Abby Finkenauer raises $2M in bid to face Sen. Chuck Grassley

DES MOINES — Former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer raised just shy of $2 million in 2021 in her bid to challenge Iowa’s longtime — and much better-funded — U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, her campaign reported Monday.

Finkenauer, a former one-term Eastern Iowa congresswoman and state legislator from Cedar Rapids, is one of three Democrats running to unseat Republican Grassley in Iowa’s 2022 U.S. Senate race. Iowa’s other U.S. senator, Republican Joni Ernst, does not face re-election until 2026.

Federal campaign fundraising reports for 2021 were due Monday.

The official campaign finance reports for most of the candidates in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race were not yet available on the Federal Election Commission’s website as of 4 p.m. Monday. Many of the campaigns issued news releases, though, with fundraising highlights and campaign comments.

“Abby Finkenauer is building a campaign that is ready to give Chuck Grassley the toughest challenge of his 47-year career in Washington, win this crucial Senate seat, and finally stand up for working Iowans families in Washington,” Megan Simpson, the Finkenauer campaign’s senior adviser, said in a statement.

“The strong fundraising that Abby achieved in 2021 has allowed our campaign to build a sustainable and growing infrastructure that will allow us to connect with Iowans in every corner of the state in 2022, and ultimately defeat Chuck Grassley in November.”

According to Finkenauer’s campaign, the average donation to her campaign in the last three months of 2021 was less than $40, and she received donations from all 99 Iowa counties in both the third and fourth three-month federal reporting periods in 2021.

The campaign said Finkenauer did not accept any donations from business-based political groups, also known as corporate PACs.

Michael Franken, a U.S. Navy veteran from Sioux City and another Democratic candidate in the U.S. Senate race, reported his campaign raised more than $750,000 since launching his campaign in October. Franken also ran in the 2020 U.S. Senate primary hoping to unseat Ernst, but finished second.

“This is going to be a competitive primary, and my campaign is committed to raise the funds we need to compete in both the primary and general elections,” Franken said in a statement. “Overall, the campaign is in a strong position, and we are prepared to keep this momentum going, and then some, through November.”

Franken’s campaign said he has already raised more than $300,000 in January.

Glenn Hurst, a Democratic candidate and physician from Minden, reported raising roughly $66,500 in 2021.

Earlier this month, Grassley’s campaign reported he has raised $5.25 million for his re-election, including $1.4 million in the final three months of the year, after he officially announced his campaign at the end of September.

“The Senate majority is on the line and I am working as hard as ever to ensure conservatives take control of Congress,” Grassley said in a statement earlier this month. “The failures of the Biden administration — 40-year high inflation, chaos at our southern border, endless COVID power grabs, raging crime sprees, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan — underscore the importance of the midterm election.”

Grassley also faces a Republican primary challenge from Jim Carlin, a lawyer and state legislator from Sioux City. As of 4 p.m. Monday, Carlin’s 2021 fundraising report was not yet posted.

Two Eastern Iowa Republican U.S. House incumbents have sizable fundraising advantages over their Democratic challengers, according to the year-end Federal Election Commission filings.

Northeast Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson of Marion raised more than three-quarters of a million dollars in the last quarter of 2021, while challenger state Sen. Liz Mathis of Hiawatha collected slightly more than a half-million dollars.

Hinson’s raised $764,219, or $212,353 more than Mathis’ $551,866. She ended the quarter with a $626,434 cash on hand advantage — $1,597,477 to Mathis’ $933,043, reports showed.

In the Southeast Iowa district, U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa outraised state Rep. Christina Bohannan of Iowa City by $48,284 — $395,042 to $346,794. However, she also has $1,837,153 cash on hand compared to Bohannan’s $486,387.

In Central Iowa’s 3rd District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne raised $702,731 and reported $2,104,780 in the bank.

GOP challengers Nicole Hasso and Mary Ann Hanusa raised $169,030 and $2,875, respectively, with $133,576 and $1,908 cash on hand. Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn of Bondurant took in $104,169 and has $117,051 cash on hand. Republican Gary Leffler of West Des Moines reported raising no funds.

In the 4th District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra reported raising $308,765, with $861,525 cash on hand. Challengers Ryan Michael Melton of Nevada, a Democrat, and Ryan O’Leary of Carrol, an independent, did not file reports.

Iowa’s primary election for both parties is June 7 and the general election is Nov. 8.

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