About a month after forming an exploratory committee, the top republican in the legislature is announcing a run for Congress. House Speaker Brent Siegrist, a republican from Council Bluffs, will run for the new fifth district seat in western Iowa. Siegrist says he’s been considering a Congressional run for the last several years and now has the chance to run in a pretty solidly republican district.Siegrist said one of the things he would consider was that amount of time a campaign would take him away from his young children. He says the new fifth district is large, but he could still be home every night after campaigning.And he says being away in Washington wouldn’t be dramatically different from the schedule he’s already under as Speaker of the Iowa House.Siegrist is traveling across the district today announcing his decision to run. He says his record of accomplishment in the legislature should help his campaign, although he says there may be some votes people don’t agree with.The new fifth district will not have an incumbent congressman vying for the seat. Council Bluffs businessman Jeff Ballenger, a republican, plans to run. State Senator Steve King of Kiron and Senator John Redwine of Sioux City have said they’re interested in running. Both are republicans. Council Bluffs City Councilman Paul Shomshor is the only democrat to announce a run for the new fifth district. .
