Cynthia Paschen

While many area state legislative races are uncontested, there are two statewide primary races for Democrats, and one for Republicans.

Three Democrats and one Republican are running in the primary to determine who will challenge long-term U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, of New Hartford, in the general election in November. Grassley has served in the U.S. Senate since 1981, the year Ronald Reagan was elected president. He was first elected to the Iowa House in 1959, and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1975. If re-elected in November, Grassley would be 95 years old at the end of his six-year term in the Senate.

Grassley, 88, has a primary challenger, Jim Carlin, 59, of Sioux City.

In a recent forum hosted by Scott County Republican Women, Carlin criticized Grassley for what he characterized as a too-bipartisan voting record and voting to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 Electoral College victory.

“I’m running primarily because I’m concerned about the direction freedom is taking in our country,” Carlin said in an interview with the Quad City Times, citing what he said he saw as an encroachment on conservative speech on college campuses and inflation.

Carlin said he would have voted against certifying the 2020 election, drawing on false claims of widespread voter fraud, and said he would’ve pushed to continue building the US border wall with Mexico.

He, too, argued Grassley is too willing to compromise and side with Democrats, noting Grassley’s vote for the federal infrastructure bill pushed by and heralded by Biden and congressional Democrats.

Democrats Running for US Senate are:

Abby Finkenauer, 33, served in the U.S. House from 2018-2021. Finkenauer and Cindy Axne, D, were the first two women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. Finkenauer was defeated by Ashley Hinson, a Republican, in 2020. Finkenauer served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, representing Dubuque. Finkenauer and her husband, Daniel Wasta, live in Cedar Rapids.

Michael Franken, 64, of Sioux City, retired from the U.S. Navy as a three-star admiral in 2017. In 2020, he ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The nomination went to Theresa Greenfield. Greenfield lost in a close race to Sen. Joni Ernst.

Glenn Hurst, M.D., 52, of Minden, is a family practice physician. He serves on the Minden City Council. Dr. Hurst told the Des Moines Register, “I am the only progressive candidate who consistently supports the Medicare for All Act, Green New Deal, student loan forgiveness, reparations, and ending the filibuster. I am the only candidate who has not lived his entire adult life with the benefit of government health care and who understands the American health system from all sides. I am the only candidate endorsed by the Iowa Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus, Iowa CCI, and Our Revolution Iowa; and the only Democratic candidate currently holding office, Minden City Councilperson. My years of progressive activism has created direct relationships between my fellow Iowans and me. Hurst is married to Rhonda Noel-Hurst.

In a phone interview, Hurst said he wants to codify Roe v. Wade and will support “full citizenship for women and our LGBTQI neighbors.”

If Democrats are serious about challenging Grassley, they must put up a candidate who is knowledgeable, has life experience as something other than a politician, and presents themselves as a clear alternative to career politician Grassley. All three candidates are capable of this, but Hurst checks all of the boxes.

Challenging Secretary of State Paul Pate, R, are two county auditors: Linn County Auditor Joel Miller and Clinton County Auditor Eric Van Lancker.

Miller, 66, served on the Robins city council from 2001-2005. He was elected part-time mayor of Robins in 2005, and served until 2007, when he was elected Linn County auditor. Miller defied Pate’s order not to mail absentee ballot request forms that included the voter’s registration and home address. Miller believes that ballot drop boxes should be allocated by population, not by county.

Van Lancker, 53, was born and raised in Cedar Rapids. He and his wife, Tanya, have lived in Clinton for 27 years. He has served as Clinton County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections for four terms. According to Van Lancker’s website, “Some mail-in ballots go uncounted, due to changes Republicans passed in 2021.” He wants to “restore early voting and confidence in the integrity of our elections.”

In a phone interview, Van Lancker noted that, traditionally, voter turnout is low in primary elections, but this is an important year, selecting candidates for local and statewide races.

Paul Pate, 64, is seeking a fourth term. Pate oversaw the enactment of a 2017 law that required voters to show state-issued IDs before casting their ballots, along with other reforms. In March, 2021, Iowa’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law that shortened early voting and stripped county auditors of some discretion when it comes to administering local elections.

The 2022 primary and general elections are Midterm elections, falling between 2020 and 2024 presidential election years. The mid-terms are typically seen as a referendum on the incumbent president, who in this case is Joe Biden. While Iowans have a short break from potential presidential candidates visiting local cafes and party events, that will likely gear up at the conclusion of the mid-term elections.

In Iowa, Democrat Deidre DeJear, 36, is the presumptive nominee to challenge Gov. Kim Reynolds, 62, in November.

Iowan’s choices on June 7 will mean another term for incumbents Grassley, Pate and Reynolds, or some much-needed fresh ideas and creative thinking.

Primaries are important.

If you have concerns about Iowa’s future, please make your voice heard. It’s time to stop complaining and go vote.

Voters can vote in person on Election Day, June 7. Another option is to vote early at the Hamilton County Courthouse. The window for requesting an absentee ballot closes today, so for many of us, that’s not an option. It should be. Voting can help change our restrictive election laws and make it easier, not harder, to participate in our Democracy.

Cynthia Paschen lives and works in Story and Hamilton counties. She has a BA in Journalism from Iowa State University. Her career includes two decades as a hospice volunteer and work in fundraising, human services and the arts.