To hear Ken’s coverage of Grassley’s reaction to Braley’s comment, click here.
DES MOINES, Iowa – A dust-up in the race for Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat was quickly calmed by both candidate and senator, but it could bring Republicans back to competitiveness over the first open U.S. Senate seat for Iowans in decades.
Both of Iowa?s U.S. senators are senior; combined, Sens. Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin have the fifth-highest seniority in the history of the United States Senate. But Harkin is retiring, and that opens the seat to all comers. 6 Republicans are running, but have been in the shadow of Democrat U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley.
Early this week, a video was released showing Braley denouncing the possibility that Grassley serve as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on the grounds that Grassley is a “farmer from Iowa,” who “never went to law school.”
That statement drew fire from all Republicans who demanded that Braley apologize to farmers. He did so and wrote a personal apology to Grassley.
?I apologize to Senator Grassley and anyone I may have offended,” Braley wrote. “I respect Senator Grassley and enjoy our working relationship even though we disagree on some issues.”
Grassley who is 81, states often that he is the only non-lawyer on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and has chosen it over agriculture as his assignment, even though he comes home often to farm.
Grassley accepted Braley?s apology, but in a Wednesday teleconference with Iowa news stations, declined to comment beyond the content contained in a written release from his office, which stated in part, ?Sen. Grassley has served on the Judiciary Committee since he was first elected to the Senate, and he?s got a strong record on the committee.”
“I don’t want more questions raised,” Grassley said. “I’m moving on.”
