Leonard Boswell (Getty)

Republican Michael Mahaffey once lost a very close open-seat House race to Democrat Leonard L. Boswell in Iowa’s 3rd District, and he has been waiting patiently for the right opportunity to pursue a rematch.

Very patiently.  

Mahaffey, who lost an open-seat race to Boswell in 1996, told CQ Politics that he is thinking of giving it another go next year — 14 years after their original showdown.  

Mahaffey said he plans to make a decision about the 2010 race by Labor Day.