The Voices of Veterans
July 7, 2017
| "When you're looking for a group of people who might be able to rise above the bitter partisan gridlock, veterans are a good place to look." - Congressman Seth Moulton |
There are currently 79 veterans (plus one nonvoting Member) in the House (19Ds/61Rs) and 21 in the Senate (7Ds/14Rs). Although military members, who voted 60%for Trump in the 2016 election, are generally pegged as more conservative, the President's actions in office have spurred an interest by many veterans in running as a Democrat.
Pic: Associated Press
Hence the unprecedented recruitment efforts of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the party's umbrella organization for electing and re-electing Congressional Members.
The veterans campaign is led by Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-6), who served four tours of duty in Iraq as a United States Marine officer.
Moulton and DCCC Recruitment Chair Denny Heck (WA-10) are also working with organizations like Vote Vets, a progressive PAC that focuses on veterans' issues and candidates.
Among the DCCC's 2018 army of candidates, are over a dozen veterans who have announced challenges to sitting Republican Members of Congress, and more are expected to emerge before the year's end.
|
Congressional District
|
Democratic Challenger
|
Republican Incumbent
|
| New Jersey 11 | Mikie Sherrill (Navy) | Rodney Frelinghuysen |
| Pennsylvania 06 | Chrissy Houlahan (Navy) | Ryan Costello |
| Illinois 12 | Brendan Kelly (Navy) | Mike Bost |
| Texas 21 | Joseph Kopser (Army) | Lamar Smith |
| California 49 | Doug Applegate (Marine Corps) | Darrell Issa |
| Wisconsin 01 | Randy Bryce (Army) | Paul Ryan |
| Colorado 06 | Jason Crow (Army) | Michael Coffman |
| Virginia 10 | Dan Helmer (Army) | Barbara Comstock |
| California 50 | Josh Butner (Navy) | Duncan Hunter |
| North Carolina 09 | Dan McCready (Marine Corps) | Robert Pittenger |
| Ohio 07 | Ken Harbaugh (Navy) | Bob Gibbs |
| New York 19 | Pat Ryan (Army) | John Faso |
| New Jersey 11 | Mikie Sherrill (Navy) | Rodney Frelinghuysen |
Democrats need a net gain of 24 seats to when back control of the House. With Trump's approval rating at 37% (Gallup 7/7/19), the voices of our veterans could push it over the top.
Randy Brice is challenging Paul Ryan (click to watch!)
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Sources: NewYorkTimes, Washington Post, CNN, DCCC, Gallup, VoteVets
