2010 United States Senate election in Iowa

Republican primary

Candidates

• Chuck Grassley, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Roxanne Conlin, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa
• Bob Krause, former Iowa State Representative and nominee for Treasurer in 1978
• Tom Fiegen, former Iowa State Senator

Campaign

Three Democrats sought the Democratic nomination. Former State Representative and Iowa Department of Transportation official Bob Krause drew attention for implying that Grassley had been in office too long, remarking to supporters in Des Moines: "As a good farmer, Sen. Grassley must recognize that 51 years, or 58 years at the end of his term, is a long time to go without rotating crops." Both Krause and former State Senator Tom Fiegen cited Grassley's support of deregulating the financial services industry as reasons for running. Krause said, "Please remember that Farmer Grassley was one that opened the barn door and let the cow out at AIG," while Fiegen, a bankruptcy lawyer, made reducing unemployment and tightening regulation of the financial services industry the cornerstones of his campaign.

Former Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan said that he had recruited trial lawyer Roxanne Conlin to challenge Grassley. Kiernan's virtual endorsement of Conlin prior to her announcement drew the ire of party members, as it is counter to party rules when there is more than one candidate from the party competing in a primary race. Conlin had been criticized for being unwilling to debate her primary opponents, and for being unfamiliar with and unsupportive of her own party's platform.

On health care, Fiegen and Krause supported a public option, while Conlin didn't state a position, which she had been criticized for. Krause and Feigen claimed she supported supply-side economics. She also displayed an unfamiliarity with the Iowa Democratic Party's platform, repeatedly claiming there was no platform for her to support until after the June 12, 2010 convention.

Results

General election

Candidates

• Roxanne Conlin (D), former U.S. Attorney
• Chuck Grassley (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
• John Heiderscheit (L), attorney

Campaign

Incumbent Chuck Grassley started the campaign moderately popular, but his approval ratings dropped somewhat during the campaign. However, the seat continued to be considered to be "Safe Republican" by many sources, with CQ Politics noting that Grassley is "one of Iowa's most durable politicians."

Conlin described herself as a "prairie progressive." She supported the recent landmark case of Varnum v. Brien, which legalized gay marriage in the state. She also supported repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

Before the election, former political advisor John Maxwell claimed that Grassley would have his toughest race since his first U.S. Senate election in 1980, where he defeated incumbent John Culver with 53% of the vote. Grassley won all of his four re-election bids with nearly 70% of the vote against unknown opponents. Grassley won the election with 64.35% of the vote, which, in fact was his closest election since 1980.

Debates

Grassley and Conlin agreed to one debate. It was on October 26 on Des Moines radio station WHO and Iowa Public Television.

Predictions

Polling

Fundraising

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Johnson (largest city: Iowa City)

References

References

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3. (August 12, 2009). "Iowa Democrat to Challenge Grassley - The Eye (CQ Politics)". Blogs.cqpolitics.com.
4. (October 26, 2009). "Conlin approached about Senate race in January". GazetteOnline.com.
5. (September 25, 2009). "Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan: September 25, 2009". Iowa Public Television.
6. "Democrat senate hopefuls turn attacks to each other". Iowa Independent.
7. (April 28, 2010). "Replay: Live chat with U.S. Senate candidate Roxanne Conlin". GazetteOnline.com.
8. "Issues".
9. (May 17, 2010). "Krause For Iowa's Future - On The Issues: Health Care". Krauseforiowa.com.
10. Sullivan, Adam B. (May 26, 2010). "On the issues, Conlin sees few differences with her Democratic rivals". Iowa Independent.
11. (May 28, 2010). "Conlin attacked over ties to lobbyist during second U.S. Senate forum". IowaPolitics.com.
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