And I'm just trying to figure, is he on some kind of medication that we don't know about? [laughs] Or, like, what the hell is going on? But at the same time, it, it just feels so threatening because, you know, we know that it's a geriatric ward, the, the US Senate, and yet Iowa, isn't it time to turn the page?

So Chuck Grassley is 93 years old now.

He would be 95 as of election day 2028 when his term ends.

And this got a lot of attention, but I don't think he's running again.

I'm just gonna put that out there.

He's always been reluctant to announce that he's retiring or not seeking another term, and this is...

The whole time since he was reelected in 2022, he's refused to say that it would be his last term.

Right, right

or not? What was that like?

I was not there, but watching it on C-SPAN, it looked like only a few hundred people were there.

So it didn't seem like a very large crowd.

I think there were more people at the Rob Santown Hall that I went to in West Des Moines on Wednesday.

There were 500 people there, and I don't think there were 500 to see J.D. Vance.

I think that Republicans definitely have an enthusiasm problem.

That's something I'm working on right now.

And, you know, she's been there for a bit, but this looks like she's in trouble.

Rob Sand, from what I've seen of him, does not seem like anger is what he wants to tap into, but, but tell me what you've seen when, when he's out in public.

No, he does not strike an angry note, and he's not really part of this whole debate between progressives and moderates or centrists in the party.

He's really tried to chart, I would say, a completely different course of saying that he wants to get back to common sense government, focusing on the issues that people can agree on.

He's talked about how if he's governor and the legislature signs him culture war bills, we're gonna have veto ceremonies instead of bill-signing ceremonies, that he doesn't wanna do any of this culture war thing.

He, he talks about people being exhausted, and one thing that he does at the beginning of every town hall is he asks-

What do you think?

I don't know how easy it would be to replicate Rob Sand.

He grew up in a small town.

Okay, good

... because have you ever heard of a secretary of defense headlining a campaign fundraiser? I hadn't until a couple of weeks ago when Zach Nunn, who is the one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in the country, he represents the third district of Iowa, including the Des Moines Metro, brought Pete Hegseth to the Iowa State Fair to headline a fundraiser for him, which is a completely inappropriate for, uh, a, it as, for the Secretary of Defense to even be involved in someone's campaign, and is very likely a violation of Defense Department rules.

But I was more intrigued because if you were a Republican whose political career was threatened right now, would you want to campaign with Pete Hegseth? I wouldn't, because this war in Iran is incredibly unpopular and is a large reason why gas prices and diesel prices have gone way up.

And I was really intrigued by this campaign stop, and I think, I, I suspect, I haven't seen the internal polling that Republicans have, but I suspect that Zach Nunn has trouble on this right flank with the MAGA Republicans, and that bringing in Pete Hegseth would be a way to energize that part of the Republican base.

Right

... higher gas prices.

And Sarah Trone Garriott, who's the Democratic challenger in the third congressional district, she absolutely is making an issue out of this.

Besides the fact that it's inappropriate for Pete Hegseth to be campaigning for anyone, just they, it's a reminder that Zach Nunn voted repeatedly.

Yes, please

...

this is the most fascinating election cycle I've ever covered in Iowa.

We have a governor's race.

It's an open seat because our current governor is not seeking re-election, and most of forecasters are viewing this race as a toss-up now.

The Democratic candidate, State Auditor Rob Sand, extremely well-funded, well organized, massive grassroots support.

But there was kind of a surprise in the Republican primary last night, where this guy Zach Lane, who hardly anybody had ever even heard of six months ago, was able to beat the establishment favorite Randy Feenstra, even though Donald Trump tried to swoop in on Friday at the last minute and save Randy Feenstra, and it still wasn't enough.

Thank you.

But I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.

Well, I agree.

Absolutely.

Well, Rob Sand talked to reporters yesterday morning after voting, and he just said basically that he's confident going in against anybody and that he didn't really want to comment specifically on Zach Lane.

One of Zach Lane's main talking points at his campaign events was that Feenster is going to lose to Rob Sand and I can beat Rob Sand.

And that was something that Steve King said when he endorsed Lane.

He said, you know, this is a guy who can beat Rob Sand.

And if there's any drop-off in rural areas due to the fact that he's perceived as anti-ethanol.