Three Democrats running for the U.S. Senate took aim at Republican Chuck Grassley during a forum Saturday in Des Moines, challenging the audience to weigh . It doesn't exist. Franken will nonetheless face stiff headwinds going into the general election against Grassley, who has served seven terms. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Bob Krause, a former state representative and veterans activist, announced in October he will run for the U.S. Senate. Another story Hovelson tells is that Chuck once told him, Youre going to laugh at me, but Id really like to be president of the United States. Hovelson did laugh at the time. He was the middle child of five. The Debt Ceiling in 2023: An In-Depth Analysis of Government Debt Her campaign also reported a deep war chest coming into 2022, with$4.8 million cash on hand at the beginning of the year. Franken's secured the nomination Tuesday, Abby Finkenauer entered the race as the perceived frontrunner, racking up significant endorsements and fundraising. Retired Navy Adm. Mike Franken campaigned on his 40 years of experience in the military and in Washington D.C. City of Pella asks $5 million from Pella School, New York company will administer Iowa school sc, College basketball: Statesmen claim fourth-stra, approved in October by the Iowa Legislature. Gary Leffler, a Republican activist from West Des Moines, has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, but he has not yet filed financial reports. $4.8 million cash on hand at the beginning of the year. Franken beat former congresswoman Abby Finkenauer and physician Glenn Hurst and earned the right to run against Grassley, who is seeking an eighth Senate term and beat back a nominal primary challenge of his own on Tuesday. Trump has changed the Republican Party in one important way, very significant: Hes brought energy to the partyand we want somebody with energy out there, we want somebody thats going to go out there, and thats just not Grassley, Richard Viguerie, a longtime conservative activist whose direct-mailing agency has been credited with conservatives big wins in the 1980s, tells me. He opposed a national health care system and food stamps for strikers, and criticized the Democrats for believing that somehow government [could] replace Christ., Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) (L) talks with ranking member Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) before the committee is set to vote on health care reform legislation on Capitol Hill October 13, 2009 in Washington, DC. he was talking to Iowans at the rally about the Biden administrations failures. Former Iowa Rep. Mary Ann Hanusaannounced in April that she would seek Axnes seat, but her home in Pottawattamie County was drawn into the new 4th District. Krause, who is president of the Veterans National Recovery Center, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and 2016. Farmers were saying to me later, Did you see Culver sweat? J. D. Scholten, who nearly defeated former Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) in 2018, is also contemplating a Senate run. The tenuous legal battle ahead poses a blow to national Democrats who have championed Mrs. Finkenauer as their preferred candidate to run against Mr. Grassley, who is seeking an eighth consecutive . Grassley went to school at the Iowa State Teachers College, now known as the University of Northern Iowa. Whos running for governor and for Congress? After all, it was the wave of conservative sentiment in the 1980s that brought Grassley to power. But a Grassley spokesperson noted, Like most small- and medium-size family farmers who must contend with mother nature and fluctuating input and commodity prices, the Grassley farm has from time to time utilized government-supported programs when necessary.. It was about theater, not policy, and Ailes saw that. He has worked on the staff of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, and at the U.S. Department of Defense, and he has served as the chief of legislative affairs for the Navy. Watch the video & then chip in to help build our campaign: https://t.co/DPPR2wVD19 pic.twitter.com/YWvsgwcwvo, Download the We Are Iowa app Sign up for Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter Subscribe to Local 5 News on YouTube, In a campaign video released Monday, Dave Muhlbauer says many Iowa voters just feel like Democrats are leaving rural areas high and dry., No. Born on a military base in Germany, his family later moved to the Midwest and Hurst would attend medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He has. In that vein, Grassley seems to unintentionally charm even his political opponents despite being the Senates chief curmudgeon. After Culver wiped the floor with Grassley in the first debate, Ailes allegedly took. For a moment, there were stories about how close the Iowa U.S. Senate race had reportedly become, with Democrat Michael Franken within three points of incumbent Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. Nicole Hasso, a Johnston Republican, is a political newcomer. Rep. Cindy Axne, 56, announced in November thatshe will seek reelection in the 3rd District. Hanusa, 58,suspended her congressional campaignand will instead run against Democrat Rob Sand for State Auditor. Grassley, who had previously condemned the actions of the January 6 insurrection, stumbled through an answer. Here's a look at how federal races are shaping up. She announced her campaign in August. More: Mike Franken wins Democratic US Senate primary; to take on Chuck Grassley in November. You heard me yelling at those kids.. I feel that Grassley has not been especially effective in the last decade-plus and has turned more obstructionist at this point.. Still, Trumps popularity in Iowa complicated Grassleys vaunted independent streak. But Ill vote and hope for the best. Iowans can register with a party or change their party affiliation through the Secretary of States website. Chuck Grassley. Senators in both parties say Grassley is sharp as a ginsu knife and his health appears impeccable. He has. Both Hinson and Mathis, 63, are former television journalists who were coworkers at a Cedar Rapids TV station. Behind Grassley was a painting of a soldier with a sunset behind him. Grassleys hearings seemed to connect with the cash-poor Republican farmers and the Democrats who were sick of war. A state that Democrat Barack Obama won in two presidential elections has steadily shifted to the right in recent years, part of a broader transformation that has spread through the Northern Plains that has made it increasingly difficult for Democrats to compete statewide. