When MazeDancer said she wanted to do a post on the veterans running for office before I went out of town, I was like, YES! whatever it takes I’ll get that one posted. This one is for my dad, a proud Air Force veteran, Vietnam Vet and Democrat. Miss you, dad!
All the Running in the Red candidates can be found here.
From MazeDancer:
Running in the Red – A True Hero Doesn’t Hesitate to Change the World
They say never meet your heroes. Maybe that doesn’t apply to someone becoming your hero because you met them.
Every one of the “Running in the Red” candidates I have had the deep honor and supreme privilege to write about is a stand-up, stone-cold hero.
We sideliners toss around political POVs like amateur scouts at a ball game.
Heroes reach for the ball and head down the field. Even if the field is full of huge tacklers and certain injury.
They make me weep in gratitude. And bring enormous cheer that the true American spirit is alive, well, and running into the burning building to save us all.
They don’t look at Trump, scream, or wretch, and hightail it outta there. They see our nation is in trouble and step-up for the fight.
“Oh, that’s broken? Let me fix it!”
Of the candidates still running, three in particular deserve our high praise and endless applause.
And, if you have some extra, our money. Because these are candidates where a little money goes a long, long way.
It is no coincidence that they are all Veterans.
Caitlin Rourk – True Texas fighter
Caitlin Rourk won’t let the fact that she is running, in Texas, against Elon Musk’s money being spent by Elon Musk’s former lawyer, stop her.
She took an oath to uphold the Constitution against all enemies. Even the most over-privileged ones.
“2024 left me feeling much like I did when I joined the military: I couldn’t sit on the sidelines while our country faced such serious challenges,” she explains. “While many may have shied away from running for Congress because it was too broken, I felt called to the fight.”
She is truly inspiring. We focussed on her “problem-solving” mindset here. And for Texas-10, which covers the space between Houston and Austin, problems abound.
If you have ever been a liberal, teen-age girl in the South, and I have, you might experience a strong reaction to her opponent, Chris Gober. It includes packing your bags and leaving for sweeter, freer places.
Caitlin has not headed to the Free North. But her opponent did.
Gober went to Harvard Law School. A move often made by Southland Princes with a long-term eye on higher office.
He collects his JD, then swings by DC. Where he works for Musk, DOGE, and the sinking DOJ. Then coasts back to the safe spaces of Texas.
How safe? The man still has “Trump-endorsed” headlining his website. He is palavering for Trump throughout. If you want to see that, and his princely smirk, fake swagger, and bad hair, it’s here. (Do not recommend clicking)
Caitlin Rourk ignores any rich guy power and concentrates on the people.
“Service means stepping up,” she says. Caitlin wants an economy that “rewards work, not just wealth.” And in Texas, that is saying something.
Once again, we thank TxTiger for recruiting Caitlin to Balloon-Juice
Rick Crosson – Calm Power in the Storm
Watching Rick Crosson in his primary debate was just lovely.
His heart is straight and solid. He is proud to be a Dem. Thinks everyone deserves freedom and an equal chance. (“Gender is a spectrum”}.And he is not afraid to fight to make it all happen.
His answers were always unwavering and calm. Not a show pony. Even though he likes to sing karaoke.
Wisconsin-8 deserves him. The nation deserves him.
We have done two features on Rick Crosson, thank you Mousebumples, for recruiting him. You can learn in detail what a good man he is here and here. Former Lieutenant Colonel and Master Army Aviator, he apparently read the Constitution fully before swearing an oath to it. And is visibly appalled by how it is being trashed.
Rick sees how his voters are “filled with anxiety and fear about the future of our country”. And, what’s more, struggle, daily, just to survive.
He wants to stand in the breech and make all the crazy stop.
As he says “My commitment to service did not end when I left the Army. I still live by the oath I swore.”
And we thank him
Lee McInnis – Part of why Trump has to defend Alabama?
Some guys are willing to take on the impossible to protect our nation.
Among them are Lee McInnis, running in AL-3, in the heart of hate-land
His opponent isn’t just any ole, do-nothing MAGA. He is running against against 12-term, GOP incumbent, Chair of the Armed Service Committee, Mike Rogers. Who hasn’t held a town hall in his district in 8 years.
Writing about Mr. McInnis back in May, was so moving, I just wanted to stand up and salute. How does a good man like him exist in the deep mire of Alabama?
Apparently, people everywhere just want to be free. And some amazingly strong and good people want to help make sure that happens.
Son and grandson of Union leaders – ain’t an easy path in AL – Lee joined Army Intelligence and served for six years in both the Active and Reserve Components.
Lee’s district is very rural. And farmers are very unhappy. Up until a week or so ago, Mike Rogers supported the Iran war. Now, not so much.
But Mike still has “Trump-endorsed” big and bold across his website. And a pic of Rogers standing next to a highly retouched, thumbs-up Trump.
You don’t see that much T-word anymore.
Mike Rogers is running an ad, right now, that blames high prices on Joe Biden. It says: “This is your grocery cart under a Biden-Harris economy. Take note, in November.” Is that November 2026?
Yes, Mike, we all remember Kamala depleting our munitions aiming at Tehran two years ago. Did Mr. Biden really close the Strait of Hormuz? Slap tariffs on Canada?
