After two months of exploring a candidacy, Democratic State Senator Rob Hogg will make his bid for U.S. Senate official tomorrow, launching a three-day tour of twelve Iowa communities. His full announcement and tour schedule is after the jump. Hogg will kick off the campaign in Callender (Webster County), “a community 15 miles southwest of Fort Dodge.”

“I will be making my announcement in Callender as a symbol of my support for small towns and rural Iowa,” Hogg said.  “I am also announcing in Callender because my grandmother was born in Callender in 1902 and family is important to me.”

Former State Senator Tom Fiegen and former State Representative Bob Krause are also seeking the Senate nomination and have appeared at numerous local Democratic events this year. Krause and Fiegen competed in the 2010 IA-Sen primary, finishing well behind Roxanne Conlin in that contest. This year, Fiegen is branding himself as a “Bernie Sanders Democrat,” posting far more frequently on social media about the Sanders presidential effort than about his own Senate bid. Whether Democratic activists who are “feeling the Bern” will translate into a large base of support for Fiegen after the Iowa caucuses remains to be seen.

Although both Krause and Fiegen promote progressive values and policies, I plan to support Hogg in the Democratic primary. He has been fighting good fights in the Iowa legislature since 2003, sometimes battling bad legislation that had strong backing in his own caucus.

Whoever he may be, the eventual nominee will have an uphill battle against six-term incumbent Senator Chuck Grassley. Not only will the Senate Judiciary Committee chair likely be able to outspend his opponent, he has never lost an election and still has strong favorability numbers, according to most opinion polls. Speaking to Roll Call’s Tom Curry last week, Iowa’s senior senator speculated that Hogg would be the most difficult challenger for him to face: “I know him a little bit, not very much, but he will be a strong competitor.”

September 21 press release from State Senator Rob Hogg:

HOGG SETS TOUR OF IOWA TO ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY FOR U.S. SENATE

Announcement In Callender, 11 Other Communities,

During Three-Day Announcement Tour

CEDAR RAPIDS – Rob Hogg, Democratic state senator from Cedar Rapids, will be announcing his candidacy for the United States Senate on a three-day tour of the state, starting on Tuesday, September 22, in Callender, Iowa, a community 15 miles southwest of Fort Dodge.

“I will be making my announcement in Callender as a symbol of my support for small towns and rural Iowa,” Hogg said.  “I am also announcing in Callender because my grandmother was born in Callender in 1902 and family is important to me.”

Hogg, age 48, is serving his third term in the Iowa Senate after two terms in the Iowa House.  He was first elected in 2002.  In the Iowa Legislature, he has served as chair of the Senate Rebuild Iowa Committee (2009-10), the Senate Judiciary Committee (2013-14), and the Senate Government Oversight Committee (2015-pesent).  In addition to serving in the Iowa Legislature, Hogg is an attorney in private practice in Cedar Rapids.

Hogg is a fourth generation Iowan, growing up in Iowa City, where he also got his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa.  He and his wife, Kate, have been married 25 years.  They have three children, two in college and one in high school.  They are members of Christ Episcopal Church in Cedar Rapids.

More information is available at www.robhogg.org or by calling 319-360-3401.

Below are the stops on his announcement tour.

Tuesday, September 22

Callender – 10 a.m., Callender City Park Shelter, at the corner of Thomas Street (D43) and Mortimer Street (P33), in Callender.  (In case of inclement weather, the announcement will be at the Callender Community Center, 505 Thomas Street.)

Des Moines – 12:30 p.m., East Side Public Library, 2559 Hubbell Avenue, in Des Moines.

Iowa City – 5:15 p.m., University of Iowa Democrats meeting, Room 14 Schaeffer Hall, University of Iowa, in Iowa City (southeast building on the Pentacrest).

Cedar Rapids – 7:00 p.m., IBEW Local 405, 1211 Wiley Boulevard SW, in Cedar Rapids.

Wednesday, September 23

Waterloo – 9:00 a.m., Waterloo Public Library, 415 Commercial Street, in Waterloo (this event will be outside, but in case of inclement weather, second floor open area past reference desk).

Dubuque – 11:30 a.m., Dubuque Carnegie-Stout Public Library, Lacey Board Room, 360 W. 11th Street, in Dubuque.

Davenport – 1:30 p.m., Fairmount Public Library, Small Meeting Room, 3000 N. Fairmount Street, in Davenport.

Burlington – 4:00 p.m., Burlington Public Library, Small Board Room, 210 Court Street, in Burlington.

Thursday, September 24

Ottumwa – 9:00 a.m., Ottumwa Public Library, Mary Lemon Room, 102 West 4th Street, in Ottumwa (lower floor of library).

Creston – Noon, Southwestern Community College, Performing Arts Building – Multipurpose Room (Room 124), 1501 W. Townline Street, in Creston.

Council Bluffs – 3:00 p.m., Council Bluffs Public Library, Meeting Room D, 400 Willow Avenue, in Council Bluffs.

Atlantic – 5:00 p.m., Atlantic Public Library, Meeting Room A, 507 Poplar Street, in Atlantic.