Former Grassley chief seeking Harkin Senate seat

GRUNDY CENTER — David Young may not be the most familiar name in the race for the United States Senate seat that Democrat Tom Harkin will retire from at the end of his current term. But the Republican from Van Meter is looking to change that during a blitz that has seen him visit 50 of Iowa’s 99 counties in the past 62 days.

“It’s so important to out there — east, west, north and south — because my name ID’s not the highest and so you have to build that,” he said. “That’s why I sit down with the press and meet with GOP activists and go to county fairs and visit businesses and do a little main streeting. I slog it out with a smile, it’s worth it, I care about my state.”

Young enters the Senate race having never served in public office. That does not, however, mean he is unfamiliar with how things work in Washington. Young has spent the past seven years as Senator Chuck Grassley’s chief of staff, a job he described as his “dream job.”

For more of this story see the Aug. 8 Grundy Register.