Libertarian Senate candidate in Iowa dies in plane crash

Doug Butzier, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate from Iowa, was killed Monday night in a small plane crash.

Butzier was piloting the plane when he had trouble attempting to land at Dubuque Regional Airport, the local ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids reports. He then circled around before crashing in a yard about a mile away.

A recent poll of Iowa from Democratic-aligned firm Public Policy Polling showed Butzier with two percent support in the Senate race, behind the Republican Joni Ernst and Democrat Bruce Braley as the major-party contenders.

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Butzier was 59 years old, and worked as an emergency room doctor.