Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Make Huge Gains in Congress

Categories: News

Brian Mast, former EOD Staff Sgt and current representative-elect from Florida. Source: Brian Mast for Congress

Military veterans showed up in a big way this election day-and not just to vote.

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For those of you who don't know, I've been on a mission for the last six weeks. It was a mission of love, conviction, ideology, but most importantly a mission of friendship. My best friend from the service, fellow Navy SEAL @ericgreitens , was running for governor. It was an impossible fight against the political establishment. Uphill both ways. He had never run for office before and his opponent, the current attorney general had $11 million dollars to our zero. But when your buddy is in a gunfight, you show up with ammunition to help. For three months straight we outworked our opponent. Traveled the state of Missouri from Cape Girardeau to Kansas City. Brought the message to thousands and built a grassroots movement the likes of which hasn't been seen in a long time. Of all the missions Eric and I have been on together this felt like the most important. In what was a complicated and difficult election cycle, on a day when people are waking up not knowing how to react. I'm happy to say there is at least one incredibly bright spot in the American political landscape. It was one of the high honors of my life to introduce my friend and swim buddy last night as he took the stage to give his victory speech and became the youngest governor in America. Hooyah!

A post shared by Kaj Larsen (@kajlarsen) on Nov 9, 2016 at 6:00am PST

27 veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq won Congressional seats on Tuesday night, while several more races are still being decided.

In addition, former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens won the governorship of Missouri in an upset that fellow Navy SEAL and Vice News reporter Kaj Larsen called “one incredibly bright spot in the American political landscape.”

Greitens served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and defeated his opponent, Democrat Chris Koster, by a very small margin in a hotly contested race.  He is the CEO of a nonprofit called The Mission Continues and the author of several books.

He’s also the originator of this sweet campaign ad:

18 veteran incumbents won reelection and three senators did not face an opponent this cycle, while around a half dozen new veterans claimed seats.

Among them was Tammy Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot who lost her legs in Iraq.  She successfully transitioned from a position as a representative to that of a senator from the state of Illinois.

Thank you for making me the next senator from Illinois. This victory would not have been possible without your support.

— Tammy Duckworth (@TammyforIL) November 9, 2016

Duckworth joins Sen. Joni Ernst as a female veteran of Iraq serving in the Senate.

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans serving in Congress after intense trials by fire

One of the most incredible success stories of the election is that of Brian Mast, a medically retired former Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician who lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

He won the seat in Florida’s 18^th Congressional district after the incumbent vacated it and ran for the Senate.  He first started thinking about a congressional run while lying in his hospital bed, recovering from his wounds.

“As I’m lying there in a hospital bed and I’m talking to my wife, I was telling her I feel it would be very difficult to go through life thinking that the best contribution I’ve made to America is in my past,” he said in an interview with Army Times last year.

Mast lost his legs during an operation with the Army’s elite 75^th Ranger Regiment in 2010.  He stepped on an IED while going to assist a Ranger who had fallen off of a bridging ladder and lost both of his legs in the explosion.

Other veterans who will be heading to Washington D.C. as congressmen and women include Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL and Iraq War veteran, Jimmy Panetta, a Navy Veteran of Afghanistan and son of former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Anthony Brown, an Army veteran of Iraq.

Jim Banks, a Navy officer who served in Afghanistan, and Mike Gallagher, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, also won seats in the House of Representatives.

Doug Applegate, a Marine Reserve Col., lost his bid to upset incumbent Darrell Issa in California.

The number of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan in Congress is rising despite the total number of veterans being down to its lowest level since the 1950’s.