Early voting begins in one week and the June 2 primary election is 47 days away, but instead of a fundraising show of force for the incumbent, Congressman Steve King reported another dismal quarter to kick off 2020.

King, in a five-way Republican primary contest to represent Western Iowa’s 4th District, raised only $42,917 in the first fundraising quarter of 2020 (Jan. 1 to March 31). He ended the quarter with $26,773 in cash-on-hand.

The King campaign spent more than they brought in, with $48,153 in expenses for Q1. $10,500 of that went for a pheasant hunt in Akron, Iowa, that King typically uses as a fundraiser. Other large expenses went to payroll costs for King’s son and daughter-in-law. Most of the King campaign’s public activities involve posting right-wing memes on his political Facebook page.

The weak numbers come as no surprise given his fundraising in 2019. In total he raised about $258,000 last year. His best quarter came last spring when he raised $91,536. King continues to sit on no committees after being ousted from them over comments on “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” terms he made to the New York Times.

The fundraising reported this week is the lowest amount King has brought in this election cycle.

The lone Democrat in the race, J.D. Scholten of Sioux City, out-raised all the Republican 4th District candidates combined with $339,579. He ended the quarter with $715,092 in cash-on-hand.

🚨 q1 fundraising update 🚨 Scholten4Iowa – $338,579

Steve King – $42,917

King’s 4 primary opponents combined – $184,574 3rd straight quarter where we outraised the entire GOP field combined! 🙏 for all of the support. Last cycle we hoped to win, this cycle we expect to win! https://t.co/szJZmxsldr — J.D. Scholten (@JDScholten) April 16, 2020

State Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, raised $122,871 in the three-month period.

With his name ID, endorsements and fundraising abilities, Feenstra is King’s greatest threat in the Republican primary.

He has $415,651 in cash-on-hand and has a 30-second ad up on TV and digital platforms.

“Our support proves that people are ready to elect an effective conservative leader with a record of delivering conservative results,” Feenstra said in a press release about his Q1 fundraising.

Jeremy Taylor, a former Woodbury County supervisor from Sioux City, raised $16,050 and has $21,737 in cash-on-hand. Bret Richards raised $25,152 (including a $20,000 personal loan) and has $82,809 in cash-on-hand. Steven Reeder raised $20,500 and is in the red $18,024 for cash-on-hand.

By Elizabeth Meyer

Posted 4/16/20