A Lohrville man vowing to end abortion and expand gun rights has launched a primary election challenge to state Rep. Mike Sexton.

Tom Hoefling announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in House District 10 Thursday. He will face Sexton, a Rockwell City Republican seeking his third term, in the June 4 primary election.

House District 10 includes Calhoun, Humboldt and Pocahontas counties, plus western Webster County.

“I’m not satisfied with the kind of representation we’re getting down there,” Hoefling said, referring to the state Capitol in Des Moines.

“I’m running against the status quo,” he added. “I’m a voice for thousands of conservative Iowans who are fed up with the kind of representation we’ve been getting in Des Moines. What good does it do to elect Republicans if they’re not going to govern according to Republican principles?”

Hoefling said if he’s elected his top priority will be ending what he called the “abortion holocaust.”

He said he would introduce a bill that defines a child in the womb as a person and would classify abortion as murder. He said the bill would also remove all governmental license to perform abortion.

He said his next priority would be introducing a gun rights measure he calls “constitutional carry.” He said the bill would eliminate licenses for all guns. He said the legislation would allow gun owners to carry their weapons openly.

Hoefling also wants Iowans to elect their judges instead of having them appointed by the governor.

“Currently, the way we pick judges basically lets the bar association pick our judges,” he said.

In 1998, Hoefling sought the Republican nomination in a House district that includes some of the same territory now included in House District 10. He was defeated in the primary election by Paul Johnson, of Gowrie. Johnson lost the general election to Democratic incumbent Norm Mundie.

He was the national political director for presidential candidate Alan Keyes. Then in 2014, he challenged former Gov. Terry Branstad in the Republican primary and was easily defeated.

Hoefling said he is a political activist and consultant who works from his home. He runs an anti-abortion group called Equal Protection for Posterity.

The candidate is a native of Omaha, Nebraska, who grew up in Ralston, Nebraska.