Chuck Grassley: Keeps on Ticking
The oldest U.S. Senator in Iowa history is now eying the #1 spot for the longest-serving member of the chamber from the Hawkeye State
Senior Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley turned a few heads last week when he announced that he would be running for reelection…in 2016.
Iowa already has a high profile U.S. Senate race on the ballot before then in the battle for retiring Democrat Tom Harkin’s open seat in 2014.
Grassley explained that his decision to run again was based in part on preventing the state from being put in the position of having both of the state’s delegation members sitting low on the seniority totem pole come 2017:
“If Iowa had to start over two years from now with two very junior senators it would hurt Iowans’ opportunities to get anything done in the Senate.”
Grassley recently became the oldest serving Iowa Senator in state history, and is scheduled to pass Republican William Allison for the #1 slot later this term for the longest-serving Hawkeye State U.S. Senator in history.
Iowa’s Oldest U.S. Senators
William Allison was 79 years, 5 months, and 2 days old when he died in office on August 4, 1908.
A few years prior he had eclipsed the record for the state’s oldest living Senator set by fellow Republican John Gear.
Gear served less than a term but was the oldest Iowan to enter the Senate at 69, and was 75 years, 3 months, and 7 days old when he died in office on July 14, 1900.
Allison’s mark as the oldest Iowa U.S. Senator stood for more than 105 years after his death until Grassley passed him on February 20, 2013 when he reached 79 years, 5 months, and 3 days.
Grassley celebrated his 80th birthday a week ago Tuesday and will reach 83 years, 3 months, 17 days at the end of his current term and, if reelected, would reach 89 years, 3 months, 17 days at the end of his next term to truly pad his record.
Senator Grassley entered the chamber at the age of 47 – which is only slightly younger than the average age of 49.5 years among the 33 to serve in the Senate from Iowa since statehood.
Rounding out the Top 5 oldest Senators in Iowa history are Republican Albert Cummins (1908-1926) at #3 at 76 years, 5 months, 15 days, Democrat Guy Gillette (1936-1945, 1949-1955) at #4 at 75 years, 11 months, and Republican John Gear (1895-1900) at #5 at 75 years, 3 months, 7 days.
Tom Harkin is currently in sixth place, and will remain so at the end of his term when he exits the chamber at 75 years, 1 month, 15 days.
Only one other Iowa U.S. Senator has served in his 70s: Bourke Hickenlooper (1945-1969) was 72 years, 5 months, and 13 days old when he retired at the end of his fourth term.
The average age of Iowa U.S. Senators upon exiting the chamber – due to retirement, defeat at the ballot box, or death – is 60.
Four Iowa U.S. Senators have died in office – all within a quarter-century of each other – and three of whom are among the Top 5 oldest to ever serve the state: Gear (1900), Allison (1908), Republican Jonathan Dolliver (1910), and Cummins (1926).
