More Women, Democratic Veterans Running For Congress This Year

The number of Democratic and women veterans running for federal office this year is at record levels as the overall number of congressional candidates with military backgrounds has surged from 2024, according to a new analysis ahead of the midterm elections.

The numbers, compiled by the non-partisan veterans advocacy group With Honor, show broader engagement by younger veterans in national politics and a significant shift in campaign dynamics, where previously veteran candidates have skewed heavily Republican.

The increased involvement comes as Congress wrestles with a series of national security issues that could decide the November midterm elections, including President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, the continued U.S. military assault on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean, and the administration’s increasingly fraught relationship with NATO allies.

“Both parties have emphasized recruiting veterans in recent cycles, but it’s really showing this year,” said Rye Barcott, co-founder and CEO of With Honor. “And as the country faces significant division and challenges, veterans are hearing that call to service again.”

Foreign policy issues typically don’t move voters as significantly as domestic and economic topics in midterm elections. But the connection between some of Trump’s overseas moves — particularly the impact of the conflict with Iran on energy prices — could change that sentiment this cycle.

With Honor is tracking 752 veterans registered to run for the House and Senate this year, the highest number since they began tracking in 2018. That total is up 47 percent from 2024 and up 20 percent from 2018, midway through Trump’s first term in office.

Democratic leaders during that 2018 cycle made a concerted effort to highlight veterans and national security voices on the campaign trail, including individuals like former New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a one-time Navy helicopter pilot.

But they are seeing even higher numbers this year. At least 294 veterans are running for Congress as party members, up nearly 30 percent from the 2018 cycle. Roughly 39 percent of candidates running in midterm contests are registered Democrats, the highest percentage since With Honor began tracking the numbers.

A Democratic strategist who has advised the party on veterans issues, granted anonymity to discuss the party's strategy, said the effort to bring more left-leaning veterans’ voices onto the campaign trail has been stepped up in recent months amid President Donald Trump’s military moves.

“No one understands the cost of war better than veterans, and so I think you're seeing them get off the sidelines now,” the strategist said. Party leaders hope to use that veteran clout to help emphasize the long-term costs of the war with Iran and the uncertainty of future conflicts in locations like Cuba, South America and even Greenland.

Another reason for the jump in Democratic veteran candidates is the emergence of more women with military backgrounds running for office.

With Honor researchers identified 95 women with military backgrounds who are running for House and Senate seats this year, up from 40 in 2024. Of those, 56 percent are Democrats, and only 28 percent Republicans.

Only eight women veterans are serving in Congress today: three Democrats and five Republicans. The surge in female candidates could push that number to a new record high next year.

Republicans still make up almost half of all veteran candidates, at 48 percent. At the start of the current session of Congress, only 72 of the 100 veterans in the House and Senate were members of the GOP.

The veterans included among the 752 names are a mix of well-known incumbents running for reelection — individuals like Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.) — and congressional hopefuls like Marine Corps veteran Graham Platner, running as a Democrat for Senate in Maine.

Barcott, who recently authored the book "Courage Can Save US" profiling veterans serving in national office today, said he believes the emergence of more post-9/11 veterans in prominent political roles is also driving the rise in veteran engagement.

“You look at veterans like [Maryland Gov.] Wes Moore and Vice President JD Vance, that shows folks what you can achieve,” he said.

About 41 percent of the 752 veterans running for office this year served after September 2001, making them the largest generation of veterans on the campaign trail. About one third of veterans serving in Congress now were in the military during that period.

The larger number of veterans running for office doesn’t guarantee an increase in the number of candidates with military backgrounds who are elected to office.

The number of veterans in Congress peaked in 1969, following years of mandatory military service for young American men in the Vietnam War. That year 402 veterans — 75 percent of the House and Senate membership — boasted some prior military service.

The number has slowly decreased since then, according to congressional records. The total hasn’t been above 20 percent since 2009. But that number still is over-represented for the American public, where about 6 percent of the adult population has served.