GOP state Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

GOP state Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks announced Tuesday that she would run to succeed retiring Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Democrat who defeated her three times in the last decade, in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Miller-Meeks, perhaps unintentionally, alluded to her trio of failed bids for the seat in a tweet that day when she declared in all caps, “I'LL NEVER QUIT ON YOU.”

Miller-Meeks will face Bobby Schilling, a former congressman who represented a neighboring district in Illinois for one term, in the GOP primary for this southeastern Iowa seat. Former state Sen. Rita Hart is the heavy favorite to claim the Democratic nod for a seat that swung from 56-43 Obama to 49-45 Trump. Last year, though, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Fred Hubbell, who had Hart on his ticket as his nominee for lieutenant governor, carried the district 51-47 as he was narrowly losing statewide.

Miller-Meeks, who is an ophthalmologist, ran for this seat for the first time in 2008 against Loebsack, who had pulled off a shocking victory two years before. This was a horrible cycle for Republicans across the nation, though, and Loebsack beat her 57-39 as Barack Obama was carrying the seat 60-38. Miller-Meeks came back for a rematch in 2010, and this time, she gave the incumbent a tough contest. However, while the red wave helped propel Schilling to victory just across the Mississippi River, Loebsack hung on to win 51-46.

Miller-Meeks landed a good gig one month after her defeat when incoming Gov. Terry Branstad named her head of the Iowa Department of Public Health. Miller-Meeks remained there until early 2014, when she resigned to launch her third bid against Loebsack. The incumbent looked like the clear favorite until the final weeks of the campaign, when major outside groups on both sides began spending here. This was another horrible year for Democrats, but Loebsack won by a 52.4-47.5 margin. (This time, Schilling also lost in what would ultimately be his final Illinois campaign when he tried to regain the seat he’d lost in 2012.)

Miller-Meeks decided to set her sights on lower office in 2018, and that proved to be a good decision. Miller-Meeks campaigned for the 41st Senate District, an open GOP-held seat that had swung from 53-46 Obama to 57-38 Trump, and she won 52-48 as GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds was carrying the seat 52-45. Iowa senators serve four-year terms, so Miller-Meeks can go back to her new post if she loses her fourth campaign for Congress.

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