Roxanne Conlin

Party: Democrat
State: Iowa
What you need to know: Iowa is ripe for an upset in this year of widespread dissatisfaction with incumbents and Conlin can do it.

Democrat - Challenger
Endorsed for U.S. Senate by Council for a Livable World

Roxanne Conlin is running to oust Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa, who has been in the Senate for three decades. Iowa is ripe for an upset in this year of widespread dissatisfaction with incumbents and Conlin can do it.

Last year, Grassley, under attack by conservatives in his own party, moved far to the right during the health care debate. In town hall meetings last year, Grassley faced angry voters. He irresponsibly promised to lead the Senate opposition to “government death panels” that would “pull the plug on grandma.” His erratic statements embarrassed Iowa voters and have taken their toll; a Des Moines Register poll showed that his popularity had deteriorated gravely from 75% to 57%, with Democrats and independents abandoning him.

Grassley has not faced a well-known and well-financed opponent since his first Senate contest in 1980. He is running in a state that has a Democratic Party registration edge over Republicans, and more independents than voters affiliated with either party.

The incumbent has also turned far right on national security issues. He supported President George Bush’s invasion of Iraq, building new and unneeded nuclear weapons and more funding for missile defense. Grassley was one of only 19 Senators rejecting extension of nuclear non-proliferation programs. He voted against ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty. He scored a zero on the most recent Council for a Livable World voting scorecard and an 8% before that.

Roxanne Conlin is a formidable opponent. A brilliant and accomplished trial lawyer, she has shattered one glass ceiling after another. The first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney, she was the first woman to win the nomination as Democratic candidate for Governor and first woman President of the American Association for Justice. She was also the first chair of the Iowa Women's Political Caucus and served as president of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Now she is poised to become the first woman elected to Congress from Iowa.

Roxanne Conlin has lived in Iowa since 1958. The oldest of six children in a middle class family which sunk into extreme poverty when her father lost his job, she first went to work at the age of 14, then to college at 16, sometimes holding down as many as four jobs. She attended Drake University in Des Moines, earning a B.A., J.D. and M.A. in public administration.

Conlin served as Deputy Industrial Commissioner in Des Moines from 1967 to 1968, then an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Iowa for seven years (1969-1976). She headed the Civil Rights Section of the Iowa Department of Justice before being appointed U.S. Attorney. For the past 25 years, she has owned and managed a small law firm in Iowa.

In June, she won a three-candidate primary for the Democratic nomination for Senate with 78% of the vote.

Conlin advocates a world free of nuclear weapons and has pledged support for the New START nuclear reductions treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. She opposed the war in Iraq and would accelerate U.S. troop withdrawal from that country. She opposes National Missile Defense.

Bolstered by her strong primary performance and her excellent fundraising, Conlin trails Grassley by only single digits in several polls. However, Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, had $5.4 million in his campaign treasury at the end of the first quarter compared to $1 million for Conlin. She needs to accelerate her fundraising.

Council for a Livable World believes that Roxanne Colin is a dynamic trailblazer and a top-notch candidate. She is well-positioned to oust an incumbent who has overstayed his welcome.

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