Gibbs versus Rep. Jordan?

The former head of the Mercer County Farm Service Agency may challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, for the U.S. 4th Congressional House seat as an independent.

Chris Gibbs of Maplewood on Tuesday announced that he's leaving the Republican Party after supporting it his entire life and launching an exploratory commitee to consider a run against Jordan, who has held the seat since 2007.

Gibbs, a longtime farmer and former chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party, cited division and dysfunction as his reason for exiting the party and contemplating an independent bid for the seat. He's putting together a "bipartisan team of staff and consultants," the release reads.

"As I've talked to farmers, business owners, teachers, nurses, civil servants, friends and family, they all agree," Gibbs said in the release. "They're ready to break free of the Washington discourse and declare their independence from those who are only serving their own interests. They have challenged me to become that independent voice for them in Congress, to carry their message to Washington that 'enough is enough.'"

Gibbs intends to launch a listening tour in all the district's counties to gather input and support, the release reads.

"The two-party system has polarized itself into inaction through distrust and disdain for people who may not share the same views or have the same background as one another," Gibbs said. "Endless investigations, accusations and hearings do nothing to move issues important to real people here in Ohio. The loudest voices these days are the extremes from both sides, and they're the only ones who get any airtime from the media - they're all forgetting that most Americans are right here, with me, caught in the middle."

Gibbs wants to reach voters of all persuasions and his campaign has signed Republican pollster Christine Matthews and Democratic media consultant Joe Trippi, the release reads.

According to the release, Gibbs owns and operates Gibbs Farms, where he grows soybeans, corn and alfalfa and maintains 95 head of cattle. He and his wife, Deb, have two grown children.

Gibbs served as executive director of Mercer County Farm Service Agency office in Celina which administers federal price-support programs designed to help farmers in tough times, as well as loans and conservation programs.

Gibbs, a 1979 graduate of Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, started his USDA career in 1985 as a field reporter in Shelby County.

After having been accepted into the USDA management program in 1988, his first management assignment was in Paulding County, where he worked for five years as county executive director. In December 1993 he was hired as executive director of the then Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service in Mercer County, the precursor to the Farm Service Agency.