Lee McInnis wants to work for people to be able to pay their bills, have affordable healthcare, and not be limited in opportunity by the size of their wallet. In other words, a great Dem.
Lee was recruited to BJ by a “Bama Lurker” – not their nym – who wanted no credit, but we still send thanks.
Early in the race, Lee said he didn’t want to run against Trump, he wanted to focus on issues concerning his district. To run against Mike Rogers, “…his record, and the damage he has done to this district.”
Unfortunately, as Lee notes “The problem is, there’s no Mike Rogers to run against.”
Lee continues, “He’s said practically nothing about the election. His website features a banner at the top that reads ‘Trump Endorsed’ and ‘Our Way Of Fighting Back,’ but he doesn’t say what he’s fighting back against.”
Lee’s blog entry on the subject is astute and well-expressed
Here’s hoping Alabama finally decides they want better for themselves. Good luck, Lee!
About Money and Gratitude
Among the many ways we do not support our Veterans is the lack of funding specifically targeted to help them run for office.
Veterans are perfect candidates, already dedicated to public service, like to team well with others, and have the discipline to work hard and finish strong.
VoteVets will send money if you gather a big enough following. And that is wonderful.
But like every non-profit, donations at VoteVets depend on results. And the candidates willing to take on the hardest districts are, by definition, going to deliver the least results.
Those candidates will inspire, they will change hearts, and open minds. They will make the world a better place through their efforts, But their stats won’t always help the org’s bottom line.
Where is the combo Emily’s List and Run for Something for neophyte Veterans? How do they get started so they can become contenders for VoteVets?
Especially when few others are going to take on the impossible GOP candidates and do the hard jobs. When, for Veterans, hard jobs are just another interesting assignment.
It is possible such a support group does exist and they just need to work on their visibility strategy. (No, I am not volunteering) But I couldn’t find one.
Getting the Right Start
There is a great org in NY for which I did some pro bono website work a long time ago, called Eleanor’s Legacy. Still going strong, it was founded to recruit and teach pro-choice women in NY State how to run for office. No experience necessary. Hand-holding provided.
We need an org like that for Veterans.
Caitlin Rourk, scrappy, determined, out there looking for pennies, especially moved me. To the point I called some fundraisers and asked if they knew any rich people who might want to throw money at such a support org.
Now, I know that starting a non-profit is a more insane mission than running for office. I, personally, cannot even officially advise. Been there, done that. Drained dry. Out of juice.
But it couldn’t hurt to ask.
Response: Great idea, but….Overlap between street-level Veteran’s and billionaires not huge. The ones interested in helping Veterans are already engaged. And good luck with that.
Thought Allison Gill might be interested. If the org existed. But someone has to spearhead a project for anything to happen.
And where is the rich Veteran who isn’t already up to their eyeballs in funding requests?They’re just trying to help Veterans eat, get housed, and pay bills like most of the world without PTSD?
Running for political office is all about money. And until that changes, the world will lag behind.
That’s why, when a Veteran does run for office, the least we can do, now, is say, basically, thanks for your service. Send 5 bucks. Or whatever you got. (No upper limit, those so blessed) Kind of a tangible thank-you note. And be grateful heroes exist.
Looking ahead
TaMara will be traveling until mid-month. When we return, our last features will likely be VA Congressional Candidates, because two separate commenters asked nicely, and more than anything, we value participation.
And we will also do a post on one WV guy requested by another WV guy. Yes, John Cole is out there getting someone to fill-in a questionnaire.
But we are ending our continued deep dives on DCCC/Hopium Chronicles crossover candidates. Because of the timing. And the discoveries made while doing so many of them already. We learned a couple of interesting things:
All Dems are great
Really, every candidate who has clawed their way to any kind of candidacy, but especially the DCCC/Hopium Chronicles levels, is pretty darn dazzling.
In many ways, it’s all the same race
Local issues matter locally. But the GOP approach to starve and ignore a situation isn’t as universally appealing as it has been.
And at any level, all the GOP white guy opponents, even the few women and not-white people, are the same. Dull-witted and power-hungry. Fighting against mythical “Radical Agendas”. (You know, like being able to eat…) And filled with negativity and hate.
There is no public service spark left in the GOP. The public is just a source of clout and revenue.
So, as inspiring as Dem candidates are, and as much as we have enjoyed bringing you good info and, we hope, decent writing about them, you can just assume you would love them all if we did more crossover folks.
And then get back to phone-banking.
We will also have an Election Eve wrap-up. Because we want to help you watch the returns.
Vote early, but not often.
You can get free “Vote Early” PostCard PDFs from MazeDancer. We’ll see you soon!
***
As we wrap up this series, I cannot thank MazeDancer for all the care and effort she put into bringing these stories to you. She’s a great writer. And I’m glad she’s been my sidekick and friend while we fought all the blog drama to bring you these amazingly brave souls running in the deep red. May they prevail!
We’ll wrap up the series when I get back. In the meantime, let’s work to get out the vote. We can’t win if we can’t get people to the polls. (ETA: Just got a notice my ballot is in the mail. Hopefully it arrives before I leave and I can secure my vote before I leave town) – TaMara
The post Running in the Red – A True Hero Doesn’t Hesitate to Change the World appeared first on Balloon Juice.
