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March 15, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza, Lauren Dezenski and Allison Gordon
Voters tell this GOP senator it's time to go
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley hasn't made up his mind about whether to run for an 8th(!) term in 2022.
But Iowa voters have! And they're ready for Grassley to retire.
That's the finding of a new Des Moines Register poll that showed 55% of Iowans want Grassley to end his political career next year as compared to just 28% who said they would like to see him run for another term.
Most remarkable -- and concerning for Grassley -- is that more than 1 in 3 self-identified Republicans (35%) say they think the time has come for him to retire.
At issue for Grassley is his age. At 87, he is the second-oldest member of the chamber -- only California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is older -- and if he did run and win an 8th term, Grassley would be 95 by the time it ended.
"I can almost feel the tension as Republican respondents are dealing with it,” J. Ann Selzer, who conducted the poll, told the Des Moines Register of the Grassley numbers. “He's the most popular senator since the inception of the Iowa Poll and probably the closest thing to a sure bet that they would have for the party.'”
What you have in these numbers are Republicans caught between their desire to hold the seat, which Grassley almost certainly gives Republicans their best chance to do, and the belief that running for reelection in 2022 at age 89 is a bridge too far -- regardless of party.
Feinstein's experience is instructive here, and may function as a warning to Grassley. Reelected in 2018, Feinstein faced a series of critical stories late last year that suggested she was struggling to do the job. She was forced to step down as the incoming head of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 117th Congress.
Grassley has said of late that he won't make his mind up about running again until sometime this fall. But these poll numbers have to give him some pause about that decision -- even if asking about whether he should retire is not at all the same thing as polling that shows him badly trailing possible Democratic opponents.
If Grassley does call it quits, he would be the sixth Republican senator (at least) to do so -- following other longtime establishment stalwarts, such as Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Roy Bunt of Missouri, to the exits.
And while Republicans would likely retain an edge in the initial handicapping of an open-seat race, it very well could be a costly race -- even if they hold the seat come November 2022.
The Point: A politician's age is never an easy thing for voters to talk about -- or for the media to write about. But in Grassley's case, it appears as though voters have made their minds up that it's time for him to go.
-- Chris
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"He better not call me, cause I'll tell him what he can do with that."
-- New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Cuomo's aide and vaccine chief's reported calling around to local leaders to gauge support for the governor.
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MEANWHILE, IN OHIO
Some Ohio GOP state lawmakers want to rename the otherwise unfortunately dubbed Mosquito Lake State Park to Donald D. Trump State Park.
The former President does love to put his name on things (and make a little cash from the licensing) -- but it's not clear Trump will make any money off this "deal," set to be introduced in the state legislature soon, according to Fox 8 in Cleveland.
This is only the latest bill in the Ohio state legislature that would commemorate the 45th President. In January, two Republicans proposed the state should dub June 14 as "President Donald J. Trump Day" (that's Trump's birthday). The bill currently has 11 cosponsors.
LET'S GET QUIZZICAL
Question: Which of these politicians was NOT a Rhodes Scholar? 🎓
a. Pete Buttigieg
b. Bobby Jindal
c. Bill Clinton
d. Mitch McConnell
Send your answers to [email protected] and [email protected]! Test your political trivia prowess with The Point trivia on Chris' Instagram stories.
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CHRIS' GOOD READS
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MUSICAL INTERLUDE
To honor the passing of John Prine, who died from Covid-19 last spring, Brandi Carlile covered "I Remember Everything" at Sunday night's Grammy Awards. And it got a little dusty in here.
Today's episode: Biden’s burgeoning border crisis.
MEET THE COVID RESCUE PLAN CZAR
Let’s meet Gene Sperling, President Joe Biden’s choice to oversee his ambitious Covid-19 rescue plan. Sperling's title is a bit of a mouthful: White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator and Senior Adviser to the President. Here are five things you may not have known about this well-established Washington politico.
- Sperling is a talented tennis player. In college, he won a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. Go Gophers!
- If you want to feel under-accomplished, look to Sperling’s resume. After leaving Minnesota, Sperling received a law degree from Yale and then a business degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
- Sperling is the only person to serve as the National Economic Council Director and principal economic policy advisor for two administrations: Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
- Sperling and his wife Allison Abner have maybe the best meet-cute ever. Abner is a television writer and they met while he was consulting for NBC’s The West Wing!
- The best example for Sperling’s new role comes from the President himself. While vice president, Biden similarly implemented the rollout of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
ONE BIG WEEK AND A HALF
100 million
The number of Covid-19 vaccinations and checks set to be distributed by the Biden administration over the next 10 days, according to the President.
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