(CNN) – Add a new name to what's shaping up to be one of the most crucial U.S. Senate showdowns next year.
Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday that she's considering a bid for the seat of longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, who late last month announced that he wouldn't run in 2014 for a sixth term in office.
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(CNN) - They wrangle over nearly everything else, but members of Congress from both parties have found agreement on one topic: Olympic wrestling.
Senators and representatives from both parties stood in agreement Friday against the International Olympic Committee's decision to take wrestling to the mat, eliminating the sport from the games starting in 2020. They introduced resolutions urging the IOC to reinstate it and called on the United States Olympic Committee to "work actively to reverse this decision."
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(CNN) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former two-term Iowa governor, will not seek retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's seat in 2014, according to Democratic officials.
Soon after Harkin announced his decision to retire at the end of his term, Vilsack's name was floated among others as a potential Democratic candidate for the seat.
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(CNN) - Republican Rep. Tom Latham is mulling a run for Senate in Iowa to replace retiring Democrat Tom Harkin, but cautioned that "it's way early" to announce any decision.
Latham told reporters that fellow Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King's decision on whether he'll run for the seat will have no impact on his own deliberations.
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(CNN) - Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat who has represented Iowa in the U.S. Senate since 1984, will not seek re-election in 2014.
"I have the privilege to be able to make this decision on my own terms, which not everyone can, and I'm deeply grateful to the people of Iowa that I do have that opportunity. I've been extremely fortunate," he said in a written statement, adding he does not "by any means plan to retire completely from public life at the end of this Congress."
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Washington (CNN) - Sen. Tom Harkin, a veteran Democrat and a leading liberal voice, told CNN Monday that he and other Democrats may try to block the fiscal cliff deal that's being furiously negotiated ahead of the year-end deadline.
"They think Republicans may object? We may object," Harkin told CNN.
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Washington (CNN) - Politics is serious business - but not all of the time.
Harkin's 'Poker Face'
Democrats are learning that music sensation Lady Gaga's presence brings in a younger demographic, media coverage and lots of money. The Hill reports that Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, will be raising funds at a Gaga concert in February.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, the Democrat who chairs one of the Senate committees tasked with developing health care legislation, promised Friday that a health care bill will be on President Obama's desk before Christmas and will include a so-called "public option."
"I believe we are in an irrevocable position," Harkin said on a conference call organized by the health care reform group Families USA. "The momentum is there. We will not get stopped by the obstructionists. We will have the votes."
Harkin became chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after the former chairman, the late Ted Kennedy, passed away in September. His committee has already passed a more liberal version of the health care bill that includes a public option - legislation that will have to be merged with the bill that passed the Senate Finance Committee earlier this week before the Senate can vote on final legislation. Democrats need sixty votes to end debate before a vote can held.
Pointing to a Thursday meeting of Senate Democrats in which most members of the caucus expressed support for a government-run insurance plan, Harkin said only five members of his party are holding up progress toward a such a plan.
INDIANOLA, Iowa (CNN) - Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota, the former comedian who has largely put the funny business on hold as he plays catch-up due to his late arrival in Washington, proved to a Iowa crowd Sunday that he's still got it.
The "Saturday Night Live" alum and Minnesota native was the keynote speaker at Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry party fundraiser.
For obvious reasons, this year's speeches centered largely around health-care reform.
Harkin was recently named chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, taking control of the seat held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Also a member of that committee now, Franken, in his deadpan delivery, used sarcasm to highlight the importance of the post.
"Its not really that big a deal," he said to laughter, as he slowly went through the list of the group's topics. "I mean, it's only health. Education. Labor. And pensions. I mean, who really would care about those things? Except for maybe people who are concerned about their health or their kids' health or maybe want their kids to go to, oh, a good school, or I don't know, people who work."
INDIANOLA, Iowa (CNN) - Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota, the former comedian who has largely put the funny business on hold as he plays catch-up due to his late arrival in Washington, proved to a Iowa crowd Sunday that he's still got it.
The "Saturday Night Live" alum and Minnesota native was the keynote speaker at Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry party fundraiser.
For obvious reasons, this year's speeches centered largely around health-care reform.
Harkin was recently named chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, taking control of the seat held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Also a member of that committee now, Franken, in his deadpan delivery, used sarcasm to highlight the importance of the post.
"Its not really that big a deal," he said to laughter, as he slowly went through the list of the group's topics. "I mean, it's only health. Education. Labor. And pensions. I mean, who really would care about those things? Except for maybe people who are concerned about their health or their kids' health or maybe want their kids to go to, oh, a good school, or I don't know, people who work."
The crowd of a couple thousand chuckled and gave him cheers and applause. He then got a bit more serious.
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