SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — In dress shirts and pants, Chuck Grassley and Tom Cotton dropped to their knees on stage at a recent Iowa Republican Party fundraiser and began pumping out pushups. The 87-year-old Iowa senator's were slow and deliberate while his Arkansas colleague's were crisp and level, befitting the 44-year-old former Army captain.
The 22 reps were part of a campaign to curb veteran suicides. But for Grassley, a senator considering a bid for an eighth term, it was also a moment to send another message to voters: I can still keep up.
After 40 years in the Senate, serving under seven presidents, Grassley's resilience isn't just physical. Once proudly bipartisan, Grassley adapted deftly to the new hyperpartisanship of the Trump era. While some of his fellow longtimers in Washington are calling it quits, fed up with the rightward lurch of the GOP or the inertia in Congress, Grassley has set out to show he's thriving.
“He goes out and talks to Republicans, and sees the party still includes a number of people who are big-time Trump supporters," said longtime adviser Mike Schreurs. “One way or another, you've got to accommodate them. And that's Grassley's astute politics.”
Grassley has said he will announce his plans this fall, later than usual for the senator, who typically has decided to run again immediately after each of his previous reelections.
But the senator's campaign team is functioning as if he’s running. Grassley and his pollster Brian Tringali met last month with leaders of the National Republican Senatorial Committee at their headquarters in Washington. Other advisers, including Grassley’s longtime advertising consultant Fred Davis, participated in the meeting via Zoom. They reviewed Grassley's polling and fundraising head start, pleased with what...
