The upcoming midterm elections are poised to be the most important in many of our lifetimes, as many far-right candidates have become emboldened into running after the election of President Donald Trump. One such candidate is Republican Steve West, who is running for a District 15 seat in the Missouri House of Representatives and has a long history of making anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic remarks. So much so that King’s own adult children are begging District 15 constituents not to vote for their dad.
“I can’t imagine him being in any level of government,” his estranged daughter Emily West told the Kansas City Star earlier this week. “A lot of his views are just very out there. He’s made multiple comments that are racist and homophobic and how he doesn’t like the Jews.”
Among King’s so-called “greatest hits,” which he regularly spouts on his radio show and YouTube channel, was declaring “Hitler was right” back in January of 2017. “Looking back in history, unfortunately, Hitler was right about what was taking place in Germany,” he said at the time.
“My dad’s a fanatic. He must be stopped,” said the candidate’s son Andy West, adding that his father’s ideology is “pure hatred” and “totally insane.” “If he gets elected, it would legitimize him,” West continued. “Then he would become a state official, and he’s saying that Jews shouldn’t even have civil rights.”
West is running against Democratic incumbent Rep. Jon Carpenter, who for his part finds his opponent’s candidacy deeply disturbing. “It’s my hope that the voters of the 15th District overwhelmingly reject that kind of bigotry on Election Day,” he told NBC News.
NBC News also reached out to King himself for comment, and he blamed the whole matter on a toxic divorce, claiming that his ex-wife “poisoned” his children to turn against him. “I’m not anti-Semitic. I have no racism at all, and I’m not a homophobic,” he added, although you certainly don’t have to dig deep to find his own remarks to the contrary.
(Via Kansas-City Star, NBC News)