SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Republican State Sen. Jim Carlin on Monday launched his campaign for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Senate seat in 2022.

Carlin, a Sioux City lawyer and Army veteran, is the first candidate from either party to announce their candidacy for U.S. Senate. Carlin has served in the Iowa Senate since 2017.

“I am a trial lawyer and proud of it. I’ve made a career of fighting for the underdogs of this world. Fighting for everyday Iowans, the working people, the forgotten man of Iowa,” Carlin said in a speech at a campaign event on Monday.

Carlin highlighted some of his campaign’s priorities, which include containing the “growing threat of China,” breaking up Big Tech, and “preserving” rural Iowa.

“Rural America deserves access to affordable and accessible health care, doctors in every county, modern medical facilities, and access to telemedicine technology,” Carlin said. “Our farmers must be allowed to make a living — trade agreements and environmental policies that increase the value of corn, soybeans, hogs and cattle, and the opportunity to profit from bio fuels, wind, solar and carbon credits. The time has also come to abolish the death tax on family farms or we’ll someday see the day when there are none left.”

Chuck Grassley, a Republican, is serving his seventh term in the U.S. Senate after getting elected in 1980. He has not yet announced whether he will seek another term in office in 2022 when he turns 89. However, his grandson, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, told WHO 13 that he expects his grandfather to run again.

“As I sit here right now, I think my grandfather is going to be running for reelection and I have not been led to believe anything otherwise,” Pat Grassley said.

There is speculation that Pat Grassley would run for the Senate seat if his grandfather retires. When asked about that possibility, Pat Grassley said, “I think he’s running for reelection, so hopefully we won’t have to worry about that for a long time.”