WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, who has already come under fire in his party for being the first House Republican to call for President Donald Trump's impeachment, has gotten a new opponent with a well-known name.

On Wednesday, 31-year-old Peter Meijer, whose last name is synonymous with the grocery store chain started by his grandfather Frederik Meijer, announced he is running for the Republican nomination to the seat currently held by Amash in Michigan's 3rd Congressional District.

He joins a Republican field that already includes state Rep. Jim Lower, R-Greenville; state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis, R-Grand Rapids, and former Sand Lake Village President Tom Norton and could grow larger.

While Amash has not ruled out a possible run for president, he has taken no public steps toward such a move, either. His comments, meanwhile, have suggested that he's considering running for a sixth two-year term next year and that he's confident he could win it, despite his stance on impeachment.

Amash has said that his close reading of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller lays out a convincing case for impeaching the president for attempting to obstruct justice. Trump and other Republicans have widely denounced that stance with the president saying the report has exonerated him — even though Mueller specifically said it did not.

In his announcement Wednesday, Meijer, who was born and raised in Grand Rapids, did not mention Amash, instead saying he's running for Congress "because our politicians spend their time trashing each other online, coming up with excuses and pointing fingers."

"We should expect more from people who represent us," he said, adding that he believes U.S. borders must be secured. health care must be designed "to not bankrupt families" and that education opportunities "should be within reach."

An Army Reserve sergeant who served in Iraq, Meijer's biography says he helped lead humanitarian efforts in Sudan and elsewhere. He also worked with a nongovernmental organization providing security advice and assistance in Afghanistan before returning to Michigan.

An adviser to Meijer's campaign, Jamie Roe, said that while Meijer is running to serve the people of the 3rd District and didn't mention Amash, "he definitely doesn't agree with Amash's push for impeachment."

Several Democrats have also announced they are running in the district, including Nick Colvin, who worked in the White House counsel's office for former President Barack Obama; Doug Booth, an operations manager for a physician's office, and Navy veteran Amanda Le'Anne Brunzell.

Read more:

Amash returns to Twitter, lays out case for impeaching Trump

10 things about Justin Amash, the Michigan Republican who wants Trump impeached

Contact Todd Spangler:tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. Read more onMichigan politics and sign up for ourelections newsletter.