Iowa Democrat Abby Finkenauer Announces Senate Bid

Abby Finkenauer, the one-term former Representative from Iowa, announced her bid for the U.S. Senate in the midterm elections on Thursday.

Finkenauer whose been “readying a run” since May, announced her run for a seat currently held by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a seven-term incumbent.

The 32-year-old will have to convince her donors she is ready to run again after the one-term House member lost her seat in November to Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson (IA).

When talking to Politico about running against Grassley, she said, “He was somebody I used to look up to and believed would actually move things forward.”

“I wouldn’t agree with him on everything and Democrats didn’t,” Finkenauer said. “Unfortunately, with his votes lately he’s really left us behind.”

Thursday morning, she tweeted, “I’m from a proud union family. We don’t back down. I’m in this to win.” She also shared her announcement video.

I'm Abby Finkenauer, and I'm running for U.S. Senate because Iowa—and our Democracy—are worth fighting for.

After 46 years in DC, @ChuckGrassley has lost touch with both.

I'm from a proud union family. We don't back down. I'm in this to win.

Join us: https://t.co/28EVInMyva pic.twitter.com/NKvrJruAjW

— Abby Finkenauer (@Abby4Iowa) July 22, 2021

Jeff Kaufmann, the Republican Party of Iowa chairman, responding to Finkenauer’s announcement, said, “Let me be as clear as possible — Abby Finkenauer will never represent the state of Iowa in the U.S. Senate.” He added:

Iowans know Finkenauer and her disastrous record, it’s why they rejected her last November. No matter how she tries to reinvent herself, Iowans will see that her values and priorities are just the same as AOC’s and Chuck Schumer’s. Finkenauer will fall in line with Democrat leadership every chance she gets in hopes to gain media notoriety. It’s why she supports radical provisions of the Green New Deal and voted with AOC 90 percent of the time.

He finished by stating that he looks “forward to seeing even more Iowans reject Finkenauer once again.”

Grassley, who is currently 87, has still yet to announce if he will run for reelection. The long-time incumbent previously said he would “make up my mind September, October, November.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman, Rick Scott (R-FL), when talking about Grassley, reportedly said, “He hasn’t announced, but I think he’s going to run.”