Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks finally made it official: she is running for Congress a third time in Iowa’s second district. Her campaign is on Facebook here and on Twitter here. After the jump I’ve posted excerpts from her announcement and details on the campaign launch tour Miller-Meeks has planned for February 26 and 27. She will hit twelve of the 24 counties in IA-02, as well as attending a West Des Moines meeting of the National Association of Women Business Owners. She plans to focus on her “real world experience” as a doctor, as well as her work with Governor Terry Branstad over the past three years.

Although Miller-Meeks just filed papers with the Federal Election Commission within the last two weeks, she has been unofficially campaigning for some time. She has been meeting with GOP county officials around the district since at least the middle of last year, and she stepped down from her job in state government last month.

I think Miller-Meeks has a good chance to win the GOP primary. Although it may be challenging to convince some Republicans to give her a third chance at this seat, her competition looks weak. The only other announced candidate, State Representative Mark Lofgren, has raised very little money and doesn’t have a reputation as a great communicator on the stump. Beating four-term Democratic Representative Dave Loebsack will be a taller order. Besides aligning herself with Branstad, Miller-Meeks will hope that the new Iowa map improves her prospects. During the 2010 midterm election, she lost to Loebsack by about 11,500 votes in a district where registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 48,000 on election day. The current district contained 166,022 registered Democrats, 135,770 Republicans, and 181,463 no-party voters as of February 2014.

Excerpt from a February 24 Facebook post:

Washington is a dysfunctional mess and it’s time to send someone there who has real world experience bringing people together to solve problems.

The Affordable Care Act has been anything but affordable and is jeopardizing our quality and access to healthcare. I see firsthand how this law is hurting our citizens and we need to send a doctor to Washington to fix it.

Excerpt from a statement released on February 23:

“Working with Governor (Terry) Branstad the past three years has given me an opportunity to see what can be accomplished when we put Iowans first and partisanship aside for the greater good. Together we were able to improve the quality of life for the people of this state. I want to bring that problem-solving, common-sense Iowa attitude to Congress. Let’s put Iowa in Washington.”

Campaign kickoff tour posted on the Mariannette Miller-Meeks for Congress Facebook page:

Wednesday – Feb. 26

Burlington

Candidate availability 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.; speak at 7:45 a.m.

Ivy Bake Shoppe

309 S. Gear Avenue

West Burlington, IA 52655

Mount Pleasant

Candidate meet/greet with patrons at 9:15 a.m.

HyVee (kitchen/diner area)

1700 E. Washington Street

Mount Pleasant IA 52641

Radio Interview with Theresa Rose of KILJ Radio (1130 AM & 105.5 FM) 9:45 a.m.

2411 Radio Drive

Mount Pleasant, IA 52641

Fairfield

Candidate meet/greet with patrons at 10:30 a.m.

Revelations Cafe

112 N. Main Street

Fairfield, IA 52556

Ottumwa

Candidate availability 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; speak at 11:45 a.m.

VFW

702 W. Main Street

Ottumwa, IA 52501

Pella

2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Walk the square

Washington

Radio Interview with Sally Hart of KCII Radio (1380 AM & 106.1 FM)

Iowa City

Candidate available 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; speak at 5:45 p.m.

Iowa City Cancer Treatment Center

3010 Northgate Drive

Iowa City, IA 52245

Thursday – Feb. 27

Bettendorf

Candidate available 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.; speak at 7:45 a.m.

Happy Joe’s

2430 Spruce Hills Drive

Bettendorf, IA 52722

Muscatine

Candidate meet/greet with patrons at 9:15 a.m.

Elly’s Tea & Coffee

208 W. Second Street #8

Muscatine, IA 52761

Tipton

Walk the square — 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Newton

Candidate available 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.; speak at 12:45 p.m.

Uncle Nancy’s Coffee Shop

114 N. Second Avenue West

Newton, Iowa 50208

Oskaloosa

Candidate meet/greet with patrons at 2:30 p.m.

Smokey Row Coffee

109 S. Market Street

Oskaloosa, IA 52577

West Des Moines

National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) – Central Iowa Summit

Attending 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Sheraton Inn

1800 50th Street

West Des Moines, IA 50266

Pella

Marion County Central Committee Meeting 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.

Highpoint Apartments

340 E. 13th Street

Pella, IA 50219

Oskaloosa

Mahaska County Central Committee Meeting 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.

Mahaska County Courthouse

106 S. First Street

Oskaloosa, IA 52577