David Wayne "Dave" Loebsack (born December 23, 1952) is the U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

. 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

Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....

 and was raised in a single parent, lower class household. He graduated from East High School and attended college at Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

. There, Loebsack earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in political science. After receiving a PhD

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 from the University of California, Davis

University of California, Davis

The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...

, Loebsack took a job as a political science professor at Cornell College

Cornell College

Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows...

, a small liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa

Mount Vernon, Iowa

Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The city's population was 3,390 when the 2000 census figures were released, but that number was later revised to 3,808 because the Census Bureau had incorrectly reported that 418 residents of a Cornell...

. Today, he serves as a Professor Emeritus.

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

Linn County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 211,226 in the county, with a population density of . There were 92,251 housing units, of which 86,134 were occupied.-2000 census:...

 Democrats.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  United States House Committee on Armed Services
  thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
  
  
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
    United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness
    House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness is a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee in the United States House of Representatives.-Jurisdiction:The Readiness Subcommittee exercises oversight and legislative jurisdiction over:...
    
    
• Committee on Education and the Workforce
  United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce
  The Committee on Education and the Workforce is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. From 1947 until 1994 and again from 2007 to 2011, during Democratic control of the House, it was known as the Committee on Education and Labor.-History of the Committee:Attempts were...
  
  
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
    United States House Education Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
    The House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions is a standing subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce...
    
    

2006

In 2006 Loebsack defeated 15-term incumbent Jim Leach

Jim Leach

James Albert Smith "Jim" Leach is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. In August 2009, he became Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities ....

 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

Johnson County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 130,882 in the county, with a population density of . There were 55,967 housing units, of which 52,715 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, 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

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

Chuck Grassley

Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley is the senior United States Senator from Iowa . A member of Republican Party, he previously served in the served in the United States House of Representatives and the Iowa state legislature...

 also carried the district.

Electoral history

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

• Libertarian Party
  Libertarian Party (United States)
  The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
  
   candidate Gary Sicard received 2% of the vote.
• Constitution Party
  Constitution Party (United States)
  The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
  
   candidate Jon Tack earned 1% of the vote.

External links

• U.S. Representative Dave Loebsack official U.S. House site
• Dave Loebsack for Congress official campaign site