2nd District GOP challenger kicks off campaign

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Coralville surgeon hoping to replace Iowa's 2nd District Democratic congressman is kicking off his campaign Saturday in Iowa City.

Republican, Chris Peters, 55, faces an uphill challenge, not only because he's running against five-term incumbent Rep. Dave Loebsack of Iowa City, but because he faces a voter registration disadvantage in the 24-county southeast Iowa district. Among active voters, 35 percent are registered as Democrats, 30 percent as Republican and 35 percent as no party.

However, Peters, who will make a campaign stop at 6 p.m. Saturday at Midtown Family Restaurant in Iowa City, sees opportunity in that large bloc of no party voters because he hopes to appeal to Republicans who are looking for an alternative to 'the establishment” as well as independent-minded voters.

Although he's only beginning his campaign, Peters thinks his odds are even.

'It's a Democratic-leaning district, but we're talking about the issues people are concerned about, issues a typical Republican wouldn't talk about or, at least, talk about in this way,” he said Friday afternoon.

A former member of the Libertarian Party National Committee and supporter of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's campaign in the Iowa caucuses, Peters doesn't sound like the typical GOP candidate.

In addition to calling for a balanced budget and changes to the Affordable Care Act, he also wants to work on 'widespread criminal justice reforms including civil asset forfeiture and restoring felons' voting rights. Peters wants to look at the mass collection of personal data by the government and structural changes, such as term limits, that he believe would help make Congress less partisan and dysfunctional. He's promised not to serve more than five two-year terms.

'Dave Loebsack is a good man, but he's been in Congress for 10 years,” Peters said. 'I don't think anyone needs to spend a decade in Washington.”

The owner of Corridor Surgery and Vein Center, Peters believes he can help make improvements in the ACA - he dislikes the term Obamacare - but said too much 'political energy” has been wasted on attempts to defund it.

He prefers market-based reforms that would lower costs while maintaining the safety net for those who can't afford health care insurance in the traditional sense.

Peters believes four-year House terms, so members aren't always running for re-election, would help Congress accomplish more. He promises to seek common ground with Democrats if it helps accomplish common goals.

'That's an important first step,” he said. 'So much of the deadlock in Congress is partisan-based. People don't want to see the other party succeed.”

This is his first race on the federal level. However, as a Libertarian, Peters challenged longtime Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, in 2010, losing 17,964-6,092 in the reliably safe Democratic district.

A native Kansan, Peters has degrees in psychology, biology and medicine from the University of Kansas. In addition to the vein center, he is a surgical consultant to the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic.

The University of Virginia Center for Politics calls the race 'Likely Democrat” and the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report calls the 2nd District 'Currently Safe Democratic.”

The 2nd District includes Iowa City, Coralville, the Quad Cities, Fort Madison, Clinton and Burlington.