DES MOINES, IOWA (April 11, 2022) — On April 8, retired three-star Admiral Michael Franken and Iowa Democratic candidate for the US Senate announced that his campaign has raised almost $1.4 million from 51,000 individual donations during the first quarter of 2022. Franken was recently endorsed by VoteVets and has earned endorsements from over 40 current and former elected officials and community leaders.
"We are pleased with this quarter's numbers, and especially proud, that we have raised enough to make this race competitive without one dime of corporate PAC money. These numbers clearly demonstrate that people are excited about my candidacy and want to put Charles Grassley out of office. We are building a movement here in Iowa that gains more and more momentum the closer we get to Election Day. Our campaign is in the best position to ensure that our message reaches Iowans in every corner of the state," said Franken.
"Defeating Senator Charles Grassley will not be a difficult task. Our campaign has shown that we have the ability to secure the necessary funding and that coupled with the enthusiasm I am seeing from Democrats on the ground in Iowa should build confidence and be a beacon of hope for all Iowans that this race is winnable," continued Franken.
* Franken for Iowa has received 57,000 individual donations so far in the campaign;
* Over 36,000 donors this quarter and 39,000 donors since October; and
* The average gift is $27. A new donor currently joins the campaign every 3.5 minutes.
Please e-mail or call to schedule an individual interview with Mike Franken: Press@FrankenforIowa.org, 515-718-1308.Background: MichaelFranken was born the youngest of nine children and raised in rural Northwest Iowa. He spent his formative years in his dad's Lebanon Farm Shop as a welder and lathe operator. He worked his way to college as a farm-hand and by working for a slaughterhouse. He received a Navy scholarship while in college.
Franken's career stretched across multiple continents and almost forty years. He commanded the destroyer USS Winston S Churchill, a squadron of ships, and an international task-group at sea. He was the task-force commander for the 4,000 US personnel in East Africa and the first director of the POW/MIA defense agency. He went on to serve in various policy-making, strategy, and planning roles to include chief of legislative affairs for the Department of the Navy. He retired from military service as a three-star admiral in 2017.
Mike and Jordan have two adult children.
