Campaign Almanac: Abby Finkenauer’s first ad hits airwaves

Also, a former congressman endorses Mike Franken

Gazette Des Moines Bureau

May. 17, 2022 5:52 pm

Abby Finkenauer speaks Feb. 20 at a Democrat event for gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear at CSPS in Cedar Rapids. (Amir Prellberg/Freelance for The Gazette)

Democrat Abby Finkenauer is headed to Iowa TV stations with her first campaign ad in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race.

Finkenauer, a former congresswoman and state legislator from Cedar Rapids, is one of three Democrats running in the June 7 primary for the U.S. Senate.

Her first Senate campaign ad criticizes Senate Republicans — including the presumed Republican candidate, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley — for their response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. It also highlights her call for congressional term limits, and her pledge to only serve two terms in the Senate if elected.

“I don’t just support term limits and would vote for them. I hold myself to them,” Finkenauer says in the ad, which will run in markets across the state, her campaign said.

The other Democrats in Iowa’s U.S. Senate campaign are U.S. Navy veteran Mike Franken from Sioux City and Minden physician Glenn Hurst.

Grassley is the Republican incumbent; he faces a primary challenge from Sioux City lawyer and state legislator Jim Carlin.

Early voting for the primary starts Wednesday.

FORMER CONGRESSMAN ENDORSES FRANKEN: Dave Nagle, a former congressman from Eastern Iowa, endorsed Mike Franken’s campaign for the U.S. Senate. Franken, a U.S. Navy veteran from Sioux City, is one of three Democrats running.

“While I normally do not endorse candidates in Democratic primary races, I have decided to break with my prior position to enthusiastically back (Franken). Surprisingly, it was not a hard decision to make because of the qualifications Mike brings to the challenge,” Nagle said in a news release from the Franken campaign. “I have been impressed with the admiral’s campaign. It is fresh, it has generated enthusiasm, and I believe (he) brings to the table of debate new approaches to move this badly divided country to agreement in facing and overcoming society’s challenges.”