2022 United States Senate election in Iowa

The 2022 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Iowa. Incumbent Republican Senator Chuck Grassley defeated Democratic nominee Michael Franken to win re-election to an eighth term.

Grassley was first elected in 1980 and was most recently re-elected in 2016. Grassley, who turned 89 years old on September 17, 2022, ran for reelection to an eighth term. With U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy retiring the same year, he became the second-oldest person ever to be re-elected for another term (behind Strom Thurmond in 1996 at age 93), on January 3, 2023, upon the departure of Patrick Leahy from the United States Senate Chuck Grassley became the most senior member in the Senate, and on January 4, 2023, he became the longest-serving Republican senator in history (overtaking Orrin Hatch), as well as the most senior member of Congress since January 3, 2023.

Despite his victory, this was Grassley's closest Senate race since he was first elected in 1980 and the first election since that time in which he did not crack 60% of the vote. Franken also beat Grassley in Linn, Story, and Polk counties, all of which Grassley had won in every election since 1986. In addition, this election was the first time that Grassley lost Black Hawk County. This election also sought the Class III seat's worst performance by a Republican since 1962, and best performance by a Democrat since 1980.

Nominee

 * Chuck Grassley, incumbent U.S. Senator (1981–present) and president pro tempore emeritus (2021–present)

Eliminated in primary

 * Jim Carlin, state senator from the 3rd district (2017–2023)

Declined

 * Ashley Hinson, U.S. Representative for IA's 1st congressional district (2021–2023) (ran for re-election; endorsed Grassley)
 * Matthew Whitaker, former acting U.S. Attorney General, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 (endorsed Grassley)

Results
[[File:2022 United States Senate Republican primary election in Iowa results map by county.svg|thumb|Results by county {{legend|#E27F7F|Grassley}}

{{legend|#E27F7F|50–60%}}

{{legend|#D75D5D|60–70%}}

{{legend|#D72F30|70–80%}}

{{legend|#C21B18|80–90%}} ]]

Nominee

 * Michael Franken, retired U.S. Navy Admiral, former aide to U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020

Eliminated in primary

 * Abby Finkenauer, former U.S. Representative for IA's 1st congressional district (2019–2021)
 * Glenn Hurst, Minden city councilor and chair of the Iowa Democratic Party Rural Caucus

Withdrew

 * Bob Krause, former state representative (endorsed Franken)
 * Dave Muhlbauer, former Crawford County supervisor (2017–2021) (endorsed Franken)

Declined

 * Cindy Axne, U.S. representative for IA's 3rd congressional district (2019–2023) (ran for re-election; endorsed Finkenauer)
 * Rob Sand, Iowa State Auditor (2019–present) (ran for reelection)
 * J. D. Scholten, former paralegal, former professional baseball player and nominee for IA's 4th congressional district in 2018 and 2020 (ran for state house)

Campaign
Former U.S. Representative Abby Finkenauer was the original frontrunner in the Democratic primary, with her campaign being backed by several prominent politicians and labor unions, as well as the influential political action committee EMILY's List. However, in an upset, retired vice-admiral Michael Franken managed to slowly overtake her as the perceived frontrunner, assisted by an effective campaign that highlighted his leadership credentials.

Polling

 * Graphical summary

Results
[[File:2022 United States Senate Democratic primary election in Iowa results map by county.svg|thumb|Results by county {{legend|#7996E2|Franken}}

{{legend|#A5B0FF|40–50%}}

{{legend|#7996E2|50–60%}}

{{legend|#6674DE|60–70%}}

{{legend|#584CDE|70–80%}} {{legend|#FF9A50|Finkenauer}}

{{legend|#FFB580|40–50%}}

{{legend|#FF9A50|50–60%}}

{{legend|#EE8E50|60–70%}}]]

Polling

 * Aggregate polls
 * Graphical summary


 * Chuck Grassley vs. Abby Finkenauer

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Black Hawk (largest city: Waterloo)
 * Linn (largest city: Cedar Rapids)
 * Polk (largest city: Des Moines)
 * Story (largest city: Ames)

By congressional district
Grassley won all 4 congressional districts.