Age of Iowa U.S. Senators Exiting Office
|
Rank
|
Senator
|
Party
|
Left Office
|
Years
|
Months
|
Days
|
|
1
|
Chuck Grassley*
|
Republican
|
(in office)
|
80
|
0
|
8
|
|
2
|
William Allison
|
Republican
|
August 4, 1908
|
79
|
5
|
2
|
|
3
|
Albert Cummins
|
Republican
|
July 30, 1926
|
76
|
5
|
15
|
|
4
|
Guy Gillette
|
Democrat
|
January 3, 1945
|
75
|
11
|
0
|
|
5
|
John Gear
|
Republican
|
July 14, 1900
|
75
|
3
|
7
|
|
6
|
Tom Harkin*
|
Democrat
|
(in office)
|
73
|
10
|
6
|
|
7
|
Bourke Hickenlooper
|
Republican
|
January 3, 1969
|
72
|
5
|
13
|
|
8
|
Thomas Martin
|
Republican
|
January 3, 1961
|
67
|
11
|
16
|
|
9
|
Samuel Kirkwood
|
Republican
|
March 3, 1867
|
67
|
2
|
15
|
|
10
|
James Wilson
|
Republican
|
March 3, 1895
|
66
|
4
|
12
|
|
11
|
George Wilson
|
Republican
|
January 3, 1949
|
64
|
9
|
2
|
|
12
|
Smith Brookhart
|
Republican
|
April 12, 1926
|
64
|
1
|
1
|
|
13
|
Clyde Herring
|
Democrat
|
January 3, 1943
|
63
|
8
|
0
|
|
14
|
Lester Dickinson
|
Republican
|
January 3, 1937
|
63
|
2
|
5
|
|
15
|
Lafayette Young
|
Republican
|
April 11, 1911
|
62
|
11
|
1
|
|
16
|
Richard Murphy
|
Democrat
|
July 16, 1936
|
60
|
8
|
10
|
|
17
|
George Wright
|
Republican
|
March 3, 1877
|
56
|
11
|
7
|
|
18
|
Jack Miller
|
Republican
|
January 3, 1973
|
56
|
6
|
28
|
|
19
|
Roger Jepsen
|
Republican
|
January 3, 1985
|
56
|
0
|
11
|
|
20
|
Charles Rawson
|
Republican
|
November 7, 1922
|
55
|
5
|
9
|
|
21
|
George Jones
|
Democrat
|
March 3, 1859
|
54
|
10
|
19
|
|
22
|
James Howell
|
Republican
|
March 3, 1871
|
54
|
7
|
27
|
|
23
|
James Grimes
|
Republican
|
December 6, 1869
|
53
|
1
|
16
|
|
24
|
Harold Hughes
|
Democrat
|
January 3, 1975
|
52
|
10
|
24
|
|
25
|
William Kenyon
|
Republican
|
February 24, 1922
|
52
|
8
|
14
|
|
26
|
Jonathan Dolliver
|
Republican
|
October 15, 1910
|
52
|
8
|
9
|
|
27
|
James Harlan
|
Free Soil / Republican
|
May 15, 1865
|
52
|
6
|
5
|
|
28
|
Dick Clark
|
Democrat
|
January 3, 1979
|
50
|
3
|
20
|
|
29
|
Daniel Steck
|
Democrat
|
March 3, 1931
|
49
|
2
|
15
|
|
30
|
James McDill
|
Republican
|
March 3, 1883
|
48
|
11
|
27
|
|
31
|
John Culver
|
Democrat
|
January 3, 1981
|
48
|
4
|
26
|
|
32
|
Augustus Dodge
|
Democrat
|
February 22, 1855
|
43
|
1
|
20
|
|
33
|
David Stewart
|
Republican
|
March 3, 1927
|
40
|
1
|
9
|
* Through September 25, 2013. Table compiled by Smart Politics.
Longest-Serving Iowa U.S. Senators
Grassley currently sits in second place for the most days served in the U.S. Senate in Iowa history at 11,953 days through Wednesday (32 years, 8 months, 22 days).
Allison ranks #1 with the 12,936 days (35 years, 5 months) he logged during his six terms in office before his death in 1908.
Grassley is scheduled to pass Allison to claim the state’s all-time mark for Senate service on June 4, 2016.
Senator Grassley would reach 13,149 days at the end of his term in January 2017 and 15,340 days at the end of his hypothetical seventh term in January 2023.
Grassley currently holds the #6 spot in U.S. Senate seniority, but Montana Democrat Max Baucus (#3) and Michigan Democrat Carl Levin (#5) are retiring in January 2015.
Republican Thad Cochran of Mississippi (#4) has not decided whether he will seek another term in the 2014 cycle.
Only four of Iowa’s 33 U.S. Senators in history have served at least three full terms: Allison, Grassley, Harkin, and Hickenlooper.
Rounding out the Top 5 are Harkin at #3 with 10,492 days and counting (28 years, 8 months, 22 days), Hickenlooper at #4 with 8,766 days (24 years), and Cummins at #5 with 6,457 days (17 years, 8 months, 6 days).
