Government Executive
Both parties court military veteran candidates as wars continue
By Otto Kreisher
CongressDaily
October 3, 2008
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan hot issues in the national elections, both parties have tried to recruit military veterans to run in congressional races.
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At least 52 veterans -- about half of whom have served in the current conflicts and some who still are active in the National Guard or reserves -- ran as non-incumbents in House and Senate primaries across the nation. At least 33 of those veterans have survived into the general elections, where they will join about 100 incumbents with military service who are seeking re-election.
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At the beginning of this session, 30 senators and 100 House members claimed military service, including time in the reserves or Guard. One of those died and 17 are retiring, are seeking other offices or were defeated in primaries. ...
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