Christie Vilsack announced bid for Fourth District Congress

AMES ? Saying Iowa needs problem-solvers not partisan fighters, Democrat Christie Vilsack today said she will challenge U.S. Rep. Steve King for a seat in Congress in what is expected to be a close and much-scrutinized race.

?I?ve decided to run for Congress because I believe in our Iowa values of civility, responsibility and respect and I want to bring those values to Washington,? Vilsack said in an announcement video posted on her campaign website.

Vilsack is on a three-city trip around the 39-county district today, starting with a speech in Ames at 8:30 a.m.  She is flanked today by her husband, Tom Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa and current U.S. agriculture secretary, and her two sons.

King, a Republican elected in 2002, has been very popular with conservatives in western Iowa.

Vilsack, in the taped message, said she said she grew up in Mt. Pleasant at a time when the town had no stoplight at the intersection where two highways met at the edge of town. Drivers navigated by making eye contact.

?That willingness to communicate and compromise is sorely lacking in Congress today. How can we make the tough decisions to rein in our deficit and get this economy back on track when our leaders aren?t even talking??

Vilsack said she has ?spent my whole life as a teacher,? and as first lady of Iowa worked to improve literacy and college readiness across the state.

?Nothing is more important than creating economic opportunity so our children can stay in Iowa and raise their own families,? she said.

?We?ve got a lot of work to do from supporting biofuels and wind power to bringing broadband Internet to our rural communities. That?s why we need leaders willing their voices and start lifting their sights.?