Colorado’s 6th District is held by Tom Tancredo, a controversial four-term Republican Congressman. The district is fairly conservative and, historically, Tancredo has done well. In the 2004 election he got 60 percent of the vote, but this year he has an unusual opponent in Bill Winter.
Winter, even in this conservative leaning district, is optimistic about his chances, not just because he is a Democrat running in what looks like a good year for Democrats, but also because he is a 10-year veteran of both the Marine Corps and the Navy. It’s an unusual combination and he is relying heavily on his status as a veteran to help him connect with his voters.
Winter, 42, has been out of the military for some time now. After being discharged, he went to law school here in Washington, D.C., worked in Sen. John McCain’s office and then joined a law firm. But it wasn’t too long until he was drawn back to his native Colorado. He now practices law, substitute teaches and indulges his passion — football — by helping coach a high school team.
In an election dominated by national security — or what the British used to call a “Khaki election” — there are an unprecedented number of military veterans seeking election to Congress, and Winter is just one. Winter, in a theme repeated by other veterans in this campaign season, says “my military experience helped me develop an appreciation for public service and taught me how to work with people with different perspectives and from different backgrounds.” Winter thinks it’s that attitude that will make him a successful Congressman in the polarized environment of Capitol Hill.
He is running against a powerful incumbent, but Winter has one thing most Democratic Congressional candidates have lacked in the past: credibility on national security issues. Given that Iraq is such a dominant issue in this campaign, Democrats, with so many veterans in the ranks of their candidates, have a wild card they didn’t expect. How well these veterans will do in a real election is hard to say, but almost all of them seem to be passionate candidates.
Out of the current Congress, only 23 percent have had any prior military experience. That’s the lowest it’s been since the 1970s. But, according to Congressional Quarterly, there is something of a phenomena taking place this year. Out of this year’s crop of new candidates, there are some 40 military veterans, mostly Democrats, running for Congress. Many are Iraq war vets and several, such as Ohio’s Tammy Duckworth, are disabled vets. A few are running in “swing” seats, but most are in the next rung of races, districts with relatively strong incumbents.
This surge of veterans seeking office, however, doesn’t seem to have been planned or orchestrated. Just like another midterm election 60 years ago, it appears to be a function of the times. In 1946, there were a lot of young veterans just out of the service who felt a strong desire to run for office. Two Navy veterans who ran for Congress in the 1946 election and won were John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
The Democrats hope that by stressing this military connection, and tapping the anti-incumbent mood nationally, a few of these veterans might upset some comparatively safe Republicans. It’s a long shot for many of them, but with most of the nominations settled, and the races starting to crystallize, there is an unusual sense of optimism in the Democratic ranks that these veterans may be the edge they need in 2006.
David S. Kerr works in the communications office of the JPDO, a joint private and public sector aviation organization based in Washington, D.C. He is also a freelance writer and lives in Stafford, Va.
