SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Republican Iowa Senator Rick Bertrand announced Friday that he will challenge Congressman Steve King in for his perch in Washington.
“I am officially running for the U.S. House of Representatives District 4,” Rick Bertrand of Sioux City announced Friday. “I am a viable and credible candidate, and will pose the greatest challenge Mr. King has faced in 14 years.”
After announcing his candidacy, Mr. Bertrand said “My vision expands and solidifies our agricultural standing in the world.”
Bertrand said “this election represents a positive reset opportunity for NW Iowa ides in Washington D.C. I am not asking you to vote against a man… I am asking you to vote FOR a plan.”
Steve King has become a lightning rod with his divisive and poignant remarks on immigration. He said, for example, that people crossing the southern U.S. border have calves the size of cantaloupes from lugging drugs through the desert. His rhetoric has galvanized his supporters and detractors.
Bertrand had never held a public office until 2010, when he was elected to the Iowa Senate as the first Republican from his Sioux City district in over 30 years.
Democrat Kim Weaver already announced she is running for Congress in Iowa’s 4th District, in a challenge to King.