Sen. Chuck Grassley just invoked his inevitable death to encourage Iowa voters to re-elect their GOP governor
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is 85 years old, and he wants his state's voters to know it.
The longtime senator hasn't had much trouble winning his past seven election campaigns. But Grassley says if "something happen[s]" during his next four years in office, he wants a Republican governor in place to appoint his replacement, the Des Moines Register reports.
Current Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) replaced Terry Branstad (R) when he became the U.S. ambassador to China in 2017. As this fall's special election approaches, Reynolds is an average of 3.5 points behind Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell, per RealClearPolitics.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That close race seems to be worrying Grassley. At Iowa's Westside Conservative Club on Wednesday, the senator confirmed he is "very, very healthy," but added that "something could happen to me in the next four years." Adding to the drama, Grassley also revealed that police have arrested someone who "threatened to murder" him, reports Iowa's The Gazette. Police reports show that a Long Island man was arrested after leaving threatening voicemails for two senators over their support of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Grassley said he was one of them.
In any case, Grassley doesn't "want a Democrat appointing my successor who would then be a Democrat, not a Republican," he said Wednesday, ominously encouraging the crowd to "keep that in mind when you work for Kim Reynolds."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu
Speed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam Bondi
Speed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published