Roxanne Conlin, Democratic challenger to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-IA, said Thursday at the Iowa State Fair her opponent is “ducking” her.

“He’s had 30 years to get ready. He’s had 30 years to hone his talking points, and I think that the people of Iowa deserve better from Sen. Grassley,” Conlin said.

Conlin is also accusing Grassley of avoiding public debates. The Grassley campaign stated the senator always welcomes debates with challengers but his Senate schedule doesn’t leave him with as much availability as Conlin may have.

So far, one televised debate in September has been agreed to by both camps. Conlin’s campaign said more debates have been proposed by various news media outlets. Grassley said in July he expected more than one debate to be arranged.

The Iowa Democratic Party accused Grassley of avoiding public town hall-style meetings this week.

However, Grassley is third among U.S. senators for amount of town hall meetings held in 2010 with 42 total. Grassley was in Ames on Wednesday, Aug. 18 for a breakfast meeting of the Ames Morning Rotary Club at Ames Golf and Country Club. The IDP said Conlin has held at least 125 public forums in all 99 counties.

While a majority of Iowa politicians of multiple parties made time to speak at the Des Moines Register soap box at the Fair, Grassley declined. However, he made appearances at the 2010 Iowa State Fair.

Conlin trails Grassley in the latest Rasmussen poll from Aug. 10 by a margin of 20 percent among likely voters.

“We never rely on the results of a single poll, but this one certainly reflects previous credible polls,” Grassley’s campaign stated at the time.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, former governor of Virginia, appeared alongside Gov. Chet Culver and other Iowa Democrats at the Fair on Tuesday. Kaine said he believed despite double-digit leads by Republicans over Conlin and Culver, the Iowa Democrats still had a strong chance of victory in November.

“It’s a tough climate and we understand that,” Kaine said, “but Democrats do tough.”

Kaine cited Grassley’s comments about fictional “death panels” at town hall meetings in Iowa in August 2009 and Republican candidates proposing privatizing Social Security as reasons the incumbent remained vulnerable.

Conlin’s campaign has tried to keep those statements Grassley made in 2009 relevant this summer. At the Fair on Thursday she labeled the comments “fear mongering,” and the reason she began to consider running for the Senate.

Grassley specifically stated at one event, “When you couple this with all the other fears that people have, and you have what they do in England, then you get the idea that someone is going to decide Grandma’s lived too long.” This comment came after discussion comparing health care systems in Canada and Europe.

“In March 2008, Grassley voted for an amendment that would privatize Social Security,” said Mark Daley, campaign manager for Conlin, on Aug. 16.

“I think as Roxanne tells that story, you’re going to see her numbers improve significantly,” Kaine said.

FiveThirtyEight, the Cook Report, CQ politics and many political analysts suggest Grassley has a strong chance of re-election at this point.