Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) leads former Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa) by 18 points in a hypothetical matchup, according to a Des Moines Register/ Mediacom Iowa poll released Tuesday.
The survey of 620 likely voters found that Grassley leads Finkenauer 55 to 37 percent, while another seven percent said they were not sure who they would vote for. A separate 1 percent said they would not cast a vote.
The poll signals that Grassley, and 88-year-old lawmaker who has served over 40 years in the senate, would be a strong contender to hold his seat.
The Iowa Republican has not said whether or not he would run for reelection, and Democrats have their eyes on Iowa heading into the 2022 midterms.
Tuesday’s poll comes after a separate Des Moines Register/ Mediacom poll in June found that 64 percent of Iowans think it’s time for someone else to hold Grassley’s seat. However, that survey did not name any specific candidate, participants only said they would want “someone new.”
Finkenauer entered the race to replace Grassley in late July, and is perhaps the highest-profile Democrat to enter the race thus far.
Between the two candidates, Tuesday’s poll showed that Grassley leads Finkenauer among men, voters without a college degree and among evangelicals.
Grassley far out-paces the Finkenauer 58 percent to 35 percent in Iowa’s 1st congressional district, the district she represented in Congress.
Also in the race is former Crawford County supervisor Dave Muhlbauer (D), who announced his campaign in May. Only one Republican, state Sen. Jim Carlin (R), has entered the Senate race.
The poll surveyed 805 Iowa adults, including 620 likely voters, from Sept. 12-15. The margin of error for all Iowans is +/- 3.5 percentage points, and +/-3.9 percent for likely voters.