EXCLUSIVE — A blue wave in Iowa won’t force Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) into an early retirement.
A spokesperson for Grassley, 93, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that he plans to serve out the remainder of his term after state Auditor Rob Sand flipped the governor’s mansion to Democrats.
“Sen. Grassley is not resigning,” said the Grassley spokesperson, dismissing a scenario that would allow the outgoing governor, Republican Kim Reynolds, to appoint his successor before leaving office. “He remains committed to delivering for the people of Iowa, who overwhelmingly elected him to a six-year term in 2022.”
Grassley, the president pro tempore of the Senate, has not said whether he will run for a ninth term in 2028, when he will be 95. But he suggested that his age was a consideration in telling Iowa Republicans that the governorship needed to stay in GOP hands this year in case he dies in office.
“One of the reasons I’m worried about who’s going to be elected governor — I don’t plan on dying in office, but if I did, I don’t want a Democrat governor choosing my successor,” Grassley said at a GOP dinner in September.
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Sand broached the possibility as he campaigned for governor, telling reporters that he would entertain appointing an independent in Grassley’s place should a vacancy arise.
After Republicans suffered a wipeout in Tuesday’s midterm elections, Iowa’s congressional delegation is slated to flip overwhelmingly to Democrats next year. Democrats won three of the state’s four House seats, as well as the open seat of retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA).
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
