Land O'Lakes will halt support for controversial Iowa Rep. Steve King

Land O'Lakes said Tuesday it will stop donating money to Iowa Rep. Steve King's congressional campaign after the Arden Hills-based farm cooperative faced pressure on social media over its support of a politician criticized for his support of those with racist and nationalist views.

In a statement, Land O'Lakes said its political action committee has traditionally contributed to lawmakers of both parties that represent the agricultural communities and serve on committees that oversee agricultural policy, but the company said it can't support King anymore.

"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," the Land O'Lakes statement said. "On that basis, we have determined that our PAC will no longer support Rep. Steve King."

The move came after Judd Legum, the author of a newsletter called Popular Information, tweeted that Land O'Lakes donated $2,500 to King's campaign despite King's "history of racist comments and, recently, endorsing a white supremacist for mayor."

King is a longtime immigration hawk who has endorsed long shot Toronto mayoral candidate Faith Goldy, who has said, among other things, that the Nazis in Charlottesville had "well thought out ideas."

Adam Belz • 612-673-4405 Twitter: @adambelz