Iowa Republicans Prep 2010 House Campaigns

[ccharles000]

It's a busy time for Republican challengers to Democratic incumbents in Iowa.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks, an ophthalmologist, planned to formally announce today that she will wage a rematch campaign against Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack in southeastern Iowa's 2nd district.

Miller-Meeks, who scheduled four stops around the district, will be joined in the Republican contest by Christopher Reed and Steve Rathje, who both ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2008.

CQ Politics presently rates the Iowa 2 race as Safe Democratic, in large part because the district has the strongest Democratic lean of any in the state. Loebsack defeated Miller-Meeks by nearly 20 percentage points in the 2008 election.

A more competitive 2010 contest is anticipated in the Des Moines-based 3rd district, where Democratic Rep. Leonard L. Boswell is facing at least three Republican challengers, including two who made their plans known within the past two weeks.

A formal announcement could come as early as this week from state Sen. Brad Zaun, who told CQ Politics Nov. 19 that he intended to challenge Boswell and would make a declaration of his political plans after Dec. 1.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/11/iowa-republicans-prep-2010-hou.html