Oldest Sitting U.S. Senator Files Paperwork For Re-Election In 2028

FEC: Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has filed paperwork to seek re-election in 2028.

If re-elected he’ll be 101 by the end of his term in 2034. pic.twitter.com/6gM9lWbVBy

— Politics & Poll Tracker

(@PollTracker2024) October 11, 2026

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Grassley first secured control of his Iowa Senate seat in 1981, having held elected office since 1959. The storied political career has made Grassley the longest-serving Republican in congressional history, as well as one of the longest serving senators in American history. His position as Senate Pro Tempore puts him third in the presidential line of succession.

Grassley has made a wave of headlines as of late for being a stalwart defender of Republicans who were subjected to surveillance by federal authorities during the Biden era.

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93-year-old GOP Senator Chuck Grassley: "One of the reasons that 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." pic.twitter.com/lAN1DreDew

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 28, 2026

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Grassley made a similar statement in October of 2018 when he was 85 years old and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds was in a tight race to win a full term as governor. Reynolds easily won re-election in 2022. Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn are in a competitive race for governor this year. Under state law, Iowa’s governor makes a temporary appointment to the U.S. Senate to fill a vacancy until a permanent replacement is selected by voters in the next General Election.

Grassley was re-elected to an eighth term in the U.S. Senate in 2022. The term expires on January 3, 2029. Grassley, the longest serving current member of the senate, has not said whether he intends to seek reelection.

1936 was the last time an Iowa governor filled a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, after Senator Richard Murphy of Dubuque was killed in a car accident.

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