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In today’s edition, Bridget Bowman speaks with three Democratic congressional candidates who are making personal pitches against the Iran war on the campaign trail. Plus, Scott Wong files a dispatch from the Capitol on King Charles’ address to Congress.
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— Adam Wollner
For Democratic veterans making midterm pitches, the Iran war is personal
By Bridget Bowman
Democrats have made their opposition to the Iran war clear since it started two months ago. And the party’s candidates in this year’s midterms who served in the military are making their pitches personal.
Michigan Democrat Matt Maasdam, a retired Navy SEAL who carried the nuclear football for former President Barack Obama, makes a point to fist-bump fellow veterans when he marches in parades. During last month’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, Maasdam, who is running for Congress in the state’s 7th District, encountered a number of concerned Iraq War veterans.
“They say things like, ‘I was in Baghdad’ — and I can say this, too — ‘I was in Baghdad when I watched America rebuild all their roads. I want to see America rebuild our roads,’” Maasdam said in a recent interview.
New York Democrat Cait Conley, an Army veteran, recently met with veterans in the 17th District, and they discussed concerns about “getting thrust into yet another endless war” that was distracting from “very real issues that families are facing every day.”
“That frustration is palpable,” Conley said.
Retired Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, a Democrat who is running in South Carolina’s 1st District after she was fired from her post as chief of the Navy Reserve, said the Iran conflict brought back memories of her tours in Afghanistan.
”I feel like I’m holding my breath,” Lacore said, raising concerns about another “multidecade war.”
Maasdam, Conley and Lacore are running in Democratic primaries in districts the party is targeting in November, to varying degrees.
Conley is challenging Rep. Mike Lawler, one of the few Republicans running in a district Kamala Harris carried last year. Maasdam is looking to take on GOP Rep. Tom Barrett in a swing district in Michigan. And Lacore is running in a redder district to replace GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for governor.
All three candidates were skeptical about the tentative ceasefire. And all three have a similar message: The war is driving up costs for everyday Americans.
“People are mad about what we’re doing over there, but they’re also mad about the impact it’s having here,” said Lacore.
Military veterans have proven to be strong recruits for both parties, helping Democrats flip the House in 2018, and Republicans take it back in 2022.
Former Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., said the Iran war “is further validation of their campaigns in the first place.” Rose is an Army veteran and senior adviser to VoteVets, a Democratic group backing all three candidates.
VoteVets has launched ads referencing the war in Iowa’s Senate race and in Wisconsin’s 3rd District, tying the conflict to higher gas prices. Overall, Democratic candidates and groups account for roughly two-thirds of the more than 160 ads launched since March 1 that mention Iran, according to AdImpact.
In Maine, Democrat Graham Platner, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has looked to leverage opposition to the Iran war in the primary to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins. His campaign launched a recent ad saying President Donald Trump and Collins “have sent us back into another war, sending billions overseas.”
Noah Letellier, who plans to vote for Platner and attended his recent Portland rally with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., cited the war as one of his concerns.
“Our president said that we weren’t getting into any wars, and he had to go out and start something, even though a lot of people don’t want, you know, to see more Americans die,” he said. “I just don’t want to see any new wars.”
Sahil Kapur contributed to this report.
More on the Iran war:
- The U.S. showed little immediate enthusiasm for a new Iranian proposal that would end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz without resolving the impasse over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
- The national average price of a gallon of gas hit $4.18, according to data from motor club AAA, the highest level since the start of the war.
King Charles reaffirms ‘special’ relationship with U.S. amid tensions over Iran war
By Scott Wong
King Charles III reaffirmed the United Kingdom and the United States’ long “special” relationship, calling it a “story of reconciliation, renewal and remarkable partnership” born out of “bitter divisions of 250 years ago.”
In a rare speech to Congress, the king marked the landmark anniversary of America’s independence from British rule, and he nodded to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who addressed the Congress from under the same “watchful eye of the Statue of Freedom above us” 35 years ago.
“Today, I am here on this great occasion in the life of our nations to express the highest regard and friendship of the British people to the people of the United States,” said the king, who was interrupted by several standing ovations.
Despite challenging times, the king said in his roughly 20-minute address that the U.K. and the U.S. can defend and reaffirm their long-standing shared democratic values to create security and prosperity for themselves and the world.
“The story of the United Kingdom and the United States is, at its heart, a story of reconciliation, renewal and remarkable partnership,” the king said. “From the bitter divisions of 250 years ago, we forged a friendship that has grown into one of the most consequential alliances in human history.”
Charles’ remarks come as the transatlantic alliance has been strained by President Donald Trump’s war against Iran. Trump has lashed out at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not joining the U.S. in the initial attack on Iran, disparaging him as “no Winston Churchill.”
The president has had a much closer personal relationship with King Charles and Queen Camilla, who hosted Trump at a state dinner at Windsor Castle in September. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host a state dinner for the royals at the White House tonight.
Charles’ remarks included no direct references to the war in Iran, only noting that “we meet in times of great uncertainty; in times of conflict from Europe to the Middle East which pose immense challenges for the international community.”
For subscribers: Why Trump is unlikely to pull back from public events after third assassination attempt
By Jonathan Allen and Peter Nicholas
Those in Trump’s inner circle say he will not let the latest assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner — following a sniper shooting him in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, and a would-be assassin carrying a gun outside a club where he was playing golf in September of that year — alter his approach to the presidency.
More on the shooting:
- Timeline: How the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner chaos unfolded
- Trump’s mollifying tone following Saturday night’s shooting has since given way to accusations and finger-pointing from top administration officials who say Democrats and the media are largely to blame for the state of political violence in the U.S.
- Congressional Republicans are split on whether taxpayer funds should be used for the White House ballroom Trump is pushing for.
- Jimmy Kimmel said a joke he made last week on his ABC late-night show was not a call for assassination as Trump said she should be fired. The Federal Communications Commission issued an order directing Disney’s eight owned-and-operated television stations to file their broadcast license renewals ahead of schedule.
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
- ⚖️ Take two: A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging former FBI Director James Comey over an Instagram photo he posted of seashells in the shape of “8647,” which Trump allies portrayed as a threat against the president. Read more →
- ➡️ Back to Minnesota: Federal law enforcement agencies conducted a series of raids connected to the investigation into alleged welfare fraud in Minnesota. Read more →
- 👋 Eyeing the exits: Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., who has served in Congress since 2011, announced he would not seek re-election. Bridget Bowman notes that Webster is the 37th House Republican to retire this cycle, a record number dating back to the 1930s, according to data from the Brookings Institution. The previous high was 34 House GOP retirements in 2018.
- 🚫 No dice: Republican lawmakers in Florida once again rebuffed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to pass sweeping AI regulation in the state. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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