Dem
47
GOP
53
Many voters perceive Democrats as weak on national security. This holds double for conservatives in rural areas. The Democratic Party is trying to change that view by recruiting veterans, especially combat veterans, to run for House seats. The hope is that their service will neutralize attacks on them about national security, especially if their opponents are not veterans.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a former Army Ranger, is helping lead the recruitment efforts. He believes that veterans can engage with voters who are otherwise hostile to Democrats, especially voters who are also veterans. Crow thinks he can bring in new voters this way.
It could work. Veterans supported Trump 65% to 34% over Kamala Harris in 2024. In a race between a Democrat who is a veteran and a Republican who is not, there could well be veterans who will go for the veteran over the nonveteran, regardless of party. Currently there are 70 Republican veterans and 28 Democratic veterans in Congress.
Some have already been recruited. Former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett is running in NJ-07. Cait Conley, who was deployed overseas six times, is challenging Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in the very competitive (D+1) NY-17 Hudson Valley district. It could help. Several Democrats with military or national security backgrounds have won Senate races recently, notably Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Two others are running for governor this year, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey. If both of them win, especially if they win big, that will encourage the DCCC to look for more candidates with military or national security backgrounds next year. (V)