Sen. Chuck Grassley will not resign before his term ends, his office confirmed Wednesday, putting to rest quiet speculation among Iowa Republicans that the 93-year-old senator should step aside now that a Democrat will control the governor's office and any appointment to fill his seat.
Grassley, the oldest member of Congress and third in line to the presidency, made his position clear through a spokesperson after Democrat Rob Sand defeated Republican Kim Reynolds in Tuesday's gubernatorial race, according to The Daily Beast. The Washington Examiner first reported the senator's plans.
What Grassley's office said
“Senator Grassley is not resigning,” a spokesperson told The Daily Beast. “He remains committed to delivering for the people of Iowa, who overwhelmingly elected him to a six-year term in 2022.”
Grassley first won his Senate seat in 1980 and has been re-elected repeatedly ever since. His current term runs through January 2029, at which point he will be 95. He has not said whether he will seek another term.
Why the governor's race changed the math
The question of succession matters because Iowa law gives the governor the power to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat. With Sand heading to the governor's office in January, a vacancy in Grassley's seat would hand the appointment to a Democrat for the first time in years.
Grassley himself acknowledged the stakes at a GOP event in late September, weeks before Election Day.
“One of the reasons I'm worried about who's going to be elected governor — I don't plan on dying in office, but if I did, I don't want a Democrat governor choosing my successor,” he said.
Some Republicans had urged Grassley to resign quickly, while Reynolds still held the office, so she could appoint a successor who could then run as an incumbent. That plan is now off the table, and Raw Story reported that broader GOP efforts to use the final weeks of Republican control to blunt this week's Democratic wave are already meeting resistance within the party.
Rob Sand's approach to filling a Senate vacancy
Sand, the 44-year-old state auditor and former assistant attorney general, signaled during the campaign that he would not necessarily appoint a Democrat if the seat opened.
“Whatever the law is in the state of Iowa, I'd want to talk to a lot of different people about it and be pretty open-minded about who would go there,” Sand told Iowa's News Now in September.
“I'd be interested in an independent,” he added. “I think that we have a lot of people in this state who aren't affiliated with either party. And yet, because we have this broken two-party system and the Democratic and Republican parties give themselves special legal privileges, they're able to force independents out as candidates and discourage them as voters too.”
A rough Election Night for Iowa Republicans
The governor's race was not the only bad news for the state GOP on Tuesday. Democrats also picked up the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Joni Ernst, with Democrat Josh Turek winning that race, according to NewsBreak's coverage of the midterms.
Democrats flipped three of Iowa's four congressional districts as well, a sweeping result that redraws the state's political map. Reynolds did not seek re-election after choosing not to run again.
Grassley celebrated his 93rd birthday on Sept. 17, sharing a photo of himself holding a birthday cake from Ernst.
What happens next
Grassley will continue serving as Iowa's senior senator, and he remains president pro tempore of the Senate, the position that places him third in the line of presidential succession. Iowa Republicans will now look ahead to 2028, when Sand's appointee power, the state's congressional map, and Grassley's own future will all be back on the ballot.
For now, the senator who has represented Iowa in Washington for more than four decades says he is staying put.
FAQ
Is Chuck Grassley resigning?
No. His office said Wednesday that he is not resigning and remains committed to serving out the six-year term Iowans gave him in 2022.
Who replaces Grassley if his seat becomes vacant?
Under Iowa law, the governor appoints a replacement. Starting in January 2029 that would be Governor-elect Rob Sand, a Democrat, unless a vacancy occurs before then and Kim Reynolds fills it.
How long is Grassley's current term?
His term runs through January 2029. He has not announced whether he will run for re-election.