Franken victorious in Democratic primary election
Admiral Michael Franken defeated two opponents in Tuesday's Democratic primary to advance to the November general election in an attempt to unseat Iowa's longest-serving U.S. senator.
Sixty-four-year-old Franken, of Sioux City, collected about 55% of votes with about 55% of counties reporting, according to AP estimates. Abby Finkenauer received about 38% of votes. Meanwhile, Glenn Hurst collected 5% of votes. The race was called at 9:13 p.m.
Franken will face 88-year-old U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican, in November.
Franken said in a tweet Tuesday night, "What must happen is we must defeat Chuck Grassley. For too long, he’s said, “We’re working on that”. Enough of that. I will outwork Grassley."
Franken achieved the rank of admiral in the U.S. Navy. He saw sea duty in four navy destroyers, a destroyer squadron, and an aircraft carrier. Franken also has significant Pentagon experience.
Finkenauer released this statement following the results:
“I want to congratulate Admiral Franken on his victory. Mike ran a great campaign rooted in our shared values: standing up for working people, delivering better health care and child care for every family, and doing the hard work to defend our democracy. I look forward to working with him in the coming months to defeat Senator Grassley and finally deliver change for Iowa families."
Watch: Abby Finkenauer addresses supporters:
Here's what Franken says are his top priorities:
vlog's 2022 Iowa primary election results can be found here