Pat Grassley
Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives
Assumed office
January 13, 2020
Preceded byLinda Upmeyer
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives
from the 57th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2007
Preceded byBill Dix
Personal details
Born (1983-05-26) May 26, 1983 (age 40)
Cedar Falls, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Amanda Boheman
​
​
(m. 2005; div. 2021)​
Children3
RelativesChuck Grassley (grandfather)
EducationHawkeye Community College
WebsiteLegislative website

Patrick Grassley (born May 26, 1983) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he is the grandson of Iowa United States Senator Chuck Grassley. He has served as the Iowa State Representative for its 57th District since 2023, having previously served the state's 17th (2007–2013) and 50th (2013–2023) districts in the Iowa House of Representatives.[1][2] He was elected Speaker of the state's House in 2020.

Iowa House of Representatives

Elections

In 2006, Grassley ran for a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives.[3] He defeated Alek Wipperman, 57% to 43%.[4][5] In 2008, Grassley won re-election to a second term, defeating Democrat Cayla Baresel, 66% to 34%.[6] In 2010, he won re-election to a third term unopposed.[7]

After redistricting, he decided to run in the newly redrawn 50th district, which included a southern portion of Butler County, a northern portion of Hardin County, and all of Grundy County.[8][better source needed] Fellow Republican State Representative Annette Sweeney also decided to run in the district. Grassley defeated Sweeney 61% to 39%,[9] and won a fourth term in the general election unopposed.[10][11] Grassley was re-elected in 2014,[12] 2016,[13] 2018,[14] and 2020.[15]

Tenure

In January 2020, Grassley was elected as Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives.[16] He had previously chaired the budget-writing committee.[17]

Political future

In 2014, there was speculation that Grassley was being groomed to succeed his grandfather, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, upon his retirement.[18] In 2013 however, Chuck Grassley said, "[Pat] and I have never had that discussion and he's never told me that he wanted to run for the United States Senate."[19]

Electoral history

Election Political result Candidate Party Votes %
Iowa House of Representatives primary elections, 2006 [20]
District 17		Republican Pat GrassleyRepublicanunopposed
Iowa House of Representatives general elections, 2006 [21]
District 17
Turnout: 11,798		Republican hold Pat GrassleyRepublican6,55355.54%
Alek Wipperman Democratic5,03942.71%
Iowa House of Representatives primary elections, 2008 [22]
District 17		Republican Pat Grassley*Republicanunopposed
Iowa House of Representatives general elections, 2008 [23]
District 17
Turnout: 15,286		Republican hold Pat Grassley*Republican9,83664.35%
Cayla Baresel Democratic5,10233.38%
Iowa House of Representatives primary elections, 2010 [24]
District 17		Republican Pat Grassley*Republicanunopposed
Iowa House of Representatives general elections, 2010 [25]
District 17		Republican hold Pat Grassley*Republicanunopposed
Iowa House of Representatives primary elections, 2012 [26]
District 50
Turnout: 4,117		Republican Pat Grassley*Republican2,50660.87%
Annette Sweeney* Republican1,58838.57%
Iowa House of Representatives general elections, 2012 [27]
District 50		Republican (newly redistricted) Pat Grassley*Republicanunopposed

Personal life

Grassley was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He was raised in New Hartford, Iowa. His father Robin is a farmer, and his mother Diane is a T.A. in the Dike-New Hartford School District in Dike, Iowa. Grassley has two younger sisters,[citation needed] and is the grandson of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley.[28]

He graduated from Dike-New Hartford High School in 2002[29] and received an associate of arts degree in agribusiness from Hawkeye Community College in 2004.[30] He has taken courses toward a bachelor's degree at the University of Northern Iowa, where he unsuccessfully ran for student body president.[31]

He works on the family farm with his father and grandfather,[17] and is a member of the Farm Bureau.[32][2]

