Campaign Almanac: Mike Franken outraises Chuck Grassley in final fundraising period

Democrat Mike Franken raised more than twice as much as U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in the final fundraising period before the general election for U.S. Senate.

Franken raised a little over $1 million between Oct. 1 and Oct. 19, while Grassley raised $490,000.

Grassley leads Franken over the whole election cycle to date, raising $10.2 million in his bid for re-election. Franken has raised close to $9.3 million through the cycle.

Grassley also ended the cycle with a major cash-on-hand advantage, posting $2.1 million in the bank, compared to Franken’s $608,000 cash on hand.

“This underscores the strong financial and organizational strength of the Grassley Works campaign,” Grassley spokesperson Michaela Sundermann said. “Combined with the vigorous grassroots momentum, Sen. Grassley will enjoy a resounding victory on November 8.”

Franken’s campaign said the candidate raised $500,000 in the four days following the release of October's Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, which found Grassley leading Franken by only 3 points, 49 percent to 46 percent.

“Our strong polling and fundraising numbers are just more evidence of what we’ve known all along: Momentum is building, and Michael Franken will defeat Chuck Grassley,” Franken’s spokesperson C.J. Petersen said in a statement after announcing the post-poll fundraising.

VILSACKS TO CAMPAIGN WITH FRANKEN: Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who is the current U.S. Agriculture Secretary, and his wife, former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack, will campaign with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Franken in Iowa on Saturday.

The Vilsacks will join campaign stops in Burlington, Mount Pleasant and Montrose as Franken continues his “Secure Our Future” tour. The Vilsacks lived in Mount Pleasant before Tom Vilsack was elected governor.

“This is an opportunity for Admiral Franken to show Iowans why he is the right choice to retire Sen. Grassley,” the campaign said in a news release.

GRASSLEY AD SAYS FRANKEN WANTS IOWA TO BE “LIBERAL LIKE CALIFORNIA”: A new ad from U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says Democratic Senate candidate Mike Franken wants Iowa to be “liberal like California.”

It includes a clip of Franken saying, “Change the state, a new level of progressive thought, liberal thought.”

It is the latest of several ads from the Grassley campaign contrasting Iowa and California, saying Iowa has a lower crime rate and lower taxes that California.

“Mr. Franken, move to California, and leave us alone,” the ad concludes.

Franken spokesperson C.J. Petersen responded, "After 63 years in office, Sen. Grassley knows he can't run on his own record of writing the laws that banned Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices and gave massive tax breaks to companies that outsourced Iowa jobs. Instead he's resorted to attacking the character of a former Navy Admiral who spent nearly 40 years serving our country.”

HINSON AD HIGHLIGHTS WORK: U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson released an ad saying she works to represent the voters of her district.

“You put your trust in me, and I work every day to earn it, at hundreds of events, across every county,” she says in the ad.

The ad shows Hinson hugging a supporter, followed by a car driving by while the passenger appears to hold up their middle finger.

“Some folks give hugs, some give other suggestions,” she says. “But everyone is always heard."

In the ad, Hinson says she’s secured money for local projects, increased funding for veterans' mental health and “protected the rights of parents and police” during her two years in Washington.

Hinson, of Marion, faces state Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, in the race to represent Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.