Loebsack announces bid for re-election

U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, is wasting no time.

The three-term Democrat announced Thursday he'll run for re-election in the 2nd congressional district, an announcement that came just moments after the state legislature approved the newly redrawn boundaries.

Loebsack said in an email that he will move from his Mount Vernon home to Johnson County, thus avoiding a primary against Rep. Bruce Braley, the 1st district congressman.

The new maps put both men in the same district.

Gov. Terry Branstad hasn't signed off on the new boundaries yet, but leaders of both parties issued statements Thursday saying they're prepared to compete in the newly created districts.

Loebsack had already said he intended to run in the 2nd. But the quick announcement of his reelection campaign lays down a marker amid speculation former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack might challenge him for the seat.

Vilsack has expressed an interest in running for office, and her hometown of Mount Pleasant is in the district. She's not said whether she'll run there, or in the 3rd or 4th districts.

The Vilsacks have a home in Des Moines. She couldn't be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

In making his announcement, Loebsack took aim at congressional Republicans and called himself a "strong progressive" who was an early supporter of President Barack Obama.

“Now more than ever, we must stand together -¬ fighting against a Republican Congress that seeks to undermine all the progress we have made in recent years," he said.

Further west, Reps. Steve King and Tom Latham, both Republicans, still weren't tipping their hand about how they'd deal with the new district lines.

Both live in the newly created 4th, the most friendly district to Republicans in the state. The adjoining 3rd is more of a tossup.

“The congressman won't make a decision on his future until the map is finalized,” Latham spokesman Fred Love said Thursday.

In a statement, King said “since this map was released, I have said that I plan to be on the ballot in 2012, and that is still the case. But, I will wait with the rest of Iowa to see what decision the governor makes about this particular map.”

Loebsack's decision leaves Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, alone in the newly created 1st district, while Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, is alone in the new 3rd district.

The loss of a congressional seat -- going from five to four -- will, by itself, shake up the state's partisan makeup in Congress.

There are now three Democats and two Republicans in the state's House delegation. But who ends up in those seats -- and who is squeezed out -- is to some extent dependent on the pending decisions of King, Latham and Vilsack -- not to mention other potential challengers.

The two new eastern Iowa districts are favorable to Democrats.

There are 35,000 more Democrats than Republicans in the 1st district, in northeast Iowa. Obama carried it with 59 percent of the vote in 2008.

Democrats, meanwhile, hold a 40,000 person registration advantage in the 2nd, which is centered in southeast Iowa. The president carried that district with 57 percent of the vote.

The 3rd is likely to be the most competitive.

Democrats hold just a 3,000 person advantage in registration and the president won it with 52 percent of the vote in 2008, less than his statewide margin. The district includes a large part of southwest Iowa, Polk County and the Des Moines suburbs.

The 4th district still has a Republican advantage, with the GOP holding a 40,000 person registration advantage.

Matt Strawn, the state GOP chair, predicted Thursday more Iowans would be represented by Republicans in Congress after 2012. And, in eastern Iowa, where Republicans made gains last year, he said its candidates would wage “aggressive challenges.”

Sue Dvorsky, the Democratic state party chair, also pledged an aggressive campaign, saying Thursday the party intends to “maintain a Democratic majority in our congressional delegation.”

New political boundaries are drawn every 10 years to reflect the change and movement of the population.