Grassley and his wife Amanda married in 2005.[33] According to court records, they were divorced in 2022.[34] The Grassleys have two daughters and a son.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Rep. Pat Grassley". CongressWeb.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Representative Pat Grassley". Legis.Iowa.gov. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  3. ^ Spannagel, Brian (February 5, 2006). "Grassley Grandson Enters Political Arena". WCFCourier.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns – IA State House 017 Race – Nov 07, 2006". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  5. ^ "2006 Iowa General Election Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 14, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
  6. ^ "Our Campaigns – IA State House 017 Race – Nov 04, 2008". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns – IA State House 017 Race – Nov 02, 2010". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  8. ^ "District 50 :: Pat Grassley For Iowa State House". December 2, 2012. Archived from the original on December 2, 2012.
  9. ^ "Our Campaigns – IA State House 050 – R Primary Race – Jun 05, 2012". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  10. ^ "Our Campaigns – IA State House 050 Race – Nov 06, 2012". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  11. ^ "2012 Iowa General Election Results". Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  12. ^ "2014 Iowa General Election Winners" (PDF). SOS.Iowa.gov.
  13. ^ "2016 Iowa General Election Results" (PDF). SOS.Iowa.gov.
  14. ^ "2018 Iowa General Election Results". ClarityElections.com.
  15. ^ "2020 Iowa General Election Results" (PDF). SOS.Iowa.gov.
  16. ^ Sostaric, Katarina (January 13, 2020). "Pat Grassley Elected Speaker Of Iowa House". IowaPublicRadio.org. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Gruber-Miller, Stephen (October 7, 2019). "Iowa Republicans select Rep. Pat Grassley to be new House Speaker when Legislature returns in January". DesMoinesRegister.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  18. ^ Cheney, Kyle (December 29, 2014). "16 in '16: The new battle for the Senate". Politico. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  19. ^ Lynch, James (January 11, 2013). "Grassley defers on re-election plans; expects Harkin to seek sixth term". WCFCourier.com.
  20. ^ "Official Results Report, 2006 Primary Election held Tuesday, June 6th 2006" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. p. 58. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  21. ^ "Official Results Report, General Election held Tuesday, November 7th 2006" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. November 21, 2006. p. 27. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  22. ^ "2008 Primary Election Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. June 19, 2008. p. 108. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  23. ^ "2008 General Election Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. p. 38. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  24. ^ "2010 Official Primary Results Report" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. July 1, 2010. p. 235. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  25. ^ "2010 General Election Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. November 24, 2010. p. 16. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  26. ^ "2012 Official Primary Results Report" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. p. 160. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  27. ^ "2012 General Election Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. p. 96. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  28. ^ Price, Dave (February 14, 2021). "'I Think He's Running for Reelection,' Chuck Grassley's Grandson/Iowa House Speaker Says". WHO13.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  29. ^ Spannagel, Brian (February 5, 2006). "Grassley grandson enters political arena". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Waterloo, IA.
  30. ^ Offner, Jim (November 2013). "Pat Grassley: A New Generation Blazes a Trail of Young Leadership". Cedar Valley Business Monthly. Waterloo, IA: The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. p. 16 – via ISUU.com.
  31. ^ Reinitz, Jeff (October 13, 2019). "Editorial: Pat Grassley: Young leader now master of the House". wcfcourier.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  32. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart.
  33. ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Patrick Grassley". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  34. ^ "Iowa Courts Online".

External links

Iowa House of Representatives Preceded byBill Dix Member of the Iowa House of Representativesfrom the 17th district 2007–2013 Succeeded byMatt Windschitl Preceded byDave Tjepkes Member of the Iowa House of Representativesfrom the 50th district 2013–2023 Succeeded byRoss Wilburn Preceded byShannon Lundgren Member of the Iowa House of Representativesfrom the 57th district 2023–Present Incumbent Political offices Preceded byLinda Upmeyer Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives 2020–present Incumbent
Statewide political officials of Iowa
Speakers of U.S. lower houses
Members of the Iowa House of Representatives
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