Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, said he thinks businessman Donald Trump would win the Iowa caucus if it were held today.
“Right now, he is legitimate, and he is a player, and I would say this, that if the caucus took place in Iowa today, I believe Donald Trump would come out on top,” Mr. King said Thursday on CNN’s “New Day.”
Mr. Trump has surged to first nationally among the 2016 GOP presidential field in a Suffolk University-USA Today poll out this week, and has attracted significant attention for comments about Mexico and immigration he made in his announcement speech last month.
“I think that sometimes, you’ve just got to grab the American people and shake them a little bit and say, ’You’re not paying attention,’ ” said Mr. King, an outspoken foe of illegal immigration.
The latest RealClearPolitics average of polling on Iowa has Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in first, with Mr. Trump in a tie for seventh with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
A number of 2016 contenders, including Mr. Trump, Mr. Walker and Mr. Cruz, spoke at Mr. King’s “Iowa Freedom Summit” in January, which gave Republicans an early chance to test their respective messages out on the early state’s potential voters.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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