Vets Running for Congress Fight 'One-Issue' Label

LOUISVILLE -- Andrew Horne's political résumé starts with his military service in Iraq, he recently told a candidates meeting in west Louisville. The Marine Reserve lieutenant colonel said the war represents a failure of Republican leadership, and he won applause when he declared, "I've seen it when they're lying."

When Horne had finished asking for help in unseating Rep. Anne M. Northup, the GOP incumbent in Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District, Paul Porter still had his doubts.

"Horne, he sounds like a single issue," said Porter, a retired lawyer. "The issue is quality of life here. It's eroding. You've got to show you understand the people and their day-to-day lives."

Porter's skepticism underscores one of the biggest challenges facing a platoon of Iraq war veterans, almost all of them Democrats, running for Congress this year in mostly Republican districts. While they are pitching themselves as tough on national security and reaping some of the benefits of growing antiwar sentiment, many are struggling to raise their profiles and prove they can talk about more than the war.

There are 10 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars running for Congress this year. Today may provide an early indicator of their chances: Tammy Duckworth, the star of the class, is entered in a competitive Democratic primary in Illinois that includes Christine Cegelis, a more seasoned candidate. They are vying to replace stalwart Republican Rep. Henry J. Hyde.

Several of the newcomers may yet develop into formidable candidates, but election analysts note that most face experienced and well-financed Republicans in districts that have tilted toward the GOP, often for years.

Northup -- Horne's opponent if he wins the primary -- has won five consecutive House races, the last of them with 60 percent of the vote in a district in which Sen. John F. Kerry (D) outpolled President Bush. She had $1.1 million on hand at the end of the year.

At one point, there were a dozen veterans vying for House seats, but two -- both Democrats -- have dropped out. There is one Republican among the veterans still campaigning for the House -- Van Taylor, who won the March 7 primary in the Texas district that includes Bush's Crawford ranch.

Another veteran of the Iraq war, Paul Hackett, ended his quest to unseat Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) when it appeared he could not match the fundraising of another Democratic challenger, Rep. Sherrod Brown (Ohio).

"It seems to me there's a lot of smoke here, but I don't know how much heat," said Stuart Rothenberg, a Washington political analyst. "To the extent that any of these candidates are going to win, they will probably win because they are Democrats in a Democratic wave year, not because all of a sudden voters have embraced them because they are veterans."

The Democrats' strategy and hope are that articulate service members who served in wartime can strengthen the party's standing on national security and mobilize voters frustrated with Bush's performance on Iraq and the anti-terrorism fight.

Duckworth, an Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot who lost both legs to an insurgent's rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq, is leading the pack in media attention and fundraising. She has raised well over $500,000 in three months, backed by some of the nation's most prominent Democrats, who believe she is best positioned to take the seat held by Hyde for 32 years.