Majority of Iowans don’t want Chuck Grassley to run again, poll finds

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Nearly two-thirds of voters in Iowa believe that Senator Chuck Grassley should not run for reelection in 2022, according to a new poll.

A Des Moines Register poll found that 64 per cent believed it was now time for someone else to represent them in the US Senate.

Mr Grassley was first elected in 1980, making him Iowa’s longest-serving senator. He is also one of two senators to have served during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, alongside Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont. It is currently unknown if MR Grassley intends on seeking an eight term as a senator at next year’s midterm election.

Twenty-seven per cent of respondents said they would vote to reelect him, 1 per cent would not and 8 per cent were unsure.

The president of the polling firm Selzer & Co, believed that the numbers show there was “waning” support for the longtime politician.

"Chuck Grassley has had a long and mostly good run, but most Iowa voters appear ready to move on, and his ratings reflect waning interest,” said J Ann Selzer.

Despite this, if he did opt to run again, he would still be projected to win the seat, according to the poll. When broken down on party lines, 37 per cent of Republicans, 89 per cent of Democrats and 68 per cent of Independents wanted another candidate.

The poll was posed to 630 people between 13 June and 16 June. All said they were intending to vote in the 2022 midterm elections and had a margin of error of 3.9 per cent.

Mr Grassley began his political career in 1959 in the Iowa House of Representatives. In 1975, he was elected to the US House of Representatives and then ultimately to the Senate.

The 2022 midterm elections are important due to the slim majority Democrats command in the Senate. Currently, Kamala Harris, the vice president, is the deciding vote on most matters. Republicans are eager to block President Joe Biden’s legislative priorities.