Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced Friday that he will run for another six-year term in office in office in 2022.
At 88, Grassley is already the oldest Republican member of the U.S. Senate. If he wins re-election in 2022 and serves out his term, which ends in January 2029, Grassley will be 95 years old.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, is the only senator older than Grassley. She was born 88 days before Grassley in 1933.
"As I travel throughout Iowa holding Q&As at my annual 99 county meetings, Iowans have encouraged me to continue my work representing them," Grassley said in a press release. "I'm glad to have the support of Iowans and I will work as hard as ever to earn their continued support in the months ahead. Iowans know how seriously I take my work representing them in the U.S. Senate to solve problems, which is why I never miss a vote."
It’s 4 a.m. in Iowa so I’m running. I do that 6 days a week. Before I start the day I want you to know what Barbara and I have decided.
— Grassley Works (@GrassleyWorks) September 24, 2021
I’m running for re-election—a lot more to do, for Iowa. We ask and will work for your support. Will you join us? #GrassleyRuns #GrassleyWorks pic.twitter.com/cwv8yu9wkx
Grassley was first elected to the Senate in 1980 — the same year President Ronald Reagan won his first term in office. He's served six six-year terms in the Senate and currently serves as the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
According to CNN, former Rep. Abby Finkenauer is the highest-profile Democrat thus far to announce a run opposite Grassley.
"After 47 years in Washington, D.C., Chuck Grassley has changed from an Iowa farmer to just another coastal elite," Finkenauer said in a statement Friday.
Iowa backed President Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. The state has not elected a Democratic senator since former Sen. Tom Harkin was re-elected for a fifth term in 2008.
According to The Washington Post, the current Senate class has the oldest average age in the chamber's history.