The Iowan with the shortest stint in the chamber was Republican Lafayette Young at just 150 days.
Young was appointed to the Senate after the death of Jonathan Dolliver, but failed to subsequently win election to the seat.
Iowa U.S. Senate Service
|
Rank
|
Senator
|
Party
|
Years
|
Length of Service
|
|
1
|
William Allison
|
Republican
|
1873-1908
|
35 years, 5 months
|
|
2
|
Chuck Grassley
|
Republican
|
1981-
|
32 years, 8 months, 22 days*
|
|
3
|
Tom Harkin
|
Democrat
|
1985-
|
28 years, 8 months, 22 days*
|
|
4
|
Bourke Hickenlooper
|
Republican
|
1945-1969
|
24 years
|
|
5
|
Albert Cummins
|
Republican
|
1908-1926
|
17 years, 8 months, 6 days
|
|
6
|
James Harlan
|
Free Soil / Republican
|
1855-1865; 1867-1873
|
15 years, 4 months, 12 days
|
|
7
|
Guy Gillette
|
Democrat
|
1936-1945; 1949-1955
|
14 years, 1 month, 30 days
|
|
8
|
Jack Miller
|
Republican
|
1961-1973
|
12 years
|
|
9
|
James Wilson
|
Republican
|
1883-1895
|
11 years, 11 months, 27 days
|
|
10
|
William Kenyon
|
Republican
|
1911-1922
|
10 years, 10 months, 12 days
|
|
11
|
James Grimes
|
Republican
|
1859-1869
|
10 years, 9 months, 2 days
|
|
12
|
George Jones
|
Democrat
|
1848-1859
|
10 years, 2 months, 24 days
|
|
13
|
Jonathan Dolliver
|
Republican
|
1900-1910
|
10 years, 1 month, 23 days
|
|
14
|
Smith Brookhart
|
Republican
|
1925-1926; 1927-1933
|
7 years, 1 month, 5 days
|
|
15
|
Augustus Dodge
|
Democrat
|
1848-1855
|
6 years, 2 months, 15 days
|
|
16
|
John Culver
|
Democrat
|
1975-1981
|
6 years
|
|
16
|
Roger Jepsen
|
Republican
|
1979-1985
|
6 years
|
|
16
|
Thomas Martin
|
Republican
|
1955-1961
|
6 years
|
|
19
|
Dick Clark
|
Democrat
|
1973-1979
|
6 years
|
|
19
|
Harold Hughes
|
Democrat
|
1969-1975
|
6 years
|
|
19
|
George Wright
|
Republican
|
1871-1877
|
5 years, 11 months, 27 days
|
|
22
|
George Wilson
|
Republican
|
1943-1949
|
5 years, 11 months, 20 days
|
|
23
|
Clyde Herring
|
Democrat
|
1937-1943
|
5 years, 11 months, 19 days
|
|
24
|
Lester Dickinson
|
Republican
|
1931-1937
|
5 years, 9 months, 30 days
|
|
25
|
John Gear
|
Republican
|
1895-1900
|
5 years, 4 months, 10 days
|
|
26
|
Samuel Kirkwood
|
Republican
|
1866-1867; 1877-1881
|
5 years, 1 month, 21 days
|
|
27
|
Daniel Steck
|
Democrat
|
1926-1931
|
4 years, 10 months, 19 days
|
|
28
|
Richard Murphy
|
Democrat
|
1933-1936
|
3 years, 4 months, 12 days
|
|
29
|
James McDill
|
Republican
|
1881-1883
|
1 year, 11 months, 23 days
|
|
30
|
James Howell
|
Republican
|
1870-1871
|
1 year, 1 month, 13 days
|
|
31
|
Charles Rawson
|
Republican
|
1922-1922
|
8 months, 14 days
|
|
32
|
David Stewart
|
Republican
|
1926-1927
|
6 months, 24 days
|
|
33
|
Lafayette Young
|
Republican
|
1910-1911
|
4 months, 30 days
|
* Through September 25, 2013. Table compiled by Smart Politics.
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