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. The Jan. 6 insurrection was also a key motivator for Franken, and hes called out Grassley often for not denouncing the Big Lie about the 2020 election. Both Gov. I have voted for paid family leave. But the insurrection was just water under the bridge for Grassley as he smiled and turned to the microphone. Contenders in Iowa Attempt to Unseat Sen. Grassley - Newsmax State Sen. Zach Nunn, 42, entered the race in July. In her campaign for the US Senate, Finkenauer has pitched herself as a generational contrast to an 88-year-old Grassley who first won elected office in 1958. No Democrats have challenged first-term Rep. Randy Feenstra, 52. Grassley, a man who has held elected office longer than most of his constituents have been alive, has a point to makehuffing and puffing on that stage, Grassley is proving that he wont let go of power. Democrat Mike Franken will challenge U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in November. Im a tough target for the GOP, he said. Carlin, 59, has aligned himself closely with former President Donald Trump, frequently invoking misinformation about the 2020 election. James Tackett Klein, a Republican from Winnebago County, who served two terms in the Iowa House, from 1969 to 1971, told me that Grassley didnt go out after the sessionshe worked. The general election will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. Hurst is the more progressive candidate of the three, and he said Saturday he unequivocally supports policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. After his first term in Congress, Grassley supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit abortion, which was a change from his softer position in 1974, when hed supported letting states decide. Incumbent Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was first elected in 1980 and was most recently re-elected in 2016. MANILLA, Iowa An Iowa farmer and former Crawford County supervisor has become the first Democrat to announce he is running for Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley's seat. He said Pat Grassley is not interested in being a senator and encouraged Chuck to run again. | Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images. 3 Democrats are vying to take on Chuck Grassley; 3 Republicans want to But to be honest with you, what I have been hearing is, its time to let new blood into his seat.. And it has to be big. On November 5, 2018, King tweeted a video of the senator saying, Iowa needs Steve King in Congress. In his campaign, Franken emphasized a need to dial down the political tension in Washington. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has not tipped her hand about which way she will vote on the groundbreaking legislation but some believe she may be the only Republican to vote for the bill. Yet there may be something of a Grassley exception for the states elections. Then Jankowicz decided to rebrand her disinformation show and take it on the road, registering as a foreign agent in the United Kingdom to help the British government with their disinformation issues.. Mmmkay. Following changes in the congressional maps as a result of redistricting, Iowa's 2nd District now cover's the state's northeastern corner, rather than it's southeastern one. Figure 2 If you shift the vaccination curve by 6 months, it seems to align well with the death spikes. In his memoir, Obama describes Grassley as toying with the administration over possibly supporting the Affordable Care Act. If he wins reelection in November, Iowas longest-serving senator would be 95 years old by the end of another term. Hurst pitches himself as a Tom Harkin-like prairie progressive, one who can best harness the anger and frustration of Iowans who feel left behind in a broken economy. And when riled-up cattlemen in Monticello guffawed at his proposal to fine bad-acting meatpacking executives rather than jail them, Grassley absorbed the jeers, then said he might toughen up his own legislation. Muhlbauers candidacy marks a shift in strategy for Democrats, who havent won a statewide race in Iowa in almost two decades. With just four months until the primary election, Iowas congressional and governor races are starting to solidify. He worked in his fathers workshop and spent three years on a job in a slaughterhouse in Sioux City before embarking on his military service. to officially jump into the race in February, his recent vote on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, announced plans to seek reelection to the 2nd District, She announced in November she would run for reelection in Iowa's 1st District, She launched her congressional campaign in July, formally announced her re-election plans Aug. 28, Axne was considering a run for governor in 2022, was the first Republican to enter the 3rd District race. Not So Much. Multiple Democrats have filed to run against Grassley, including former 1st District Rep. Abby Finkenauer, who lost her race for a second term in 2020 after flipping a GOP-held district in 2018.