Until recently, Dan McCready, a clean-energy entrepreneur from North Carolina, seemed content to focus on his business and spend time with his wife and four children. But then Donald Trump was elected president — and McCready became angry. This spring he announced that he would run as a Democratic candidate in the next Congressional race, challenging a three-term Republican.
Trump’s presidency has spurred numerous first-time candidates to run for office, particularly on Democratic tickets. But there is a telling detail about McCready that highlights a broader trend: back in 2007, he led a platoon of 65 US marines in Iraq, an experience that his campaign extols as a selling point. “Dan joined the Marines in a time of war,” his website declares. “He’s volunteering to fight once again — this time against a broken Washington for the families of the Ninth District [of North Carolina].”
Lately, there has been mounting debate about the role being played by military leaders in the White House, where three highly decorated commanders — national security adviser HR McMaster, defense secretary Jim Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly — are effectively running operations in Trump’s administration, sparking both acclaim and controversy.