Roxanne Conlin (Roxanne Conlin & Associates)

Former federal prosecutor Roxanne Conlin (D) is seriously behind in her fundraising as she campaigns to unseat Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa): Grassley has at least eight times as much money to wage a campaign as Conlin does.

Conlin, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa from 1977 to 1981, reported having about $500,000 cash on hand in her 2009 year-end campaign finance report. Grassley, who is seeking a sixth term in the Senate, had more than $4.4 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter last year. He has not yet filed a year-end report.

The good news for Conlin, who is now a lawyer in private practice, is that she has raised more money than any of the other three declared Democratic candidates.

At the end of the fourth quarter, ex-state Sen. Tom Fiegen had $418.22 cash on hand. Meanwhile, ex-state Rep. Bob Krause, who has yet to file a year end report, had $3,492.51 cash on hand at the end of the third quarter. Engineer Sal Mohamed has yet to file any financial reports.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) (gov)

Grassley, who is running unopposed in the primary, has a number of advantages in addition to fundraising. He has wide name recognition and is well-liked in Iowa. Even outside of the state, Grassley, who sits on a number of powerful committees, including Finance, Judiciary and Agriculture, is one of the most visible senators.

A Democratic former U.S. Attorney filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Senate in Iowa, the Associated Press reported today.

Roxanne Conlin, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa from 1977 to 1981, is looking to unseat Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). But first, she will have to battle former state Sen. Tom Fiegen, former state Rep. Bob Krause and frequent candidate Sal Mohamed for the Democratic nomination.

“Taking on the special interests has been the cause of my life,” she said in a campaign video released today. “I’m running for U.S. Senate to take this fight to Washington.”

Here’s the full video:

The former prosecutor was the Democratic nominee for Iowa governor in 1982. Conlin has been in private practice since 1983. She is a partner at Des Moines law firm Roxanne Conlin & Associates. Read our previous report on her here.

A Democratic former U.S. Attorney will launch a campaign to unseat Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), The Quad-City Times reported today.

Roxanne Conlin (Roxanne Conlin & Associates)

Roxanne Conlin, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa from 1977 to 1981, will announce her candidacy next week, a senior adviser to the former prosecutor told the newspaper. She will challenge former state Sen. Tom Fiegen, former state Rep. Bob Krause and frequent candidate Sal Mohamed in the 2010 Democratic primary.

The former prosecutor was the Democratic nominee for Iowa governor in 1982. Conlin has been in private practice since 1983. She is a partner at Des Moines law firm Roxanne Conlin & Associates.

“I never thought I’d run again,� Conlin told The Des Moines Register when she was considering a Senate run. She added: “But in my lifetime, I don’t ever want to say, ‘If only I had followed my dream or followed my heart.’�

Roxanne Conlin (Roxanne Conlin & Associates)

Roxanne Conlin (D), who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa from 1977 to 1981, on Thursday said she may run for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for his Senate seat next year, The Des Moines Register reported. Conlin has been in private practice since 1983. In 1982 she was the Democratic nominee for Iowa governor. Before serving as a U.S. Attorney, Conlin was an assistant attorney general in Iowa in the civil rights division from 1969 to 1976.

Conlin said her said is considering the run because of disappointment with Grassley and a desire to rejoin the public sector, The Register reported. “I never thought I’d run again,” Conlin told The Register, adding, “But in my lifetime, I don’t ever want to say, ‘If only I had followed my dream or followed my heart.’”

She told The Register, “It’s not the life I expected to have,” adding, “I expected to be in public office. I expected to run the state of Iowa. That is always what I thought would happen. Conlin continued, “So I kind of had to think through: What is my calling now? And so I feel like I’ve been able to make a contribution, not only to the lives of individuals that I represented, but to the people of Iowa in a number of ways.”

Conlin told The Register,”What has changed for me is Grassley.” She cited Grassley’s tone at last summer’s town hall meetings on health care and his criticism of against “Obama-care” in a fundraising brochure. “That’s not the Chuck Grassley I thought this state elected, and it really was a watershed moment for me,” she told The Register.

The candidates who have officially entered the race include three Democrats: former state Sen. Tom Fiegen, former state Rep. Bob Krause and frequent candidate Sal Mohamed.

According to The Register, a Conlin run could bring a fundraising challenge to Grassley, as she is well known and likely would receive significant financial support. In addition, Conlin could finance the campaign herself, as she received a considerable portion of $75 million in legal fees earned as one of the lead lawyers in a 2007 class-action lawsuit against Microsoft.