Former Iowa Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (D) is “readying a run” against the longtime Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, according to Politico, who spoke with two sources familiar with her plans.
The one-term congresswoman lost her seat in November to Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson (IA). Politico reports Finkenauer “has started the process of assembling a potential campaign team.”
The Democrat originally won her seat in the 2018 midterms by defeating then-Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA). The report noted, in one election, Iowa had three of the four seats go from being Democrat-held to now only one held by a Democrat.
Additionally, former President Donald “Trump carried Finkenauer’s old seat twice, but it will be redrawn ahead of the decennial redistricting,” according to the report.
Grassley, who is currently 87, has yet to announce his run for reelection. But the long-time incumbent previously said he will “make up my mind September, October, November.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman, Rick Scott (R-FL), when talking about Grassley, reportedly said, “He hasn’t announced, but I think he’s going to run.”
Earlier this week, Dave Muhlbauer was the first Democrat to launch a campaign against Grassley for one of Iowa’s Senate seats in the 2022 midterm elections. The Democrats released a video saying he is a fifth-generation farmer and Iowa is his home.
Politico reports the 2020 Senate race in Iowa “was one of the most expensive Senate races in the country last year.”
However, the report added, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) had ended up defeating her opponent, Democrat Theresa Greenfield, by “nearly 7 points, and then-President Donald Trump won the state by a similar margin.”