A new organization created to support independent veterans running for office endorsed its first nine candidates Tuesday, ranging from an Army veteran running for a seat on the Raleigh, North Carolina, city council, to a Navy veteran campaigning for the U.S. Senate.
The group, Independent Veterans of America, was established this summer by Paul Rieckhoff, who founded Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, one of the largest organizations of post-9/11 veterans in the United States. His new group is looking to harness recent interest in unaffiliated candidates by encouraging independent veterans to run for office.
The nine candidates endorsed Tuesday will receive funding, campaign management tools, voter data, media opportunities and technology training.
They’ll be introduced at the group’s candidate convention Wednesday in New York City. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and bestselling author Sebastian Junger, as well as Andrew Yang, founder of the Forward Party and a 2020 presidential candidate, are expected to attend the event.
“These independent candidates represent ... a threat to both the Democrat and Republican parties and our country’s badly broken, hyper-partisan political system,” Rieckhoff said. “These strong, moderate and reasonable men and women represent the best of America, their communities and the independent movement.”
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IVA endorsed two independent candidates running at the federal level: Dan Osborn, a Navy veteran from Omaha, Nebraska, running against Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., for her Senate seat, and Army veteran Shelane Etchison, who’s running for Congress in North Carolina’s ninth district, home to Fort Liberty, against incumbent Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C.
Two candidates are running for state legislatures: Tyrell Hicks, a Marine Corps veteran from Plant City, Florida, and Nick Batter, an Army veteran from Omaha.
Two candidates are running in county-level elections, including Craig Evenson, an Army veteran running for reelection as the state’s attorney in Deuel County, South Dakota, and Jason Taylor, an Air Force veteran who wants a seat on the Learning Community Coordinating Council for Douglas and Sarpy counties in Nebraska.
The final three candidates are campaigning in city elections. Navy veteran Travis Endicott is looking to become the next mayor of Ridgecrest, California, which sits adjacent to Naval Weapons Air Station China Lake. James Bledsoe, an Army veteran, is running for Raleigh City Council in North Carolina, and Navy veteran Eric Faulkner joined the city council race in Temecula, California.
To be considered for an endorsement, candidates had to register as members of Independent Veterans of America, file as an independent or unaffiliated candidate for office and complete an interview with the group’s leaders.
“These men and women live country over party. And they are uniquely powerful and appealing to voters of all backgrounds,” Rieckhoff said. “From coast to coast, they are leaders that are ready now to step up to serve our country again in this time of need.”
Rieckhoff is taking a long view with his new group and aiming to propel unaffiliated candidates onto ballots to someday spark a movement in which independents gain more votes. Veterans in particular have a political edge, and they bring a “voice of reason and clarity to politics,” he argued.
The group will continue to accept candidates’ applications for endorsement through Election Day. Applications are also open for races in 2025 and 2026.
This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.
Nikki Wentling covers disinformation and extremism for Military Times. She's reported on veterans and military communities for eight years and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
