David Loebsack

David Loebsack
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Jim Leach
Personal details
Born	December 23, 1952 (1952-12-23) (age 58) Sioux City, Iowa
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Terry Loebsack
Residence	Mount Vernon, Iowa
Alma mater	Iowa State University, University of California, Davis
Occupation	College Professor[citation needed]
Religion	Methodist[1]

David Wayne "Dave" Loebsack (born December 23, 1952) is the U.S. Representative for Iowa's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in southeastern Iowa and includes Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Ottumwa. Prior to entering Congress, he was a professor of political science.

Early life, education and career

Loebsack was born in Sioux City, Iowa and was raised in a single parent, lower class household. He graduated from East High School and attended college at Iowa State University. There, Loebsack earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in political science. After receiving a PhD from the University of California, Davis, Loebsack took a job as a political science professor at Cornell College, a small liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Today, he serves as a Professor Emeritus. ^[2]

Loebsack started the Linn Phoenix group, a fundraising arm of the Linn County Democrats.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services^[2]
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
• Committee on Education and the Workforce^[2]
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Political campaigns

2006

In 2006 Loebsack defeated 15-term incumbent Jim Leach in one of the biggest upsets of the cycle. Loebsack entered the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate after failing to get the required number of signatures, but did not face an actual primary opponent. The 2nd had been trending Democratic for some time (a Republican presidential candidate hasn't carried it since 1984), and was reckoned as the most Democratic district in the state. It was taken for granted that Leach would have been succeeded by a Democrat once he retired. Nonetheless, Leach was not on many Democratic target lists. Loebsack won largely by running up an 8,395-vote margin in Johnson County, home to Iowa City.

2008

Loebsack was easily reelected in 2008, taking 57 percent of the vote over Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a doctor from Ottumwa and the former president of the state medical society.

2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 2010#District 2

Loebsack faced Miller-Meeks again in 2010 and had a much more difficult time of it than he had two years earlier. He only prevailed with 51 percent of the vote, largely by running up a 13,900-vote margin in Johnson County. Terry Branstad easily carried the district in his successful bid to reclaim the governorship. Chuck Grassley also carried the district.

Electoral history

Iowa 2nd U.S. Congressional District Election 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Leach	101,386	49
	Democratic	David Loebsack	107,097	51	Winner

Iowa 2nd U.S. Congressional District Election 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mariannette Miller-Meeks	119,165	39
	Democratic	David Loebsack	174,942	57	Winner

• Green Party candidate Wendy Barth received 4% of the 2008 vote as well.

Iowa 2nd U.S. Congressional District Election 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mariannette Miller-Meeks	104,046	46
	Democratic	David Loebsack	115,332	51	Winner

• Libertarian Party candidate Gary Sicard received 2% of the vote.
• Constitution Party candidate Jon Tack earned 1% of the vote.

References

1. ^ "News - Across the Church". UMC.org. 2009-01-06. http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2072525&ct=6482077. Retrieved 2010-08-23. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "U.S. CONGRESSMAN DAVE LOEBSACK". U.S. Government. http://loebsack.house.gov/biography. Retrieved 2011-06-24. 

External links

• U.S. Representative Dave Loebsack official U.S. House site
• Dave Loebsack for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Jim Leach	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 2nd congressional district 2007–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Doug Lamborn R-Colorado	United States Representatives by seniority 278th	Succeeded by Kevin McCarthy R-California

Persondata
Name	Loebsack, David Wayne
Alternative names
Short description	Congressional Representative for 2nd District of Iowa
Date of birth	December 23, 1952
Place of birth	Sioux City, Iowa
Date of death
Place of death