Peters plans to challenge Loebsack again

Christopher Peters, a Coralville surgeon and business owner, will kick off a tour of Iowa's 2nd District to announce he's running for U.S. House.

Peters, 57, is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack in the 2018 election. He challenged Loebsack in 2016, losing 54 to 46 percent. But he carried 15 counties in the 24-county southeast Iowa district that Donald Trump won.

The 2nd includes Iowa City and the Quad Cities.

Voter registration in the 2nd District favors Democrats 180,539 (34 percent) to 154, 654 (29 percent), according to the Iowa Secretary of State.

Peters will start his announcement tour Sunday in Iowa City with stops in Sigourney, Oskaloosa, Newton and Knoxville on Monday. Times and locations are yet to be announced.

Peters, an Army veteran, has continued to travel the district since November 'and I've seen that Iowans are as frustrated as ever with their federal government.”

'Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans in Washington have put forth practical ideas to address our most pressing issues,” he said. 'The people I've met want an independent-minded representative in Congress.”

Peters describes himself as libertarian-leaning. In 2010, he ran for the Legislature as a Libertarian but said he's spent most of his life as a Republican.

Breaking with the GOP, Peters said last year he would not vote for Trump because of the then-presidential nominee's comments about women and minorities.

'I'm an independent, thoughtful guy,” he said during the 2016 campaign.

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