CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Sept. 17, 2008 – 5:54 p.m.
Pro-War Veterans Get Help Running for Office
By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff
In 2006, a handful of military veterans critical of the war in Iraq made headlines when they ran for Congress, determined to change the U.S. approach to Iraq.
Now, in 2008, some veterans want to turn the tables - they’re running on their support for the war.
Vets for Freedom, is determined to shine a spotlight this cycle on veterans who share the group’s positive view of the war.
At a news conference Wednesday, Vets for Freedom’s political action committee showcased 14 endorsed Congressional candidates who believe military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq have been successful.
“In 2006, the perception in the media and elsewhere was that it was the anti-war veterans, the guys who came home disgruntled, that were running for Congress and running to end the war,” Vets For Freedom chairman Pete Hegseth said at Wednesday’s press conference. “That is not the case in 2008.”
Vets for Freedom’s political action committee was founded in November 2007 to offer financial, media and other types of support to like-minded candidates, most of whom are veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The organization endorsed 23 candidates this cycle. One, Georgia Rep. Jim Marshall , is a Democrat.
Marshall noted in an interview with CQ Politics that he voted against a nonbinding resolution in February “disapproving” of the troop surge advocated by President Bush. Marshall and Mississippi Rep. Gene Taylor were the only House Democrats who voted with a majority of Republicans against the resolution.
Marshall faces a tough re-election fight against Republican former Air Force Base Commander Rick Goddard in his central Georgia 8th District. Marshall was one of the few Democrats who narrowly escaped defeat in 2006, a year favorable to Democrats running for office nationwide. Marshall bested former Republican Rep. Mac Collins by 1 percentage point but was competing in a district that had been redrawn by a Republican-led legislature.
The district remains competitive for 2008. Voters within the new boundaries supported President Bush in 2004 with 61 percent of the vote. CQ Politics rates Marshall’s bid for a fourth term Leans Democratic.
Among other attendees at the news conference:
• Iraq war veteran and state Sen. Steve Stivers, who is running against Democratic county commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy in Ohio’s 15th District. Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce ’s decision to retire from the Columbus-area seat has created a pickup opportunity for Democrats but Stivers has proven to be a strong challenger. CQ Politics rates the race No Clear Favorite.
• Medford Mayor Chris Myers who is also running in a race rated No Clear Favorite. Myers, a Navy veteran, is competing for the New Jersey’s open 3rd District against Democratic state Sen. John Adler. The district leans Republican but Adler has a strong organization and fundraising machine behind him.
• Republican Sen. James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, who is favored to win a third full term against Democratic state Sen. Andrew Rice.
Pro-War Veterans Get Help Running for Office
But 10 of the 14 candidates at the news conference are long shots, at best, to win their races.
Pennsylvania 7th District candidate Republican Craig Williams, a former federal prosecutor and Marine, explained Wednesday that he was prompted to run for office in the 7th to actively oppose freshman Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak ’s anti-war positions.
Williams noted that while he was serving overseas, he kept watch on Sestak’s congressional race. “I came back to my district after my mobilization and I said I disagree very strongly,” Williams said.
Sestak, a retired Navy vice admiral, is the highest-ranking former military officer ever to serve in the House. He is well-funded and favored to win in his Democratic-leaning district. CQ Politics rates his race Safe Democratic.
Meanwhile, the political action committee of VoteVets.org, a group supporting veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are critical of the war, has endorsed Sestak as well as 12 additional lawmakers and candidates running for Congress this year.
VoteVets.org chairman Jon Soltz described his group in an interview with CQ Politics as “the only organization on both sides that raises legitimate money for Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans.”
Soltz argued that with 65 percent of the country opposed to the President’s efforts in Iraq, “I think they’re going to land more on our side,” but noted that there are challenges in House districts because the races are localized and may differ wildly from national opinion.
Despite both parties’ efforts to recruit veterans to run for Congress, their rates of success in past cycles have not been high.
Soltz conceded that running for Congress as a veteran “is a huge disadvantage.” “You don’t have the infrastructure when you fight a war outside this country,” Soltz said, adding that returning veterans have low name identification in their districts when they return from overseas and bring no fundraising base to the contest.
POST A COMMENT
Oops! The following errors must be addressed: