More than 30 current or former National Guardsmen across the country are bidding for election next month to the House or Senate.
The list includes six current Guardsmen running for re-election to the House. They are Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who announced plans last week to retire from the Guard, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio.
Several House members who are former Guardsmen are also on ballots. They include Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.; Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich.; Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Tenn.; Rep. William Enyart, D-Ill.; Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C.; and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
Other former Guardsmen in the House seeking re-election are Rep. Vance McAllister, R-La.; Rep. Richard Nugent, R-Fla.; Rep. Collin C. Peterson, D-Minn.; Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky.; Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va.; Rep. Tim J. Walz, D-Minn.; Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.; and Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark.
Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Mich., another former Guardsman, lost in the Republican primary, but is mounting a write-in campaign.
Two other former Guardsmen in the House are not seeking another term. Rep. Paul C. Broun, R-Ga., ran for the Senate and lost in the primary, while Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., is retiring. Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., is also not running for his seat. He was the adjutant general of Montana.
A former Guardsman in the Senate also is up for re-election next month. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a co-chair of the Senate National Guard Caucus, is seeking a third term.
One serving Guardsman and one retired Guardsman are running for the Senate from other states. Iowa Army Guard Lt. Col. Joni Ernst is the Republican candidate in Iowa, while former Sen. Scott Brown, a retired colonel, is the Republican on the ballot in New Hampshire. He represented Massachusetts in the Senate from 2010 to 2013.
At least eight current or former Guardsmen are seeking first terms in the House.
The current Guardsmen are Lt. Col. Mark Takai, the Democratic candidate in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District; Maj. Art Moore, one of two Republicans in a runoff to represent California’s 4th District; 1st Lt. Forest Dunbar, the Democrat for Alaska’s at-large seat; and Spc. Richard Murphy, an independent candidate on the ballot to represent Maine’s 1st District.
The former Guardsmen are retired Maj. Gen. Jerry Cannon, the Democrat in Michigan’s 1st District; Brian Babin, the Republican in Texas’s 36th District; Jim Mowrer, the Democrat in Iowa’s 4th District; and Mark Sullivan, the Democratic candidate in Nebraska’s 3rd District.