
| Steve King | |
| Republican National Convention, 2016 | |
| Status: | At-large delegate |
| State: | Iowa |
| Bound to: | Unknown |
| Delegates to the RNC 2016 | |
| Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • Delegate rules by state • State election law and delegates • Delegates by state | |
King was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Iowa.[168]
In Iowa's Republican caucuses on February 1, 2016, Ted Cruz won eight delegates, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio won seven delegates each, Ben Carson won three delegates, while five candidates—Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, and Mike Huckabee—all won one delegate each.
Ballotpedia was not able to identify to which candidate King was allocated based on the results of the Iowa caucuses or which candidate King was bound by state party rules to support at the national convention. If you have information on how Iowa’s Republican delegates were allocated, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.[169]
On June 1, 2016, Eric Rosenthal, the chairman of the Iowa Republican State Convention Nominating Committee, wrote in The Gazette that all 30 delegates from Iowa would support Trump at the convention. "Mr. Trump will be the only candidate nominated [at the convention], therefore, all 30 delegate votes will be voted for him," said Rosenthal.[170]
Iowa's district-level delegates were elected at district conventions, while at-large delegates were selected by a nominating committee and approved by delegates to the state convention. Iowa GOP bylaws in 2016 stipulated that delegates to the national convention were to be bound to the candidate to whom they were allocated through the first round of voting "regardless of whether any such candidate has withdrawn from the race or otherwise does not have his or her name placed in nomination." Iowa GOP bylaws also stated, however, that if there was only one candidate on the nominating ballot at the convention and if that candidate "received votes in the Iowa Caucuses," then all Iowa delegates were bound to vote for that candidate through the first round of voting.
| Iowa Republican Caucus, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
|
27.7% | 51,666 | 8 | |
| Donald Trump | 24.3% | 45,427 | 7 | |
| Marco Rubio | 23.1% | 43,165 | 7 | |
| Ben Carson | 9.3% | 17,395 | 3 | |
| Rand Paul | 4.5% | 8,481 | 1 | |
| Jeb Bush | 2.8% | 5,238 | 1 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 1.9% | 3,485 | 1 | |
| John Kasich | 1.9% | 3,474 | 1 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 1.8% | 3,345 | 1 | |
| Chris Christie | 1.8% | 3,284 | 0 | |
| Rick Santorum | 1% | 1,783 | 0 | |
| Totals | 186,743 | 30 | ||
| Source: The Des Moines Register, "Iowa Caucus Results" | ||||
Iowa had 30 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 12 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's four congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; each candidate who won a percentage of the statewide vote in Iowa's caucuses received a share of the state's district-level delegates.[171][172]
Of the remaining 18 delegates, 15 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated proportionally based on the statewide vote; any candidate who won a percentage of the statewide vote was entitled to receive a share of Iowa's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[171][172]
2020 Elections
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Latham (R) |
U.S. House of Representatives - Iowa District 4 2013 - 2021 |
Succeeded by Randy Feenstra (R) |
| Preceded by ' |
U.S. House of Representatives - Iowa District 5 2003–2013 |
Succeeded by Now defunct |
| Preceded by ' |
Iowa State Senate 1996–2002 |
Succeeded by ' |