DES MOINES, Iowa — After a neck-and-neck primary night, State Sen. Randy Feenstra walked away with a victory over incumbent Steve King, lining him up to be the Republican candidate for Iowa's Fourth Congressional District, according to AP projections.
In all, five candidates were in the race.
With 95% of precincts reporting at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday, Feenstra (46%) led King (36%) by more than 7,000 votes.
Feenstra will face J.D. Scholten, who ran for the seat in Congress in 2018 but lost to King, in November's general election.
King, who has aired no television ads, has been outspent by Feenstra and conservative groups backing him. Feenstra has been endorsed by abortion rights opposition group National Right to Life, once a longtime King supporter, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobbying group.
House Republicans pulled their support for King in 2018 after reports of overtures to right-wing extremists in Europe. They would not be expected to come to King's aid this year should he win Tuesday.
More notable to some former King supporters, he was stripped of his membership on the House judiciary and agriculture committees last year after being quoted in The New York Times seeming to defend white nationalism.
In a video posted late Tuesday, King thanked his supporters while decrying Super PACs he believed were responsible for tilting the race.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.