DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Declaring herself the judge Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley “can’t ignore,” former Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge launched a Democratic bid Friday to unseat the Judiciary Committee chairman – a campaign she said would focus largely on his handling of the current Supreme Court vacancy.
Judge, 72, gives Democrats a candidate with proven ability to win a statewide election and a down-to-earth background that matches Grassley’s family farmer vibe. Grassley comes from a family that once raised hogs and now plants corn and soybeans. Judge has raised cows with her family for 40 years.
She has a growing political resume, albeit not nearly as long as the 82-year-old senator’s. Grassley was first elected to the state Legislature in 1958 before winning a U.S. House seat in 1974 and the Senate seat in 1980.
The Democratic challenger served two terms in the Iowa Senate and became the first woman to be elected Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 1998, serving two terms. She was elected lieutenant governor with former Gov. Chet Culver in 2006, but they were defeated by a wide margin in a 2010 campaign against former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, who was persuaded to return after leaving office in 1998.
During an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Judge said she initially didn’t want to run but reconsidered after Grassley insisted he would not hold hearings to vet a nominee from President Barack Obama to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last month in Texas.