Iowa GOP Guv Says King Shouldn’t Run For Senate: ‘The Last Thing We Need Is Another Congressman’

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Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad on Monday suggested that tea party favorite Rep. Steve King (R-IA) should not run in the state’s open U.S. Senate race next year.

“I really believe that Iowans want somebody that will serve in the Senate that will be an Iowa problem solver, not another congressman,” Branstad said during his weekly news conference, according to Radio Iowa. 

He continued, “You know congress is a mess. We’ve seen them spend a trillion dollars more than they take in every year and so the Democrats have decided, ‘Well, we’re going to send up another congressman.’ That’s the last thing we need is another congressman in the United States Senate.”

King’s prospective candidacy has been the subject of much debate, particularly on the right. A Karl Rove-backed group launched earlier this year will seek to target unelectable GOP Senate candidates in primaries — in an effort to avoid the squandered pick-up opportunities that the party suffered in 2012 — and King was at the top of the list. 

King has said publicly that he is considering launching a bid in the race for the seat currently held by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who announced that he will not seek re-election next year.

 

h/t Alexis Levinson

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