King’s media coverage over the past year could be a boon for [Steve King challenger Mike] Denklau, with his frequent shoot-from-the-hip, right-wing, some say extremist, positions which have managed to offend even members of his own party. He has, among other things: declared same-sex marriage a “purely socialist concept” that undermines American values; compared immigrants illegally crossing the border to cattle, and advocated the use of an electrified fence; likened illegal immigration to a “slow motion Holocaust” and labeled the National Council of La Raza a racist organization. He’s also dismissed criticism of racial profiling, suggested that health care reform mandates government-encouraged suicide, and organized Tea Party rallies.

Denklau decries King statements and positions that, he said, deny gays and immigrants “the respect and dignity they deserve.”

Denklau, a former New York investment analyst with Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital, said he embodies “a fair bit of idealism that has been inspired by the Obama victory. Having worked on the Bradley and Kerry presidential campaigns I was a little disheartened with politics and so Obama’s victory was something that propelled me over the top to decide to do this.”

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