Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is projected to win an eighth term in the Senate, where he has served since 1981.
Grassley’s victory has not been in much doubt even after an October poll showed Democrat Michael Franken narrowing Grassley’s lead. Democrats poured no resources into the race.
But there are some doubts about Grassley’s ability to serve another six-year term. At 89, he’s only a few months younger than Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the oldest member of the Senate. Feinstein’s age and forgetfulness have prompted questions about her ability to do her job.
Like Feinstein and a handful of other senators, Grassley walks the hallways with an aide who sometimes helps him answer reporters’ questions. He’s still strong enough to run to catch the subway that takes senators from the Capitol to their offices.
Franken, a 64-year-old former vice admiral of the U.S. Navy, campaigned on his military background and abortion rights. In a TV ad, the Franken campaign noted Grassley’s opposition to abortion rights and support for the Supreme Court decision eliminating the federal right to abortion this year.
During a debate, Grassley said he wouldn’t support a 15-week abortion proposed by some of his colleagues in the Senate.
Franken’s campaign faced a setback when a former staffer accused the candidate of planting an unwanted kiss on her earlier this year, though in an apparently “old-fashioned” but not sexual manner. Franken denied the accusation.
If Republicans control the Senate, Grassley could once again serve as the Senate’s president pro tempore, meaning he would be third in the line of succession should the president die or resign from office.
Grassley has chaired both the Senate Finance Committee and the Judiciary Committee. He is likely to lead the Judiciary Committee again if Republicans gain control of the Senate. As the top Republican on that committee, in recent months he has pushed the Justice Department to prosecute Hunter Biden, the president’s son, for business dealings with the Chinese government.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Grassley last year, an endorsement Grassley welcomed even after saying Trump deserved some blame for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“Undoubtedly, then-President Trump displayed poor leadership in his words and actions,” Grassley said before voting to acquit him in the Senate impeachment trial because Trump was no longer president.