UPDATE: Steve King Explains Comment Comparing Immigrants to Dogs Before HQ Opening in Ames Today

Congressman Steve King's communication director said King was just trying to explain that immigrants came to the United States and made it great when he made a reference to puppies in a stump speech in Humboldt Monday.

King, R-Kiron, plans to open his campaign  in Ames 5 p.m. Wednesday at 711 E. Lincoln Way. He will face Ames Democrat Christie Vilsack for the new 4th Congressional District of Iowa.

The opening is the last stop on King's Restoring American Dream tour that began Monday in Sac City. King made national headlines for comments at one stop where he seemed to compare immigrants to dogs. He made an analogy between picking dogs from of a litter of puppies and the immigrants who came to America, as first reported on Salon.  

Jimmy Centers, King's communication director, said the comment was made in Humboldt.

“You want a good bird dog? You want one that’s going to be aggressive? Pick the one that’s the friskiest the one that's engaged the most and not the one that’s over there sleeping in the corner," King was recorded saying.

King went on to say:

“We got the pick of every donor civilization on the planet because it's hard to get here and they have to be inspired to come,” King said.

But Centers said the brief clip distorts the truth.

"He was simply stating that immigrants came here and worked hard and were looking for the American dream and realized it," Centers said.

Centers said King meant that America received the best of immigrants from around the globe who then worked for an American Dream that is eroding due to failed policies such as "Obamacare" and the stimulus package that was supposed to keep unemployment below 8 percent, Centers said. 

Jessica Vanden Berg, Vilsack's campaign manager released a statement on the comment stating:

“If we’re going to have a real discussion on immigration, we should start by acknowledging that immigrants are human beings. Iowans are taught in their community, in their church, and at the dinner table to respect each other, (not to compare) people to dogs. People expect a serious discussion between candidates and that’s what we’re committed to.” 

And Iowa Democratic Party Hispanic Caucus Chair Chair Paula A. Martinez called on Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus to publicly denounce the recent comments made by Congressman Steve King in a statement below:

 “The degrading metaphor used by Congressman King on Monday sent shockwaves through the Hispanic community. While this type of divisive language has unfortunately become commonplace for King , it is disheartening to see that Republican Party leadership is unwilling to stand up and publicly oppose this brand of discriminatory rhetoric. Today, we are calling on RNC Chair Reince Priebus to disavow King’s message and urge Congressman King to retract his comments from Monday.”

King said at an appearance at a in that Ames was his ground zero in the battle against Vilsack for Iowa's new 4th District.

He jokingly said after the visit that he expects protesters in college towns, and CREDO Super PAC, which opened a on Duff Avenue, said they plan to protest King's grand opening.

CREDO said they plan to protest King for his “bigoted and anti-woman views.” King is one of 10 congressmen that the Super PAC hopes to remove from office come November.

King has repeatedly said that his race against Vilsack would go down as the most in Iowa history. He plans to report having $1 million in cash on hand for the May 24 primary filing deadline, a release from his campaign stated.

Check Ames Patch later for more news on King's headquarters opening and an expected protest.

Read more coverage of the King-Vilsack campaign: