An Iowa Endorsement for Romney, 5 Months After Caucus
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Office of Rep. Steve King(WASHINGTON) — Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King told reporters Mitt Romney will campaign in his state Tuesday, giving a “major policy speech on out-of-control spending and debt” at Drake University in Des Moines. He also announced his endorsement of Romney — a nod he had been expected to do before the Iowa caucuses in January.
“I’ve said all along I’ll be an enthusiastic supporter of our eventual nominee,” King said on a Republican National Committee conference call. “It’s clear Mitt Romney is our nominee and it will happen in Tampa. I’m predicting that that is the result and I’m an enthusiastic supporter of Mitt Romney.”
King said he will be excited to see Romney Tuesday in his state and “will continue” to work on his behalf to help him win Iowa and the election in November. King revealed just one day before the Jan. 3 caucuses he would not make an endorsement.
Despite his late endorsement, King said he is going to be “very engaged” in the debate over the debt and deficit.
The conference call starts a week-long roll out from the RNC highlighting the president’s “failure on the debt and deficit,” said the RNC’s Ryan Mahoney on the call.
Earlier Monday, the committee released a web video which includes clips of President Obama pledging to cut the nation’s deficit in half and pay it down — this while a graphic shows the deficit increasing. It ends with the words “empty promises” across the screen.
King compared America’s economic state to the economic crisis in Greece, saying the nation will be “approaching the situation Greece is in if we have a second Obama term.”
He called Romney a “consummate manager” and said, “No one questions his economic understanding and ability.”
On the call, King cited Supreme Court appointments as “a great motivator” for Iowans to support Romney in November, despite the bruising primary process that played out most visibly in his home state.
“It was a long, long hard-fought presidential nominating process, especially in Iowa,” King said. “And it takes a while to heal up those wounds.”
Rick Santorum won the Iowa caucuses, although Romney was initially called the winner due to a counting error.
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