Former Rep. Abby Finkenauer to challenge Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2022

By: - July 22, 2021 8:57 am

Former U.S. Rep, Abby Finkenauer announced her candidacy for Senate on July 22, 2021. (Screenshot from Finkenauer campaign video)

Former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer is running for Senate, she announced Thursday

“I’m running for the United States Senate because this democracy is ours, and truth matters,” Finkenauer said in a video announcing her run.

Finkenauer, a one-term representative for Iowa’s 1st congressional district, will run for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Senate seat in the 2022 election. Grassley has not yet announced if he will seek re-election for what would be his eighth term.

Finkenauer began her political career at the Iowa Statehouse. She was elected to the Iowa House in 2014 to represent Dubuque, a position she held for two terms. In 2018, she ran against incumbent U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, a Republican. As red seats flipped nationwide in a “blue wave,” Finkenauer secured the seat by a nearly 5% margin.

During her tenure, Finkenauer served on the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 

Republican Ashley Hinson defeated Finkenauer in 2020 as Republicans swept Iowa. Former president Donald Trump won the state by 8%, and Republicans secured three of four House seats.  

Finkenauer is the second Democrat to enter the race. Former Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer announced his candidacy in May. On the other side of the aisle, Iowa Sen. Jim Carlin, R-Sioux City, announced in February that he would seek the GOP nomination for the seat.

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Katie Akin
Katie Akin

Katie Akin is a former Iowa Capital Dispatch reporter. Katie began her career as an intern at PolitiFact, debunking viral fake news and fact-checking state and national politicians. She moved to Iowa in 2019 for a politics internship at the Des Moines Register, where she assisted with Iowa Caucus coverage, multimedia projects and the Register’s Iowa Poll. She became the Register’s retail reporter in early 2020, chronicling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Central Iowa’s restaurants and retailers.

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