Land O’Lakes will no longer support Steve King, citing ‘company’s values’

Dairy company Land O’Lakes will no longer make financial contributions to Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), the company said Tuesday.

“The Land O’Lakes, Inc. PAC has traditionally contributed to lawmakers of both parties that represent the communities where our members and employees live and work and are also on committees that oversee policies that directly impact our farmer owners,” Land O’Lakes said in a statement.

{mosads}”We take our civic responsibility seriously, want our contributions to be a positive force for good and also seek to ensure that recipients of our contributions uphold our company’s values. On that basis, we have determined that our PAC will no longer support Rep. Steve King moving forward,” the company added.

King’s campaign office did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill.

Land O’Lakes had previously come under fire for contributing to King’s campaign in his race with Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

The company’s move to stop supporting King comes after technology giant Intel Corp. made the same decision last week.

King has faced criticism for anti-immigration views and his comments against diversity.

Most recently, King defended his ties to the Austria Freedom Party, a group founded by a former Nazi SS officer and whose current leader was active in neo-Nazi circles.

King told The Washington Post in an interview Saturday that the party “would be Republicans” if they were in the United States.

King has also previously said that “diversity is not our strength,” voiced support for a white nationalist candidate in Canada and said that “we can’t restore out civilization with someone else’s babies.”

A poll released Tuesday showed King, an eight-term congressman, with just a 1-point lead in the race over Scholten. 

The Cook Political Report also moved the race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican,” indicating the nonpartisan handicapper believes the race is tightening.