Michael Franken defeated Abby Finkenauer and Glenn Hurst in the June 7 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Iowa and will face incumbent Chuck Grassley (R), first elected in 1980, in the general election.
According to the Des Moines Register‘s Tim Webber and Stephen Gruber-Miller: “Former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer entered the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate as the perceived frontrunner to challenge Grassley in November’s general election, but Franken pulled off an upset victory on Tuesday, with support that extended broadly throughout the state.”
Franken is a retired three-star U.S. Navy Admiral. He ran in the 2020 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and lost to Theresa Greenfield. Franken campaigned on protecting voting rights and expanding federal programs for older Iowans, including Medicare. Franken said, “My family used military, my brother-in-law and myself, to go to college and do bigger things than what rural Lebanon, Iowa offered. My broad perspective is a product of exposure.” Franken said he appealed to “that middle segment who want logical, pragmatic, smart, dedicated, national servants to work for them. Leader servants. I believe I’m that person.”
