Cedar Rapids Democrat targets Grassley

IOWA CITY - In announcing his bid for the U.S. Senate, Democratic state Sen. Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids vowed to be an environmental stalwart.

Hogg, 48, will need to get past two fellow Democrats in a June primary to challenge six-term Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in the November 2016 general election.

During a stop Tuesday at the University of Iowa, Hogg touted his environmental credentials. He said he's been a champion for wind and solar energy efforts, biodiesel, ethanol, soil conservation and clean water.

'I believe we urgently need to address the dangers of climate change as well as other challenges of environmental sustainability,” Hogg said. 'None of us asked for these problems, but we can't afford to ignore it.”

Hogg is on a three-day, 12-city campaign announcement tour of Iowa, which included Cedar Rapids Tuesday evening.

His Iowa City stop was in a college classroom on the campus where he once attended. He appeared before about 20 people, including legislators and students from a Democratic student group.

Lauren Freeman, 20, president of the UI Democrats, said she was pleased to hear Hogg focus on climate change, but in this early stage of the campaign, she is glad to have any candidate speak on campus.

Hogg, who grew up in Iowa City and also has a private law practice, is married with three children. He holds a bachelor's degree from the UI and a master's and law degrees from the University of Minnesota. He has served in the Iowa Legislature since 2002, and is in his third term in the state Senate. He served two terms in the state House.

He is not vacating his post to run for U.S. Senate.

Hogg identified the pillars of his campaign as campaign-finance reform, combating climate change and getting Congress to work, calling a government shutdown 'one of the most unpatriotic things Congress can do.”

Hogg cited his experience with flood recovery and flood protection, mental health efforts and work on education bills from early childhood to college. He plans to include in his campaign gun control, raising the minimum wage, and 'protecting civil rights, voting rights and marriage rights, because we don't want to go backward.”

His 20-minute speech was heavy on priorities but light on specifics. He acknowledged he'll need to become more detailed and promised a positive campaign marked by diligence and principles of compromise.

'My philosophy is to be practical and to work with people to solve problems and make progress,” he said.

It will be an uphill battle for Hogg.

Grassley, 82, has not received less than 64 percent of the vote since 1986. His closest margin of victory was in 1980, when he won a Senate seat by defeating Democratic incumbent John Culver.

Hogg said he understands the task, calling himself an 'underdog.”

Hogg also will face competition for the Democratic nomination, including Bob Krause of Fairfield and Tom Fiegen of Clarence. Both ran unsuccessfully in the 2010 Democratic primary. The filing deadline for candidates is February.

Former Democratic legislator and UI associate clinical professor Dave Osterberg, who listened to Hogg's speech, said he expects Hogg to 'ride the climate change” issue, which will be 'very attractive” for voters, but it will still be difficult to sway people away from the popular Grassley.

Republicans are already painting Hogg as 'just another down-the-line liberal,” citing his support for the Affordable Care Act, opposition to the Keystone Pipeline and examples of votes for tax increases.

'Whether he's hammering job creators with higher taxes or holding back Iowa's economy with radical environmental measures, Hogg is simply out of touch,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Greg Blair said in a statement.