Veterans are prized recruits as congressional candidates

With midterm election season rapidly approaching, Republicans and Democrats have something in common when it comes to recruiting candidates y hope will deliver majorities in Congress: military veterans.

Both parties anticipate a significant number of races where veterans will be opposing each or, using ir military service as a foundation of ir appeal even as y hold widely diverging views on issues.

Democrats are clinging to threbare vants in both House and Senate, so success of se candidates could determine balance of power.

chaotic winding down of U.S. war effort in Afghanistan — combined with President Joe Biden's blaming his predecessor's policies for much of what occurred — could resonate with voters in ways t seen since opposition to Iraq War helped Democrats retake House in 2006.

“When U.S. suffers a very public defeat ... historically, that’s kind of thing that does become an issue in next election," said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at University of Central Florida.

In few places are military matters more likely to dominate debate than in rfolk, Virginia, and surrounding area. It's a swing congressional district along Atlantic coast and home to world's largest naval base. One in 5 residents are active military personnel, veterans or ir relatives.

Rep. Elaine Luria , a Democrat, served as naval commander, including on aircraft carriers that once helped st Afghanistan bombing runs. She defeated an incumbent Republican, Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL, in 2018 and again in a rematch in 2020.

Veteran candidates can be seen as more willing to put country above self, which often plays best among moderate voters and in swing districts without a dominate political ideology.

“One of reasons you see veterans on veterans is because thought process is that just neutralizes that vant,” Taylor said. “Both parties are looking for that.”

This year, among those hoping to capture Republican mination and challenge Luria is ar veteran, ex-Navy helicopter pilot Jen Kiggans, a state senator.

Luria, who sits on House Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees, said that in her district, someone who has served “instantly goes into this with a level of credibility and connection.”

Kiggans believes that, too: “Understanding nuances of military life and being a military family member, a military spouse, I think those are really all very important to representing district well.”

“re should be more of us,” Kiggans, who deployed to Middle East during her 10-year naval career, said of running against a fellow female veteran in Luria. "I think veterans truly understand a lot of issues that are important to country and we love country, we’ve fought for country, we’ve sacrificed for country.”

number of veterans who may face or veterans for congressional seats in 2022 won't be kwn until after next summer's primary season. In 2020, 17 House and Senate general election races featured two candidates' having military experience, according to With Hor Action, a npartisan organization that promotes veterans for elective office.

Similar veteran-against-veteran races occurred 21 times two years before that.

During that 2018 cycle, Democrats stressed recruiting candidates with military experience to appeal to swing voters — and ultimately won House control.

w candidates will be dressing issues such as mob attack on U.S. Capitol in January and fractious evacuation of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, with ir military backgrounds seen as giving m ded credibility.

Roughly two-thirds of Americans said y did t think America’s longest war was worth fighting, according to a poll released this past week from Associated Press-RC Center for Public Affairs Research. It also shows that scenes of chaos and violence in Afghanistan have t much hurt Biden's standing so far. Some 52% said y approve of president on national security.

Republicans nearly took control of House in 2020, when all 15 seats y flipped featured women, mirity or veteran candidates.

Illiis Republican Rep. am Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, said serving in Afghanistan “makes me believe in a cause bigger than myself," even though what's occurring re w has left him “very bitter.”

ne of Kinzinger's major challengers so far is a veteran. Still, veteran-on-veteran races are taking shape around country.

Oregon Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio is his state's longest-serving member of Congress and an Air Force Reserve veteran. He's gearing up for a possible second consecutive race against Republican Alek Skarlatos, a former Army National Guardsman who, along with four ors, stopped a gunman during a 2015 terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train.

In suburban Houston, Democrat Matt Berg, who served in Air Force, is hoping to unseat first-term Rep. Troy Nehls, an Army veteran who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It brings a more bro base appeal as a candidate,” said Berg who ted that district saw about a 5-percent point drop between its 2020 support for Biden and its nveteran Democrat who ran for Congress. "We do feel it will help us reach out to voters who felt that Nehls' military background was a pivotal factor.”

move into politics is t always smooth for veterans, considering that military consistently polls as among nation’s most-respected, most trusted institutions — and Congress decidedly does t.

Rye Barcott, a former Marine who is co-founder and CEO of With Hor, said his group vises veterans considering a run that “it is a hardship post.” He ded: “It’s going to be painful but you’re doing it as a service to something larger than yourself.”

number of female veterans running for Congress as major party minees has increased even more sharply from 14 in 2018 to 28 vying for seats in House or Senate last year.

Still, Seth Lynn, executive director of Veterans Campaign, a nprofit which helps make it easier for veterans to seek public office, said that since 2000, fewer than 25 House races pitting veterans against veterans featured at least one female candidate from a major party. ne h two women running against each or.

That makes potential Luria-Kiggans race something that hasn't happened in at least a generation.

Rebecca Burgess, founder of vocacy group CivMil Project, said she expects to see more congressional races involving matchups of female veterans. But a potentially even more potent reason is “ power of example" where more female veterans in Congress means mentors for those looking to emulate m.

Luria may have gotten a firsthand glimpse of that when she dressed a recent luncheon at Naval Station rfolk. Navy Lt. Courtney Jawicz posed for a picture with congresswoman and chatted about pairs' shared experiences, having both worked on ships in shipyards.

Asked if she could eventually see herself following Luria's path into politics, Jawicz beamed before proclaiming, “I can see it w.”