On the same day Congressman Tom Latham visited campus for a community conference, his opponent in the November midterm election left for a two-week trip to Afghanistan.

Dr. Selden Spencer, a Democrat from Huxley who practices neurology in Ames, left Thursday for Afghanistan to spend two weeks practicing and teaching medicine and gathering first-hand information about the Middle East.

Spencer, who declared his candidacy for the 4th District U.S. House of Representatives seat in March, said military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan rank at the top of the list of concerns among citizens in the 4th District, which includes Story County.

“This is really the dominant issue,” he said. “I need to come up with a complete way of addressing the problem, and the best thing to do is to get first-hand experience of the region.”

He said his time in Afghanistan will form the backbone of his stance on terrorism and American involvement in the Middle East, but he said he will be looking for more than a military solution.

“Military might won’t counteract this threat,” he said.

The incumbent, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, who hosted the Iowa Community Conference on Thursday in the Scheman building, said his Washington obligations keep him from campaigning for the Nov. 7 midterm until October.

Latham, in his sixth term as the 4th District representative, said his strong relationship with Iowa State and ISU President Gregory Geoffroy should give him an edge among ISU students.

Latham, House Appropriations Committee member, worked to add to a national transportation appropriations bill a $2 million allocation for CyRide in 2005.

Spencer criticized Latham’s approval of a legislative package that cut $12.7 billion from student-loan programs.

“The Republican administration has not done any service to students dealing with financial burdens,” he said.

Latham said the cuts targeted lending institutions, not students.

“Any reduction in funds came out of the institutions who lend to students, but the funds available to students were not cut,” he said.

Donald McDowell, president of the ISU College Republicans, said Spencer won’t be able to overcome the advantages that accompany Latham’s incumbency.

“No one knows who Selden Spencer is,” McDowell said. “But Congressman Latham has set himself apart as a real statesman and someone Iowans and college students can count on.”

Sarah Sunderman, ISU Democrats president, said members of her group have volunteered to help with Spencer’s campaign.

“Dr. Spencer is a new face that brings a new perspective that Latham doesn’t have,” Sunderman said.