Longest-Serving Senate Republican Is Running Again

Chuck Grassley, 88, says he has 'a lot more to do' for Iowa
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 24, 2021 9:40 AM CDT
Longest-Serving Senate Republican Is Running Again
In this June 8, 2021, file photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington.   (Tom Williams/Pool via AP, File)

During his predawn jog on Friday, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley tweeted a message to his followers that had a bit of a double meaning. "I'm running," he posted, and while he meant it literally, he was also referring to a decision he'd recently arrived at with his wife: He'll be vying for reelection to his post representing Iowa in 2022, reports Axios. CNN notes Grassley, 88, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, will likely be running against former Rep. Abby Finkenauer, so far the biggest name to be in contention for the Democratic nomination.

Grassley's run for an eighth six-year term will come during a midterms cycle in which the GOP will try to grab back both the House and Senate from Democrats. Early signs point to Grassley sitting pretty—a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released earlier this week shows the senator leading Finkenauer among likely voters by 18 percentage points, the paper reports; 7%, meanwhile, aren't sure where their ballot would land.

Grassley, who's been in Congress since Jimmy Carter was in the Oval Office, is the lead GOPer on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which the Washington Post notes has given him "significant influence in pushing through the nominations of dozens of judges during the Trump presidency," not to mention three conservative-leaning Supreme Court justices. But while he's the oldest Republican in the Senate, he's not the oldest senator overall. That honor goes to California's Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who's a whole three months older than Grassley. (More Chuck Grassley stories.)

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