Grassley Says He Will Serve Out His Senate Term
Sen. Chuck Grassley, 93, does not plan to resign early after Democrat Rob Sand won Iowa’s governor’s race, a Grassley spokesperson said on November 4. The Republican senator intends to serve the remainder of his term, which runs through January 2029. He has not said whether he will seek another term.
Grassley was first elected to the Senate in 1980 and won a six-year term in 2022. Sand, Iowa’s state auditor, defeated Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ party in the race to succeed her.
Grassley had previously raised concern about the possibility that a Democratic governor could choose his successor if he died while in office. At a Republican event in September, he said he did not plan to die in office but did not want a Democratic governor making the appointment.
Sand said during his campaign that he would be open to appointing an independent and would consult a range of people. Grassley will be 95 when his current term ends in January 2029.
Grassley Stays in Senate as Iowa Voters Reject GOP
Iowa voters chose Democrat Rob Sand as governor, but Sen. Chuck Grassley says he will remain in office through the end of his term in January 2029. The 93-year-old Republican’s spokesperson said on November 4 that Grassley is not resigning early.
Grassley had worried aloud that if he died in office, a Democratic governor could appoint his successor. That concern became more immediate for Republicans after Sand defeated the party of outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds. Grassley said at a September GOP event that he did not want a Democratic governor to make the choice.
Sand has said he would be open to appointing an independent and would seek input from different people. His comments offer a different approach to filling a vacancy than the partisan succession Grassley feared.
Grassley was elected to a six-year term in 2022 and has not said whether he will run again. His decision to stay means Iowa’s Senate seat will not open early; his current term ends in January 2029.
Grassley Rejects Early Exit After Democrat Wins Iowa Governorship
Sen. Chuck Grassley is staying in the Senate despite Iowa’s election of Democrat Rob Sand as governor. Grassley’s spokesperson said on November 4 that the 93-year-old Republican has no plans to resign before his term ends in January 2029.
The result puts a Democrat in position to succeed Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, a prospect Grassley had singled out as a concern. At a GOP event in September, he said he did not want a Democratic governor choosing his successor if he died in office. Grassley now says he will serve the term Iowa voters gave him in 2022.
Sand has said he would be open to appointing an independent and would consult a range of people. That possibility does not change Grassley’s stated commitment to remain in office, and he has not announced whether he will run again.
Grassley was first elected to the Senate in 1980. His current term runs through January 2029, when he will be 95.
Reported by The Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, The New Republic.
