OTTUMWA — Freshman Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Mount Vernon, surprised virtually everyone two years ago when he unseated 30-year veteran Jim Leach from his spot as the Second Congressional District representative. Now a trio of Republican challengers hope to re-take the seat.

Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Lee Harder and Peter Teahen are vying for the Republican nomination June 3 to take on Loebsack in November. Loebsack faces no primary challenge.

Accusations are flying from each of the campaigns. Harder and Miller-Meeks say Teahen isn’t interested in southeast Iowa, and flipped his party affiliation to make this run. Harder dismisses Miller-Meeks as a “one-issue candidate.”

Miller-Meeks said she filed to run, after Harder had done so, because she “didn’t think anyone credible was stepping forward.”

And Teahen criticizes Harder as being “too far to the right,” and Miller-Meeks as trying to use fancy footwork to avoid Republican moral themes.

All of the campaigns are running hard, and none show any sign of backing down.

Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Miller-Meeks says she never envisioned herself running for Congress until after she met with Loebsack in Washington, D.C. He understood the issues on Medicare reimbursement and the challenges facing both doctors and their patients, but that wasn’t enough to gain her confidence.

“I just felt there would be no progress,” she said.

Miller-Meeks believes her experience as an ophthalmologist will lend credibility to her views on health care. That said, she’s careful to avoid coming off as a single issue candidate. She talks about Social Security and the need for a coherent energy policy as readily as medical issues.

The Ottumwan blames both parties for failing to act on those issues.

“This district is primely suited for making an industry in energy,” she said, pointing to biomass, solar and nuclear energy as options. “We have a tremendous opportunity.”

Miller-Meeks favors expansion of drilling for oil on U.S. territory, but said that expansion must be balanced against environmental concerns.

The Second District is largely rural, and Miller-Meeks said people have to realize that farming has changed. The shifts mean people must adapt, but also bring opportunities.