Democrats got their woman in Iowa, expanding the Senate playing field a bit:
Des Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin plans to file paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission next week to run for U.S. Senate next year, adviser Mark Daley said today.
Conlin, a Democrat, has said last month she is more likely than not to seek the seat held by five-term Republican Chuck Grassley, but had to work out how she was going to handle her law practice and staff a campaign first.
Conlin is best known for running for Governor in 1982 (ironically against Terry Branstad, who's back for another gubernatorial run). She was only 38 then, meaning she's a spry 65 now. While she might not have that much residual name rec leftover from 27 years ago, her main asset is money. She's gotten wealthy from her involvement in some class action suits, and she plans to spend up to $10 million on her bid.
She'll be helped along by the precipitous decline in Grassley's approval numbers, which just happen to coincide with his transparently bad-faith negotiating on health care reform. The one poll of this matchup, an R2K poll from last month, shows Grassley leading Conlin 51-39.
http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/5867/iasen-conlin-to-run