Speaking to a packed room Tuesday morning, former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack emphasized her small-town upbringing and vowed to bring respectfulness to Washington as she formally announced her campaign for Iowa’s newly-formed 4th Congressional District.

“Iowans are sick” of the current culture on Capitol Hill, Vilsack, a Democrat, said in a 20-minute speech in the Campanile Room of the Iowa State University Memorial Union to supporters cheering and waving signs, adding that politicians should show “the same kind of civility [Iowans] show their neighbors.”

“I’m not here to score points, but to make progress,” Vilsack said.

Vilsack was accompanied by her husband Tom, former governor of Iowa and current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, as well as their two sons, daughter-in-law and grandson. She repeatedly talked about her working-class childhood in Mount Pleasant. Throughout her speech, Vilsack focused on Iowa families, saying they “have the hardest work ethic in the world,” and asserting the need to keep students in Iowa.

“We must continue to invest in education,” Vilsack, a former teacher and librarian, said to cheers.

She also pledged to bring more jobs to the state through private-public partnerships, and highlighted some of the factories and businesses she visited on her recent 39-county “listening tour.”

“I’m running for Congress to help build those relationships,” she said.

Campaign staffers estimated the crowd, which included both supporters and members of the media, at between 155 and 170. Most supporters in attendance signed up for the campaign’s mailing list and a petition to get Vilsack on the ballot. Signs and stickers reading “Christie Vilsack for Congress” were handed out.

One of those signs was given to Amy Bleyle, of Ames, who said that a big portion of her support for Vilsack was due to the incumbency of Steve King, R-Kiron, Vilsack’s opponent in the 4th District.

“Steve King is so extreme,” Bleyle said. “And he’s not representative of Story County.”

Bleyle did appreciate Vilsack’s focus on reducing partisanship in Washington.

“Especially in these last two years,” she said, “there’s no civility anymore. [Vilsack] is trying to bring that back.”

Also in attendance was state Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Quirmbach said he was impressed that Vilsack brought “a tone of being able to listen and bring people together.”

“I think very highly of Christie,” Quirmbach said. “She knows Iowa as well as any politician out there.”

Quirmbach acknowledged the challenge of running against King, a five-term Congressman who is very popular among conservatives in his current western Iowa district, but noted that the redistricting for 2012 to add Ames and Story County to King’s district will provide a boost to Vilsack’s campaign.

“A lot of people were very unhappy that we were put into [King’s district],” Quirmbach said. “It’s always tough to go against an incumbent … but Steve King is going to face the race of his life.”

In her speech, Vilsack emphasized that she is not running to defeat King, but is instead running to help Iowa’s families and fix the partisan tone in Congress.

“We need more common ground in Washington, not less,” Vilsack said.

She also attacked plans to keep tax cuts for the wealthy, saying that the top tier of earners not paying their share of taxes is akin to “showing up at a potluck without bringing a covered dish.”