Democratic Iowa State Senator Rob Hogg from Cedar Rapids has taken on a huge challenge - running against longtime republican US Senator Chuck Grassley who's up for re-election next year. Hogg stopped in the Quad Cities Wednesday as one of 12 stops on a tour of the state to announce his candidacy.
The theme for his campaign is "Let's Make Congress Work for All of Us," and a key part of that is taking on what he calls "the defining challenge of our century" - climate change.
Hogg says one of the most important things he'll have to do between now and the fall of next year is convince many democrats and independents who've voted for Senator Grassley in the past, to vote for him instead.
After two terms in the Iowa House, Hogg is now serving his third term in the state senate. He's also an attorney in private practice in Cedar Rapids.