Steve King (born May 28, 1949), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing the 5th District of Iowa (map). He was born in Storm Lake, Iowa, briefly attended Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri, and was a construction worker and member of the Iowa Senate before entering the U.S. House. After redistricting took 5th District incumbent and fellow Republican Tom Latham out of the district, King ran in a four-way Republican primary for the seat. Since the 5th is the most Republican district in Iowa and one of the most Republican in the nation, it was generally thought that the district's next representative would be chosen in the primary. He won 30 percent of the vote, five points short of winning the primary outright. Under Iowa law, a nominating convention was required, and King won on the fourth ballot. He went on to win handily in the fall and won re-election just as easily in 2004. The Des Moines Register endorsed Steve King for re-election in 2004, a decision the paper would later regret, as they would later characterize King as an extremist and an embarrassment.
King is reputed to have one of the most conservative voting records in the country. For the 109th Congress, King will chair the Conservative Opportunity Society, an organization founded by Newt Gingrich and others that laid the groundwork for the Republicans' 1994 takeover of the House.
