Congressman Hal Rogers, R–Somerset, could face a familiar opponent in the 2010 general election as Jim Holbert announced his candidacy this week, this time as a Democrat.

Holbert, who lost to Rogers as an independent in the 2008 election while receiving 16 percent of the vote, called for “an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” and a comprehensive national energy policy with a focus on ending dependency on foreign oil.

A Laurel County resident, Holbert said in a press release from his campaign that he aims to end “business as usual politics.”

“My campaign is about common sense solutions for our regional and national problems, facing the truth about our situation at home and abroad, and providing an alternative to the ‘business as usual’ politics that have caused the current crisis in America,” Holbert said.

According to his bio, Holbert is a former Army and Coast Guard officer and moved to Eastern Kentucky in 2005 along with his wife, Cindy.

Holbert is the second Democrat to file in the race. Louisa resident David Prince filed his candidacy in December.

Rep. Rogers made it official in December as he filed the necessary paperwork with the Kentucky Secretary of State to seek a 16th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the House in 1980.