Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the oldest sitting U.S. senator, lamented the possibility that a Democratic governor could appoint his successor if he were to die in office, according to video of remarks he delivered late last week.<\/p>\n
“At 93 years of age, I don’t know how many more groups of Republicans like this I\u2019m going to have a chance to talk to,” Grassley said on Friday during the GOP’s annual Reagan Dinner in West Des Moines. “But I want to take advantage of it. But one of the reasons I’m worried about who’s going to be elected governor — I don\u2019t plan on dying in office — but if I did, I don\u2019t want a Democrat governor choosing my successor.”<\/p>\n
![\"chairman\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/6e861123-6cda-4748-a035-dd23eb264e35\/grassley-gty-er-260928_1790628435684_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"chairman\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Chuck Grassley presides over a hearing on men in women’s sports in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Sept. 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Grassley, who celebrated his 93rd birthday on Sept. 17, is currently serving in his eighth term in the Senate — set to expire Jan. 3, 2029.<\/p>\n If Grassley were to die in the next two years, the next governor of Iowa — set to be elected this fall — would make a temporary appointment to fill the seat until the 2028 election.<\/p>\n A\u00a0late June Fox News poll<\/a>\u00a0found Democrat Rob Sand, Iowa’s state auditor, with a 9-point lead over Republican Zach Lahn among registered voters in the state. A\u00a0New York Times\/Siena poll<\/a>\u00a0conducted around the same time found a much closer contest with the candidates essentially neck-and-neck among likely voters.<\/p>\n Grassley has not announced whether he will seek a ninth term in the Senate in 2028.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n