On Tuesday, a handful of recent incidents compelled The Cook Political Report to adjust its rating of Iowa's Fourth Congressional District Race. The race between Rep. Steve King and Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten changed only slightly from a "Likely" to "Lean Republican" rating, but showed some wavering support for King. support.

This counts as big news in a blood-red district that King has carried safely in every recent election.

In the write up of the decision, the Cook report cites a combination of campaigning by Scholten and American Values PAC, an anti-King group; spending on ads by Scholten; and growing consensus that a member of the U.S. Congress should not give platform to or promulgate white supremacy. 

The outcry over King's comments were not limited to Democrats.

With just a week until Election Day, Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio, the chairman of the Republican Congressional Committee, condemned King's online vitriol.  

"Congressman Steve King's recent comments, actions, and retweets are completely inappropriate," Stivers tweeted. "We must stand up against white supremacy and hate in all forms, and I strongly condemn this behavior."

Dr. Timothy Hagle, a University of Iowa political science professor, wrote in an email exchange that these inter-party denouncements are routine.

"It’s fairly common for candidates to be asked if they agree with or denounce what some other person in their party said," Hagle said. "That can put a candidate in a tough situation in terms of walking a fine line between disavowing a fellow party member and not creating dissension that can hurt the party. We frequently see this with statements and tweets by President Trump."

He said comments like Kings can have lasting impacts on the campaign. Just ask Hillary Clinton about the "deplorables" comment or then-Senator from Virginia George Allen's "macaca" comment.

"King is known for making provocative comments," Hagle said. "You can sometimes give him the benefit of the doubt, but you can also argue that at the very least he could be more careful in some of his comments, or tweets as in this case."

Iowa's 4th District went 60 percent for President Donald Trump in 2016. Given Trump's own Twitter presence, it seems unlikely that verbal bigotry will move the needle.

While Hagle agreed that King's district is likely safe for Republicans, he said a legitimate threat to King himself might come out of his own party. In both 2016 and this year, King faced Republican challengers who received 33 and 25 percent of the vote respectively. While that doesn't mean anything for this year, Hagle said it could inform future races in the district.

"Even so, the cumulative effect of King’s comments, a relatively strong opponent, and the general political environment might be catching up with him," Hagle said.

For Cary Covington, also a University of Iowa political science professor, King's Tweet didn't mean much. With King's record of offensive statements about immigrants, this is just another log on the fire.

"What does get my attention (about the Cook Report) is the funding differential and the significant involvement of a PAC that goes on the attack for Scholten," Covington said. "That says somebody who knows more than I do about what’s going on in the 4th district thinks King is vulnerable and is putting their money where their mouth is."

Covington said that incumbents in districts like Iowa's 4th tend to lose only if there is a scandal or other extraordinary circumstances.

"The tweets and meetings could be the scandalous straw that breaks the camel's back," Covington wrote. "If so, and he has, in fact, poisoned his connection to a significant portion of his supporters and the PAC motivates them to act, then Schoelten has a chance."

Zachary Oren Smith covers city government, growth and development for the Press-Citizen. Reach him at, 319-339-7354 or follow him on Twitter @zacharyos.

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