Republican challenging Chuck Grassley in primary may leave state Senate

SIOUX CITY — Sioux City Republican Jim Carlin is hinting he may step down from the state Senate before the new legislative session begins in January to concentrate full time on his U.S. Senate campaign.

In an interview on Simon Conway's radio talk show in Des Moines, Carlin seemed to rule out running for re-election and even raised the possibility of exiting a full year before his four-year term expires on Jan. 1, 2023.

Carlin, 58, launched a long-shot bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in March, pitting him against Republican incumbent Sen. Chuck Grassley, who announced last month he will seek an eighth term.

Conway asked Carlin, a lawyer, during the Tuesday interview about how the ongoing redistricting of the state's legislative boundaries would affect his Senate district.

"Either way, I’m not going to be there," Carlin said, according to a transcript of the interview. "This is it for me. This is my last year.

"I’m considering maybe not being there in January because, as you know the (U.S. Senate) campaign requires a lot of travel-wise, and I just want to be able to make sure that I’m able to do an adequate job serving in the Senate and campaigning for this U.S. Senate seat.

“So I’d say it’s about a 50-50 right now for me."

Four Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination to challenge the winner of the Grassley-Carlin primary in 2022.

They are former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids, Minden physician Glenn Hurst, Manning cattle farmer Dave Muhlbauer and former state legislator Bob Krause of Burlington.