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Feenstra, King make their case

Trump carries Webster County caucus with 324 votes

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
State Sen. Randy Feenstra, of Hull, speaks to about 350 to 400 people Monday night during the Webster County Republican Caucus. He is challenging U.S. Rep. Steve King, of Kiron, for the Republican nomination in the Fourth Congressional District.

Webster County Republicans who gathered Monday night to show their support for President Donald Trump heard from two candidates who want to represent the area in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Standing before a screen that had the names of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence projected on it in big letters, state Sen. Randy Feenstra, of Hull, and U.S. Rep. Steve King, of Kiron, made their pitch to be the Republican nominee in the Fourth Congressional District.

About 350 to 400 people were in Decker Auditorium at Iowa Central Community College to hear them during the 2020 Republican caucus. Jim Oberhelman, the chairman of the Webster County Republican Party, called it a record turnout.

Feenstra touted his work on conservative goals in the legislature.

“We’ve done the most conservative agenda ever to go through the Iowa Legislature,” he said.

Messenger photo by Bill Shea
U.S. Rep. Steve King, of Kiron, speaks during the Webster County Republican Caucus Monday night at Decker Auditorium at Iowa Central Community College.

He said during his tenure, the largest income tax cut in state history was approved, state funding for Planned Parenthood was banned, voter identification requirements were approved and regulations on business were reduced. He also mentioned a bill banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, but that measure was struck down by the courts.

Feenstra appeared to take a jab at King when talking about what an agricultural powerhouse the Fourth Congressional District of Iowa is.

“We must — must — have a voice on the ag committee,” he said. “Right now we don’t have it.”

King was stripped of his committee assignments following a January 2019 interview with The New York Times in which he was quoted as saying “white nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization, how did that language become offensive?”

King claimed that Feenstra overlooked the fact that he wrote the fetal heartbeat bill.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Tina Kastendieck, a former chairwoman of the Webster County Republican Party, explains the voting process during the Webster County Republican Caucus Monday night in Decker Auditorium at Iowa Central Community College.

He said that he was fighting for a wall on the border with Mexico before Trump made it a central issue in his campaign.

“My record is long and it is solid,” he said. “You don’t have to wonder if I’ll lead on the issues. You don’t have to wonder if I’ll go squishy on you because the record says I stand up for the things we believe in.”

King also touted his efforts to repeal the health care law sometimes called Obamacare. He said he was writing legislation to repeal it at the moment former President Barack Obama was signing the bill into law.

Following multiple speeches, caucus goers cast their votes for president. Although Trump has two declared opponents for the Republican nomination, the results of the balloting were essentially a foregone conclusion.

Oberhelman said 327 votes were cast. He said Trump received 324 and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld received three. The third candidate, Joe Walsh, did not receive any votes.

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