Posted on 05/03/2013 8:29:36 PM PDT by EternalVigilance
My congressman, Steve King, announced to supporters tonight via email that he will not be seeking the Iowa U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tom Harkin in 2014.
Good. Bad. Indifferent.
What?
Well, as congressmen go, Steve is one of the most conservative in the House. The nomination was his for the taking. Everybody was waiting on his decision. Now it’s going to be a free for all.
Running for president?
This is kind of disappointing.
That means the other guy can take it. Let’s hope we don’t screw this one up but u never know.
That means the other guy can take it. Let’s hope we don’t screw this one up but u never know.
Darn. He’s a great Congressman. Hope he’s planning to at least stay in Congress.
Appears so. I saw him on Saturday and every indication is that he will be continuing his work in the House.
Steve tweeted this earlier:
“I will not run for Senate in 2014. A Senate race takes me out of urgent battles in Congress that can’t wait until 2015. Many thanks to all.”
I believe you've hit the nail on the proverbial head. :)
I would put the chances of that at slim to none. Educated guess.
Congressman King’s full announcement is below:
Dear Friends,
I want to thank all of my friends, family, advisors and supporters who have put so much time, thought, prayer, and effort into helping me make a decision on whether to run for the United States Senate. I sincerely thank every potential candidate, all of whom graciously gave me room to decide. Probably no one in America, considering such an opportunity, enjoys as clear a path to the nomination. It is an extraordinary opportunity that will not be repeated in millions of lifetimes.
I have said from the beginning this decision requires “the head, the gut, and the heart” to line up together. I have done due diligence and evaluated the race from a statewide, objective perspective. I have talked with hundreds of supporters…and some detractors. I sincerely thank all of you who have helped in so many ways.
My analytical part, the head, tells me the race is winnable and must be won in 2014 or a generational opportunity could be lost. I have said a race for the Senate is “a slight up hill battle”. It is, but it’s “no hill for a climber”.
The question I am answering today is, “What is my duty?” I believe my duty is to utilize the honor of serving Iowans in Congress by maximizing my effectiveness. I owe it to all Iowans and Americans to give you my best effort and best judgment.
We have in front of us in Congress a series of potent issues which will redirect the destiny of our state and nation. Among them are a farm bill, ObamaCare, debt and deficit, immigration, and tax reform. If I step away from these responsibilities while campaigning in an effort to multiply leverage in the Senate, what becomes of our nation in the mean time?
This week, I made a simple device to put toothpaste back in the tube. But a device to put the Leftist genie back in the bottle is not so simple. The best tool we have now is the majority in the U.S. House which functions mostly to keep the Leftist genie in the bottle. I cannot, in good conscience, turn my back on the destiny decisions of Congress today in order to direct all my efforts to a Senate race for next year, while hoping to gain the leverage to put the genie back in the bottle in 2015.
The most timely and conclusive piece of advice I received crystallized my decision. A friend, whose 77th birthday is today, said to me, “I will support you whatever you decide to do. If you decide to run, don’t be a reluctant candidate.” If I said, “Yes” to a Senate race, I would be a reluctant candidate because of the reasons I’ve written above.
Accordingly, I will not be a candidate for the United States Senate in 2014. It is my intention to turn my efforts and energy with great vigor to the issues at hand. I anticipate being on the ballot for reelection to the U.S. House, Fourth District of Iowa. It is a challenging and rewarding job that I enjoy. My sincerest thanks to all involved.
Respectfully,
Steve King Member of Congress, Iowa
Dagnabit! He’d have made a GREAT senator!!
He must have gotten a call from Karl Rove.
unfortunately, it sounds like a win for Rove and his “conservative victory project”. I’m sure they did a lot behind the scenes. Hope we don’t end up seeing more establishment guys in 2014 in prepartion for Jeb in 2016.
Steve King has always been "in the trenches" with true conservatives every step of the way. He appeared at several Tea Party rallies in DC in recent years, and was especially passionate during the huge anti-ObamaCare rally in 2010. He didn't just speak up on a podium, he mingled with all of us - for several hours - and wanted to hear first-hand what the people had to say.
Rep. Steve King is a good, decent, energetic man who loves his country, however, I highly doubt he'll run for president... I expect him to continue his work in the House.
This is probably fine... The Senate almost invariably turns erstwhile Conservatives into liberal pod people. Since they don’t have to run until every six years, they tend to get fat and more susceptible to corruption than those on a shorter leash (those that have to run every two years). I hope Ted Cruz proves to be an exception, but he will certainly have to withstand a bunch of crap from the Media and pod people Republicans (e.g., McCain, Lindsey, etc).
He won’t have to withstand Linseed Graham much longer, God willing.
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