Campaign Almanac: Heavily favored Grassley unloads six-figure primary campaign ad buy

Chuck Grassley is leaving nothing to chance.

The longtime Republican U.S. senator from Iowa is widely expected in next week’s primary election to comfortably survive a Republican primary challenge from Jim Carlin, an attorney and state legislator from Sioux City.

Nonetheless, Grassley’s campaign took to the airwaves recently, blasting out a six-figure, multimedia ad campaign, according to his campaign. Grassley’s campaign ads are appearing on television, radio, digital and in print, according to the campaign.

In a statement, Grassley campaign communications director Michaela Sundermann highlighted Democratic President Joe Biden’s low approval numbers in Iowa and across the country, and said the three Democrats running for the U.S. Senate in Iowa “have refused to distance themselves” from the Biden administration’s policies.

“With Democrats in control, we’ve seen soaring gas and grocery prices, U.S. energy independence become foreign energy dependence and a record-breaking crisis at our southern border,” Sundermann said in a statement. “This ad campaign reminds Iowans that they have a proven leader and conservative fighter for them in Chuck Grassley.”

Grassley’s primary ad campaign includes two 30-second television spots that will run statewide on broadcast and cable channels, three 60-second radio ads that will run statewide, and two print ads: one that will run in Iowa Farm Bureau’s publication, and another that will run in a number of Iowa newspapers, the campaign said.

PRO-CHOICE GROUP ENDORSES MATHIS: NARAL Pro-Choice America, a political organization that supports candidates who support policies that ensure a woman’s right to have an abortion, has endorsed Liz Mathis for Congress in Eastern Iowa’s new 2nd District.

Mathis is the lone Democrat in the campaign. She will face Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.

“Mathis, a future leader for reproductive freedom, is ready to take the bold action needed to safeguard abortion access,” NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju said in a news release from the Mathis campaign. “NARAL will be turning out to support her campaign to ensure she can protect the values of the 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion.”

FEMINIST GROUP ENDORSES FINKENAUER: Feminist Majority, a political group that supports candidates for office who will work toward “equality for women at the decision-making tables,” according to its website, has endorsed Abby Finkenauer for U.S. Senate, Finkenauer’s campaign said in a news release.

Finkenauer, a former congresswoman and state legislator from Cedar Rapids, is one of three Democrats running for U.S. Senate in Iowa. The others are Sioux City veteran Mike Franken and Minden physician Glenn Hurst.

The Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, faces a primary challenge from Sioux City attorney and state legislator Jim Carlin.

NATIONAL GROUP ENDORSES STATEHOUSE CANDIDATE: Tiara Mays, a Democratic candidate for the Iowa Legislature in suburban Des Moines, has been endorsed by The Collective PAC, a national group that says it works to increase Black political engagement and representation.

Mays, a Black woman, health insurance manager and author from Johnston, is one of two Democrats running in Iowa House District 43. According to a news release from The Collective PAC, Mays in the Statehouse would advocate for public education, health care reform and economic development.