DES MOINES, Iowa – U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced his decision to run for re-election early Friday morning in a tweet from his campaign’s Twitter account.
“It’s 4 a.m. in Iowa so I’m running. I do that 6 days a week. Before I start the day I want you to know what Barbara and I have decided. I’m running for re-election—a lot more to do, for Iowa. We ask and will work for your support. Will you join us?” the campaign tweet said.
It’s 4 a.m. in Iowa so I’m running. I do that 6 days a week. Before I start the day I want you to know what Barbara and I have decided.
I’m running for re-election—a lot more to do, for Iowa. We ask and will work for your support. Will you join us? #GrassleyRuns #GrassleyWorks pic.twitter.com/cwv8yu9wkx
— Grassley Works (@GrassleyWorks) September 24, 2021
The 88-year-old senior senator from Iowa was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, defeating the incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Culver. He is serving his 7th term. Before the U.S. Senate, Grassley served in the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms from 1975 to 1981. He also served in the Iowa House of Representatives for 16 years, from 1959 to 1975.
While serving in the U.S. Senate, Grassley had chaired the Senate Aging, Finance, and Judiciary Committees when Republicans held the majority. He also was the Senate President Pro-Tempore from 2019 to 2021, putting him fourth in the presidential succession line.
He currently serves as the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and serves as a member of the Senate Finance, Budget, and Agriculture committees. He is also a member of the Joint Committee on Taxation.
He is the co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Grassley co-founded and co-chairs the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth. He founded and co-chairs the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus. He founded the Senate Cystic Fibrosis Caucus and is a member of the Rural Broadband Caucus.
Grassley also was the first to commit to traveling to each of Iowa’s 99 counties every year and has done so every year he has been in office. As a result, it has become the gold standard for connecting with constituents for statewide elected officials and voters for other statewide candidates and presidential candidates. Completing a 99-county tour is known as doing the “full Grassley.”
Since his election in 1980, Grassley has won re-election by a margin of no less than 24 percent of the vote.
He will have a contested primary, State Senator Jim Carlin, R-Sioux City, announced in February that he would run regardless of whether or not Grassley decided to run for re-election.
Carlin responded on Facebook to Grassley’s announcement.
“Chuck Grassley officially announced his bid to run for United State (sic) Senate for an 8th time. This race shapes up as a contrast between Jim Carlin, a Pro-Trump Conservative, and Chuck Grassley, a Mitch McConnell Moderate. The status quo of the political establishment has failed to protect the American people from the trampling of their freedoms. The time has come for real change that will protect Iowans and defend the future of America,” he said.
Former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Iowa, currently the only Democrat running in the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Iowa, responded to his announcement in a tweet.
The 32-year-old former congresswoman in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District said that Grassley running for re-election is “exactly what’s wrong with Washington.”
“You have politicians who keep running who don’t even know why, because they’re terrified of losing power. He’s not running for Iowa & our future, he’s running because he doesn’t know what else to do,” she tweeted.
.@ChuckGrassley running for re-election is exactly what’s wrong with Washington. You have politicians who keep running who don’t even know why, because they’re terrified of losing power. He’s not running for Iowa & our future, he’s running because he doesn’t know what else to do.
— Abby Finkenauer (@Abby4Iowa) September 24, 2021
Finkenauer announced her candidacy in July. She lost her seat in Congress in 2020 after serving just one term when she was defeated by her Republican challenger, Ashley Hinson.
She is running in a three-person Democratic primary.
Former Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer, a farmer from in Manning, announced his candidacy in May. Glenn Hurst, a family practice physician from Minden also announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. He is the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party Rural Caucus and a Minden City Council member.
