Challenger Jim Carlin Says Most Iowa Republicans Want Grassley To Retire


United States Senate hopeful Jim Carlin, a Republican from Sioux City made a stop at the Glenwood Public Library Monday morning during a swing through southwest Iowa.

Based on conversations he’s been having around the state, United States Senate hopeful Jim Carlin says he believes most Republicans in Iowa think its time for Sen. Charles Grassley to step aside.

“A lot of people just think at Senator Grassley’s age, the better course is just to retire,” Carlin , a state senator from Sioux City, said during an interview Monday morning in Glenwood. “That’s a widely held belief among the majority of Republicans I’ve talked to.”

Grassley, 88, is the second oldest member of the U.S. Senate. He’s seeking his eighth term in office and is considered to be the front-runner in the June 7 Republican primary and November general election.

During his campaign stops across the state, Carlin said he’s encouraging Republicans to take a close look at Grassley’s recent voting record. Carlin said Grassley’s votes in the Senate chamber don’t align with the conservative values of the Republican Party.

“One of the big arguments I would make is, would you have voted to certify the (2020 presidential) election? Would you have voted for the infrastructure bill? Would you have voted to stop construction of President Trump’s wall? Most Republicans would have said ‘No’ to all three of those questions,” Carlin said. “Sen. Grassley pretty much voted for all of Joe Biden’s cabinet appointees, which is pretty difficult to reconcile with any semblance of conservative Republican values."

Carlin said Grassley recieved a grade of ‘F’ on his scorecard from the Conservative Review, a platform that assigns a liberty score on each senator’s voting record and follow-through on campaign promises. Carlin said Grassley was one of the few Republicans to receive the F score along with several Democrats.

“The 50 most important votes he’s had over the past 50 years are documented on that website and I think people would be very surprised how he voted,” Carlin added.

Carlin, 59, said he understands there are members of the Republican Party who aren’t happy with his decision to run against Grassley, but most people he’s encountered respect his decision.

“There are obviously Grassley loyalists around the state but I’ve never had anybody publicly confront me about it,” he said. “They understand it’s a reality of life. I don’t know that it’s tied to the political differences I have with Senator Grassley.”

Carlin said he was well received by fellow Republicans at the recent Fourth District Convention in Carroll. Mills and Fremont counties are becoming a part of Iowa’s new Fourth congressional district.

“I think a lot of people in southwest Iowa see the need for change,” Carlin said.

Carlin said he and fellow conservatives don’t like the direction the country has taken in recent years.

“The direction our country is heading right now is away from freedom and towards socialistic kind of big government control over peoples’ lives,” he said. “That really has been excellerated  over the past five years.

“Most Republicans see loss of freedoms as a very big concern. I believe we have a duty and charge to pass freedoms to the next generation that were given to us. The reason I decided to get into this is I’m a grandfather now. I have three grandchildren. You look at their next 20 years or even the next 10 years and what do you see?”

If elected to the U.S. Senate,  Carlin said his priorities would include election integrity, protecting American agriculture from Chinese control, strong foreign policy, tax relief for seniors and protection of veterans’ benefits,

Carlin, an attorney, has served in the state senate for five years. His visit to Glenwood Monday was part of his tour of libraries in southwest Iowa. He and his wife Donna received a tour of the Glenwood Public Library from director Tara Painter.

“I’ve always enjoyed going to the library,” he said.

Carlin said he’s aware of some of the issues and concerns in Glenwood and Mills County through conservations he’s had with his “roommate” in Des Moines - Rep. David Sieck of Glenwood. Carlin and Sieck share a rental house in Des Moines during the legislative session.

Following his stop in Glenwood Monday, Carlin visited libraries in Sidney and Shenandoah.
 

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