Former congresswoman Abby Finkenauer launches Senate bid against Grassley

Former congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa) on Thursday entered the 2022 race for the U.S. Senate seat long held by Republican Charles E. Grassley.

The 32-year-old hopes to defeat the incumbent by portraying him as someone more concerned with remaining in power than representing the needs of everyday Iowans.

“My parents could not give me a trust fund or debt-free college, but they taught me about seeing work to be done and doing it,” she said in a video.

“It’s politicians like Senator Grassley and Mitch McConnell who should know better but are so obsessed with power that they oppose anything that moves us forward,” Finkenauer added. “Since the Capitol was attacked, they’ve turned their backs on democracy — and on us.”

The former lawmaker — one of the first two Iowa women elected to Congress; the other was Rep. Cindy Axne (D) — told the Des Moines Register that the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob has motivated her to head back to Capitol Hill to help thwart future threats to democracy.

“On 1/6 the world changed, and so did I,” she told the paper. “I remember sitting on my couch in Cedar Rapids with my husband as we were watching my former colleagues and my friends get attacked in the United States Capitol.”

“That violent mob, that insurrection, was happening because our country and people were fed misinformation and lies about our elections and democracy, and our senators didn’t push back,” Finkenauer added.

Republicans were quick to criticize Finkenauer, the first major Democrat to enter the race, calling her policies extreme and tying her to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is unpopular with many conservatives.

“Abby Finkenauer and her far-Left positions are indistinguishable from those of Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the socialist squad, so it’s not surprising Iowans fired her just last year,” National Republican Senatorial Committee press secretary Katharine Cooksey said. “Today, Abby signed up to become a two-time loser.”

Grassley is the most senior Republican in the Senate, having been first elected in 1980. Cooksey said the 87-year-old’s beliefs are much more aligned with those of Iowans than Finkenauer’s.

“Iowans believe in limited government, fiscal responsibility and creating opportunities across the state,” she said. “They know Senator Chuck Grassley is in Washington fighting for those beliefs every day.”