CORALVILLE (KWWL) -
The race for Iowa's new 2nd Congressional district is heating up.
Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack and Republican challenger John Archer answered questions to a room full of voters at a candidate forum in Coralville.
The discussions got tense. Archer called Loebsack the "least effective member" of the Iowa delegation.
Loebsack claimed Archer doesn't understand the American economy.
Congressman Loebsack wants to be elected to his fourth term to help lower the nation's unemployment rate.
"Clearly I've been doing that already, since I've been in Congress," said Loebsack. "Whether it was voting for a jobs act to make sure that small businesses have more access to capital and that our veterans do as well, an amendment that I pushed through."
Archer also wants to see more jobs but has a different approach.
"My duty as a United States Representative is not to create jobs but to create the environment so businesses, large and small and entrepreneurs can go out and invest to create the desperately needed jobs," said Archer.
Archer says one thing hurting businesses is the Affordable Care Act.
He believes the law should be repealed and replaced with a more streamlined healthcare law.
"It's 2700 pages," said Archer. "That's part of the problem. It takes $716 billion dollars out of Medicare. It interferes with the relationship between doctor and patient."
Loebsack says repealing it would hurt seniors who previously couldn't pay for medicine, and many young people.
"Anyone that wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act will immediately kick off of their parents' health insurance a 24 year old who can't find health insurance through his or her employer," said Loebsack.
The new 2nd Congressional district covers 24 Iowa counties. It gained ten new counties, but lost Linn.
