Republican Chuck Grassley has been an Iowa lawmaker since 1959, but appears to be in a tight battle for political survival as he seeks his eighth term in the U.S. Senate.
On Saturday night, the Des Moines Register released it's latest Mediacom Iowa Poll, showing Grassley only leading retired Admiral Mike Franken by three points, 46% to 43%.
The poll, conducted by pollster J. Ann Selzer, has often been called the gold standard of Iowa polling.
Selzer told the newspaper the poll "says to me that Franken is running a competent campaign and has a shot to defeat the seemingly invincible Chuck Grassley — previously perceived to be invincible."
The poll shows Democrats may have a chance to flip a seat in a largely overlooked seat.
"Election analysts for months have rated the race in Grassley’s favor, and national Democratic groups have indicated they don’t plan to spend money supporting Franken, instead focusing on states where they see greater potential for victory," the newspaper reported. "But the poll indicates weaknesses for Grassley beyond his head-to-head race with Franken. His job disapproval rating is a record high for him in the Iowa Poll. The percentage of Iowans who view him unfavorably also hit a peak. And nearly two-thirds of likely voters say the senator’s age is a concern rather than an asset."
Grassley, 89, was first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in the 1958 midterm elections. He served eight terms in the legislature, then three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, before first being elected to the U.S. Senate when he shared the ballot with Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Nate Silver of 538 wrote, "The reason this is interesting is not because Grassley is going to lose (probably not) and not even because the Selzer poll has been accurate (though it has been) but because she's a pollster who will publish what her numbers tell her and not herd toward the conventional wisdom."
Also on Saturday, Grassley posted a video explaining how much corn farming has changed during his time as a farmer.
Watch below or at this link:
GRASSLEY GOT IOWA ON THE BIOFUEL TAX CREDIT KICK WAAAAAAY BACK IN 1984
UNDER RONALD REAGAN
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