The 2022 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 8, 2022 to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to represent the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Senator

Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States sen ...

faced Democratic nominee

Michael Franken Michael Thane Franken (born November 8, 1957) is an American retired United States Navy vice admiral. His final posting was as deputy director of military operations for the United States Africa Command. Franken was a Democratic candidate in ...

. Grassley was first elected in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and was most recently re-elected in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. Grassley, who turned 89 years old on September 17, 2022, ran for reelection to an eighth term. With U.S. Senator

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

retiring the same year, he became the second-oldest person ever to be re-elected for another term (behind

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

at age 93), the most senior member in the Senate, the longest-serving Republican Senator in history (overtaking

Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senator ...

), as well as the most senior member of Congress. Grassley was reelected, thereby becoming the first Republican to win an eighth Senate term. This was Grassley's closest Senate race since he was first elected in

and the first election since that time in which he did not crack 60% of the vote. Franken also beat Grassley in

Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus ur ...

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

Story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

, and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

counties, which Grassley had won in every election since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent U.S. Senator (1981–present) and president pro tempore emeritus (2021–present)

Eliminated in primary

* Jim Carlin,

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from the 3rd district (2017–present)

Declined

Ashley Hinson Ashley Elizabeth Hinson (born June 27, 1983) is an American politician and journalist serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district since 2021. Her district comprises much of the northeast quadrant of the state, includi ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for (2021–2023) ''( ran for re-election; endorsed Grassley)'' *

Matthew Whitaker Matthew George Whitaker (born October 29, 1969) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and politician who served as the acting United States Attorney General from November 7, 2018, to February 14, 2019. He was appointed to that position by President D ...

, former acting

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

, former

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Southern District of Iowa, and candidate for the U.S. Senate in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

''(endorsed Grassley)''

Fundraising

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

, retired

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

, former aide to U.S. Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

, and candidate for U.S. Senate in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Eliminated in primary

Abby Finkenauer Abby Lea Finkenauer (born December 27, 1988) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before being elected to Congress, Fink ...

, former U.S. Representative for (2019–2021) *Glenn Hurst,

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...

city councilor and chair of the

Iowa Democratic Party The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Iowa. While existing when Iowa was granted statehood in 1846, it did not gain broad electoral success until the mid-1950s, when demographic changes ...

Rural Caucus

Withdrew

*Dave Muhlbauer, former

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

supervisor (2017–2021) ''(endorsed Franken)'' * Bob Krause, former

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

''(endorsed Franken)''

Declined

Cindy Axne Cynthia Lynne Axne (née Wadle; born April 20, 1965) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she narrowly defeated incumbent Republican David Y ...

, U.S. representative for (2019–2023) ''( ran for re-election; endorsed Finkenauer)'' *

Rob Sand Robert Sand (born August 12, 1982) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 33rd Iowa State Auditor since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Sand was assistant attorney general of Iowa from 2010 to 2017. In 2018, he ...

Iowa State Auditor The Iowa State Auditor is the state auditor of the Government of Iowa, United States. The office's mission is to "serve as the taxpayers' watchdog" by "ensuring that government officials use taxpayer dollars for the intended purposes to benefit t ...

(2019–present) ''(ran for reelection)'' *

J. D. Scholten J. D. Scholten (born March 4, 1980) is an American paralegal, politician and retired professional baseball player from the state of Iowa. He is a member-elect to the Iowa House of Representatives for District 1. Scholten was the Democratic nomin ...

, former paralegal, former professional baseball player and nominee for in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

''( ran for state house)''

Campaign

Former U.S. Representative

was the original frontrunner in the Democratic primary, with her campaign being backed by several prominent politicians and labor unions, as well as the influential political action committee

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

. However, retired vice-admiral

managed to slowly overtake her as the perceived frontrunner, assisted by an effective campaign that highlighted his leadership credentials.

Fundraising

Endorsements

Polling

;Graphical summary

Results

General election

Predictions

Debates

Endorsements

Polling

;Aggregate polls ;Graphical summary ;Chuck Grassley vs. Abby Finkenauer

Results

By congressional district

Grassley won all 4 congressional districts.

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Michael Franken (D) for Senate

Chuck Grassley (R) for Senate
{{2022 United States elections

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Fundraising

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrew

Declined

Campaign

Fundraising

Endorsements

Polling

Results

General election

Predictions

Debates

Endorsements

Polling

Results

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References

External links