Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican in the Senate, announced Friday on Twitter that he would seek an eighth term, relieving Republicans worried about a bitter primary fight that could put the seat at risk.
Mr. Grassley turned 88 last week, and will be 95 when his term ends. He wanted to highlight his fitness by revealing his plans that will attract attention due to his age. Twitter showed an alarm clock setting at 4 a.m., and Mr. Grassley jogging through the darkness of the morning.
“It’s 4 a.m. in Iowa so I’m running,” said Mr. Grassley, a habitual jogger. “I do that 6 days a week.”
A separate release said that Mr. Grassley was first elected to state legislature in 1958 and has been encouraged to run as a result of his frequent visits to Iowa in recent months.
“I’m working as hard as ever for the people of Iowa and there’s more work to do,” In a statement, he stated. “In a time of crisis and polarization, Iowa needs strong, effective leadership.”
Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell was the minority leader and Kentucky Republican. He encouraged Mr. Grassley’s candidacy to lead a primary fight for his successor. The bitter Republican primary could have created an opportunity for Democrats to gain a seat next year in the intense Senate majority race. Abby Finkenauer (32) a former Democratic Representative, lost her reelection bid last spring. She has already stated that she will seek Mr. Grassley’s seat.
Elected to the Senate in 1980 when Ronald Reagan won the presidency, Mr. Grassley has used his seniority to preside as chairman of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Judiciary Committee, where he was instrumental in advancing President Donald J. Trump’s nominees to the Supreme Court and also blocking President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick B. Garland. Despite Democrats’ aggressive attempts to topple him, Grassley won reelection in 2016.
Grassley was a bipartisan leader in his earlier years, but he became more conservative as the state shifted to the right. During the Obama presidency Mr. Grassley participated in negotiations with Democrats about the health care law, but he was forced to resign due to a Republican backlash against his work with Democrats. He was a major proponent of the criminal justice overhaul, which was co-authored with Democrats and was signed into law by President Trump.
As the senior Senate Republican, Grassley was the third in line for succession to the president after the vice president, speaker, and speaker of Congress. If he served the full eighteenth term of his eight-term, Grassley wouldn’t be the oldest Republican senator. Strom Thurmond from South Carolina was 100 at the time he left Senate in 2002.