- The Washington Times - Monday, November 2, 2020

While the presidential race is the marquee match-up, Election Day will also affect the foreign policy pecking order on Capitol Hill and determine how many military veterans volunteering for service will be seated in the next Congress.

Although there is no veteran on either presidential ticket for the third consecutive election — the late Sen. John McCain was the last veteran to run for president — over 180 veterans are running in congressional races across the country, up from 173 in the previous cycle.

A survey by the Military Times website found that Republican congressional candidates with military service outnumber Democrats by about 2 to 1, with a record 28 women veterans running this year for the two major parties, including four Senate races.

The coveted chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is up for grabs after longtime Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel of New York lost his primary to challenger Jamaal Bowman. Mr. Engel’s successor, almost certainly another Democrat, will be named in January.

Two veterans are paired off in one of the key races that could decide if the Republicans retain their hold on the Senate. Sen. Martha McSally, the Arizona Republican who filled the vacancy left by Sen. McCain in 2018, is facing a tight race against Mark Kelly, a retired Navy combat pilot of 24 years and NASA astronaut.

Ms. McSally, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, served in the Air Force for 22 years and made history as the first American woman pilot to fly a combat mission and the first female commander of a fighter squadron. She has trailed in the polls but also has been mentioned as a possible defense secretary should President Trump win a second term Tuesday.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday showed that Mr. Kelly holds a significant lead over Ms. McSally, leading by a 53%-44% margin.

Another female combat pilot has put the fate of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, into question. Amy McGrath has come out as one of the strongest — and best-funded — challengers Mr. McConnell has seen in his 36-year career in the Senate.

Ms. McGrath has campaigned on her extensive military experience which includes 20 years in the Marine Corps and 89 combat missions in Afghanistan.

While polls show that Mr. McConnell has a 10-point lead, heavy early voting across the country could give Ms. McGrath a shot. If elected, she is seen as a top candidate to join the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Joni Ernst, a top Republican on the Senate panel, is also locked in a tight race. The Iowa Republican is a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and was the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate.

Several political data websites have labeled the race against Democrat Theresa Greenfield as a toss-up.

The fourth veteran running for a Senate seat is Texas Democrat M.J. Hegar, who is looking to unseat Republican Sen. John Cornyn.

The Air Force veteran, who unsuccessfully sued to end the military’s Combat Exclusion Policy for female service members, is trailing Mr. Cornyn by 6.8 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics poll average.

Key House races to watch involving veterans include Jackie Gordon of New York, who served for 29 years in the Army and is now seeking to replace retired GOP Rep. Peter King; Iraq War veteran and former Air Force intelligence officer Gina Ortiz Jones who is seeking to replace Rep. Will Hurd, Texas Republican; and Max Rose, a National Guard captain and Army veteran who is fighting to keep his seat in a tight race. All three veterans are running as Democrats.

Five Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are in precarious positions, according to political data website Inside Elections, including Ms. McSally, Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, David Perdue of Georgia and Ms. Ernst of Iowa are considered either leaning or tossups, the nonpartisan publication predicts.

The seat of Sen. Doug Jones, Alabama Democrat, is considered to be a likely Republican pick-up.

On the House side, just two Democrats are facing an uncertain future as Inside Elections notes that the seat of Rep. Xochitl Torres Small of New Mexico is a toss-up and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia is locked in a tight race in a conservative-leaning district.

Whatever the vote, House Armed Services Committee Republicans are gearing up for a world without their longtime leader, Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas. Mr. Thornberry served as chairman of the panel for four years, before becoming the ranking minority member in 2018. He announced in September 2019 that he would not seek reelection.

• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.

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