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Randy Feenstra, one of the three fellow Republicans trying to oust U.S. Rep. Steve King, brought in four times more campaign cash than the congressman over the first three months of the 2019-20 election cycle.
King's campaign organization reported he raised a little more than 61 thousand dollars for the first quarter, which trailed the $260 thousand raised by Feenstra, a state senator from Hull, Iowa. Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who is now the U.S. Ambassador to China, donated to Feenstra’s campaign.
Candidate and Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor raised a bit more than 57 thousand dollars or just a few thousand below King.
The fourth Republican in the field is Bret Richards, a former mayor of Irwin, Iowa. There is no declared Democratic candidate.
Federal candidates had to file campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission by Monday, covering fundraising from Jan. 1 through March 31.
The Iowa Senate has sent a bill legalizing the growing of industrial hemp to the House for consideration.
The Iowa Hemp Act passed the Senate Monday 49-1.
Sen. Kevin Kinney, a farmer from Oxford, says he hopes to make hemp a third leading commodity in Iowa in addition to corn and soybeans.
The bill allows licensed growers to cultivate the crop on up to 40 acres.
Industrial hemp can be used in food, fiber, paper, and other products and Kinney says it's been estimated it could grow to be a $1.9 billion market by 2022.
