Chuck Grassley, oldest sitting senator, laments dying in office under a Dem governor

"I don't want a Democrat governor choosing my successor," Grassley said.

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.

"At 93 years of age, I don't know how many more groups of Republicans like this I’m 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’t plan on dying in office -- but if I did, I don’t want a Democrat governor choosing my successor."

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.Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesGrassley, who celebrated his 93rd birthday on Sept. 17, is currently serving in his eighth term in the Senate -- set to expire Jan. 3, 2029.

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.

A late June Fox News poll found Democrat Rob Sand, Iowa's state auditor, with a 9-point lead over Republican Zach Lahn among registered voters in the state. A New York Times/Siena poll conducted around the same time found a much closer contest with the candidates essentially neck-and-neck among likely voters.

Grassley has not announced whether he will seek a ninth term in the Senate in 2028.