Despite U.S. Rep. Steve King's polarizing remarks about cultural diversity that critics have labeled as racist, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will retain the controversial congressman as a co-chair of her 2018 election campaign.

Reynolds, who became governor in May when longtime Gov. Terry Branstad left to become U.S. ambassador to China, told reporters Tuesday she strongly disagrees with King's comments, but she has lots of supporters and she doesn't approve of every statement they make.

King's latest controversy erupted Friday when he tweeted, "Diversity is not our strength." He cited a quote from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who said, “Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one."

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In a follow up tweet, King wrote: "Assimilation has become a dirty word to the multiculturalist Left. Assimilation, not diversity, is our American strength."

Asked Tuesday about the Republican congressman's remarks and why he remains on her campaign team, Reynolds said, “I strongly, strongly disagree with that statement. I don’t believe that is reflective of Iowans. I don’t believe that is reflective of Iowa values. I believe that diversity has made this state and this country stronger, and so I completely disagree with what he said."

But Reynolds added that she has a host of campaign co-chairs, including U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both Iowa Republicans.

"I am not going to agree with everything that they have to say. And I can certainly make it known when I don’t agree with a comment that they made. But I also want to be able to work with them on really important issues for Iowans. A lot of things happen in this state and this country," Reynold said.

The governor said her focus is on creating jobs and improving education and creating economic opportunities for Iowans.

She added, "I am not going to get sidetracked by a comment that is made that I disagree with. I have made that clear."

When asked specifically if King, who represents Iowa's 4th District and lives in Kiron in northwest Iowa, would remain as her 2018 campaign's co-chair, Reynolds replied, "Yes."

After a reporter stated that King's remarks have been branded as racist, and that her disagreement with him is not over tax policy or schools, Reynolds reiterated that her focus is on having a competitive business climate and providing economic opportunities for Iowans.

"I am not going to get involved in the Twitter war. I am not going to participate in that," Reynolds said.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price issued a statement last week calling upon Reynolds to remove King as her campaign co-chair. saying his brand of "racist, divisive politics" is unacceptable. On Tuesday, Price accused Reynolds of putting partisanship ahead of Iowa values. "By keeping Steve King on her campaign team, Kim Reynolds is sending the message to all Iowans that she thinks his un-patriotic ideology is okay as long as it helps her politically.”

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is black, was also critical of King's comments over the weekend.

"Very little that I can do about people who speak ignorantly, and you just have to call it for what it is, number one," Scott said NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday. "Number two, the bottom line is both when Steve King and Tim Scott arrived in this country, we were actually creating diversity because the Native Americans were already here. So that is just a ridiculous statement."

In the past, King declared his support for a far-right Dutch politician who opposes immigration and said, "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." Later, in a radio interview, King responded to a question about changing demographics that could mean whites will no longer make up a U.S. majority by predicting, "Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens."

Those comments from King prompted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to call for Republican leaders to condemn what she called "vile racism," and House Speaker Paul Ryan told Fox News he disagreed with King's comments about "somebody else's babies." The White House also distanced itself from King's comments.