By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 21, 2006; A03

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.

She faces two candidates today, including the well-organized Cegelis, who is criticizing Duckworth for her ties to national party leaders and the fact that she lives three miles outside the suburban Chicago district.

If Duckworth gets past the primary, she will face Hyde's chosen successor, state Sen. Peter Roskam, a politically experienced social conservative who brought Vice President Cheney into the district last week for a fundraiser that netted $200,000. But other veterans running for Congress have much more modest bankrolls and campaign operations. Tim Walz, a Minnesota schoolteacher and Army National Guard member, began the year with $40,000 on hand, compared with $620,000 for incumbent Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R).

Andrew Duck, a former Army intelligence officer competing in Maryland's 6th Congressional District -- where 65 percent of voters backed Bush in 2004 -- had $5,600 at the beginning of the year, according to federal election reports. Republican incumbent Roscoe G. Bartlett had $346,600.

Kerry's political action committee recently sent a fundraising e-mail for five candidates. More than 13,000 donors had contributed $471,000 at last count, according to Kerry's staff, with Duckworth on top with $156,000.

Pennsylvania congressional candidates Joseph A. Sestak Jr., a retired Navy vice admiral, and Patrick Murphy, a former Army lawyer and paratrooper awarded a Bronze Star, each received about $90,000 from the mailing, and Walz gathered $34,000. Jay Fawcett, a retired Air Force pilot who fought in the Persian Gulf War, picked up $35,000 for his Colorado race.

All are newcomers challenging GOP incumbents, and all appear likely to know soon they are in a political firefight, if signals from the National Republican Congressional Committee are any indication.

The NRCC is trying to define Murphy -- a former West Point instructor seeking to unseat freshman Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) -- as a beginner by circulating a video of an MSNBC appearance in which he declined repeatedly to say whether he would have voted to authorize the Iraq war. He faces a Republican with deep political roots and several winning campaigns.

"If you're going to run as an authority on this issue, you have to be able to speak authoritatively," said Ed Patru, the NRCC's deputy communications director. He added: "Being a veteran is a great thing to have on your résumé, but if you're wrong on the bread-and-butter issues on which congressional races are typically decided, that's not going to save you."

The candidates say they have also heard that message from high-ranking Democrats who emphasize that they must show they can fill their own campaign coffers if their candidacies are to be viable.

Sestak, who raised $150,000 in his first two weeks, links his 31 years of military service -- which includes commanding a 30-ship Navy battle group and serving on the National Security Council -- with what he calls economic, educational and national security.

He is challenging 10-term Rep. Curt Weldon (R) in a suburban Philadelphia district that supported Kerry in 2004 and Democrat Al Gore in 2000. Weldon, who promised "the most aggressive campaign in 20 years," has drawn criticism for helping his daughter win lobbying contracts.

"With a credible candidate and the resources to conduct the campaign," said Sestak, "this is a very winnable campaign."

Before he can challenge Northup in Louisville, Horne must first defeat John Yarmuth, a well-known liberal newspaper columnist who is prepared to spend a considerable amount of his own money. Horne, a lawyer who grew up and attended school in the Louisville area before joining the Marine Reserve at age 18, entered the race after more prominent Democrats declined to run.

Horne -- who saw active duty in both the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the current war -- won the endorsement of the Louisville building trades union. But the Jefferson County Teachers Association, with more than 10,000 members, is backing Yarmuth because of what a leader called his understanding of the issues.

Waiting for a candidate forum to begin at the largely black West Louisville Community Club, Yarmuth contended that he can defeat Horne in May. "I've been in public life here for 30 years," he said. "I can discuss virtually any issue. I don't think you can develop that background in a matter of months."

Yet Yarmuth is undoubtedly more liberal than much of the district, even while Democrats outnumber Republicans. Contending that he can best compete with Northup for conservative Democrats and the retired military families that flow into the district from Fort Knox, Horne began his pitch to the audience by declaring, "I'm Andrew Horne. I'm a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Reserves."

The Bush administration's performance in Iraq, he said, drove him to register as a Democrat after years as an independent.

"Positions of authority are about responsibility, not about privilege," Horne said. "My background is going to be difficult for them to challenge. The traditional ways they attack candidates will not work."

Staff writer Kari Lydersen in Chicago contributed to this report.