Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s 88-year-old senior Republican senator, announced Friday that he will seek reelection in 2022.
“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,” the senator tweeted Friday. “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?”
As the Republican party is trying to regain the majority in the 50-50 Senate in next year’s midterm elections, Grassley choice to run for his eighth term instead of retiring is a big boost for his party.
“The road to a Republican majority runs right through Iowa. Defending this seat should be a top priority for every Iowan looking to stop Joe Biden’s chaotic agenda,” the Iowa Republican Party said in a statement following his announcement Friday. “Sen. Grassley’s never-quit attitude has propelled him to be one of the most effective senators in our state’s history. Grassley is a lifelong family farmer who understands the value of hard work, community, education, and family.”
Following his announcement, the former Iowa Rep. Abby Finkenauer, who has so far been the highest-profile Democrat to seek his seat, said that he is “running yet again on an agenda that puts big pharma over our seniors, Wall Street over workers, and monopoly corporations over the mom and pop small businesses that make Iowa strong.”
