‘Dangerous’ to nominate a new GOP candidate, King says

DES MOINES - It would be 'dangerous” for the Republican Party to nominate a presidential candidate who has not been on the campaign trail before, said U.S. Rep. Steve King, who represents western Iowa in Congress.

King discussed the presidential race and other topics Friday during taping for Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press.” The episode will air Friday night and Sunday afternoon. It also will be available at iptv.org.

Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich are the only candidates left standing out of the 17 who entered the race last year. Trump has the lead but may not secure enough support to earn the party's nomination ahead of the national convention in July.

If the nominating process goes beyond the first step at the national convention, the process opens up and any candidate could be nominated, even those who have not declared.

King, who has supported Cruz in this protracted Republican primary season, said he thinks that would be a mistake. Some have expressed concerns that the party could disenfranchise voters if it nominates a candidate voters did not choose.

'There's no question that this process as we're seeing it play out and trying to look into the crystal ball, it is fraught with danger,” King said. 'There is no doubt about that.”

When asked where the danger exists, King said, 'To the party, to the country, to the voice of the people. We want to have a convention that's clean. We want one that reflects the will of the people.”

King said if an alternative candidate is nominated, it would 'initiate considerable difficulty.”

King said he remains confident it will not come to that. He thinks that even if the nomination goes to a contested convention, party delegates that support Trump and Cruz will prevent the party from nominating another candidate.

'As it looks now, neither Trump nor Cruz delegates are going to tolerate anyone coming in from the outside that hasn't been a candidate,” King said.

King noted Republicans started with 17 candidates and said, 'If we can't find a president out of those 17 and we have to go outside that, then I think it could fracture the party. But I don't think that will happen.”

King also responded to criticism of his endorsement of Cruz, who has written legislation to phase out a federal requirement that a certain amount of corn-based ethanol be injected into the nation's fuel supply. The ethanol industry is strong in Iowa, and King has been a stout supporter of the federal mandate, causing some to question his allegiance to Cruz, who was one of the few Republican candidates who did not express support for the mandate.

'There are people in this state that believe there's only one yardstick to measure a presidential candidate by, and that's a full 36 inches of support for the RFS (renewable fuel standard) and nothing else,” King said. 'If you can clear that hurdle, then they'll listen to the other things you have to say.

'I say we have far higher ideals than that. The Constitution would be one component itself. I take an oath to support and defend the Constitution.”