Iowa voters think Chuck Grassley's six decades in office is long enough

Voters in Iowa do not think Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) should run for an 8th term in the United States Senate.

Grassley, 87, is the second oldest member of the U.S. Senate and only Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) has served longer. Before joining the Senate, Grassley spent three terms in Congress. He was first elected to the Iowa legislature in 1958.

"A majority of Iowans, including a third of Iowa Republicans, say they hope U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley decides not seek to reelection in 2022, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows. The 87-year-old Republican has served in elected office continuously since 1959, when he joined the state Legislature, and he is mulling an eighth run for the U.S. Senate in the coming midterms. He would be 95 at the end of another six-year term," the newspaper reported.

The poll showed 55% of voters hoping Grassley does not run in 2022, with only 28% hoping me makes another bid.

The newspaper's polls, conducted by Selzer & Co., have long been considered the gold standard in the state.

J. Ann Selzer noted that 35% of Republicans are hoping Grassley retires.

"I can almost feel the tension as Republican respondents are dealing with it," she said. "He's the most popular senator since the inception of the Iowa Poll and probably the closest thing to a sure bet that they would have for the party.'"