Family first: Chuck Grassley will back Pat Grassley for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley left no doubt on Wednesday whether he's backing his grandson, state Rep. Pat Grassley, for the soon-to-be vacant office of Iowa secretary of agriculture.

“I know darn well you expect me to support my grandson, and I am. I hope he’ll be appointed,” Grassley, a Republican, said in a conference call with Iowa reporters Wednesday.

The statewide elected office is expected to come open later this year or early next following incumbent Republican Secretary Bill Northey's nomination to an undersecretary post at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Northey still must be confirmed by the Senate, but Grassley said his nomination is on a “banana peel” — meaning it’s expected to glide through the committee and floor votes necessary to install him at the USDA.

Since President Donald Trump won the presidency last November, Grassley has been a vocal advocate for appointing Northey to a federal position.

On Wednesday, Grassley pointed his grandson’s experience as a six-term state legislator and farmer on the Grassley family farm as his qualifications for heading the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

“Being a former chairman of the Agriculture Committee and demonstrating real leadership in the 18 months he’s been chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and, I think, being recognized as a leader in the Legislature plus being in the farming operation, I think he would fit in very well,” Chuck Grassley said.

He added, “He wants it and, obviously, I’m going to advocate for him.”

In an interview Wednesday evening, Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, confirmed his interest in seeking the appointment, saying he hoped to "bridge the divide" between rural and urban Iowa.

"If this opportunity would present itself, I'd be interested in continuing to serve not only my home area but everybody in the state of Iowa," he said. "Iowa's an ag state, and so it's a position that has to be filled by someone who really understands agriculture and has the best interests of Iowa agriculture at heart."

Once Northey is confirmed and has resigned from the office, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds will have the authority to appoint a replacement to fill the rest of his term, which lasts through the end of 2018.

Whomever Reynolds picks could find most of their tenure in office consumed by the campaign for a full, four-year term. Like other statewide offices, the secretary of agriculture is on the ballot in 2018, and could draw a contested primary and competitive general election race.

In interviews Wednesday, Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill and state Sen. Tim Kapucian, R-Keystone, each said they're aware of a half-dozen or more people across the state who have publicly or privately signaled interest in succeeding Northey.

That includes Grassley but also state Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, former Farm Bureau and Iowa Board of Regents President Craig Lang, and American Soybean Association Chairman Ray Gaesser, among others.

Reached on Wednesday, Zumbach confirmed his interest and said he has reached out to Reynolds. If appointed to replace Northey, he said he would run for a full term in November, but would not otherwise challenge a Reynolds appointee.

“If the governor chooses someone that she feels is the best person or that job, I would respect her decision,” he said.

Kapucian said he is not actively seeking the office, but would be receptive if the governor reached out to him.

Reynolds, who is currently out of the country on a trade mission, has said little about her plans for the appointment since Northey’s nomination earlier this month.

She told reporters last week that there were “a lot of people under consideration” and that her office would follow the same procedures that led to Mary Mosiman’s appointment as state auditor in 2013 when the incumbent resigned to take another job.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said he expects Reynolds to make her choice with the political as well as administrative implications in mind, noting that the governor may well end sharing the 2018 ballot with the appointee she chooses.

"There’s knowledge of the job and the ability to lead, and there also is the ability to win that office in the 2018 election," Kaufmann said. "There’s political considerations and performance considerations."

Agriculture leaders in the state recognize those political calculations, but are also adamant the next secretary should have hands-on experience with production agriculture.

“We need an Iowan that has a background in agriculture, and that background should be at the production level – i.e. a farmer," Hill, the Farm Bureau president, said.

Kaufmann also dismissed the notion of nepotism at work in the senior-most Iowa Republican officeholder openly endorsing his grandson for an appointment to statewide office.

"We have families in this state that have public service as part of their family tradition," Kaufmann said, adding, "If Pat Grassley is the governor’s choice or if Pat Grassley is a candidate for secretary of ag, I can absolutely assure you he is going to handle his elections and his public service in the same way his grandpa does."