Navy Fighter Pilot, Intelligence Officer for the Air Force, Warfare Officer for the Navy, Air Force & Navy Helicopter Pilots. What do these all have in common? These were the jobs six amazing Veteran Women who are running for congress and you should know who they are! If you are lucky enough to live in their Congressional District and can vote for one of them, I’m jealous!
Helicopter Pilots
MJ Hegar (TX-31), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)
MJ Hegar burst onto the scene when she dropped her announcement video. She’s from Texas running in the 31st Congressional district just north of Austin against someone who has held the seat since 2003. MJ is a best-selling author of the book “Shoot Like a Girl” and an advocate for inclusion of women in combat roles in the military.
Watch her video “Doors” and you’ll see why she beat them down and is a candidate you should know.
Mikie Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot and served as a Russian policy officer and worked on nuclear treaty obligations between the US Navy and the Russian Federation Navy. She is also a former federal Prosecutor who is running in the New Jersey 11th District.
Nuclear Engineer & An Intelligence Officer
Elaine Luria (VA-2), Gina Ortiz Jones (TX-23)
Another Navy woman is Elaine Luria who is running for Congress in the Virginia 2nd District. She was a commander in the US Navy serving 20 years as a Surface Warfare Officer and Nuclear Engineer deploying six times.
Gina Ortiz Jones is an Air Force veteran of the Iraq war where she was an intelligence officer. She is running in the Texas 23rd District which borders much of Mexico. It stretches from just outside of El Paso to just west of San Antonio. If Gina is elected she would be the first openly LGBT woman of color to represent Texas, as well as the first Iraq War veteran.
PA 6th & KY 6th
Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6), Amy McGrath (KY-6)
Chrissy Houlahan has worn many hats: Teacher, Engineer, a Business Owner, and Veteran of the US Air Force and now she’s running for the Pennsylvania 6th District. Her nonprofit in Philadelphia focused on improving early childhood literacy in under-served communities nation-wide.
When you know at a young age what you want to do you chase your dreams right? Amy McGrath loved military fighter jets, but no women could fly them. She discovered that there was a federal law that prohibited women from this and serving in combat roles. Like our first rock star woman, Amy knocked down a few doors and wrote to her members of Congress. I’d tell you more, but you should watch her video. Amy is running for congress in the Kentucky 6th District and is a 20-year veteran of the US Marine Corps.
If you’re like me, you’re encouraged by these amazing women who have already served our country for many years and now want to do it again. I really hope this isn’t the last we hear from these inspiring women.
