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Some races for Congress with vets in limbo

One week after the Nov. 4 elections, eight congressional races are still undecided — five of them involving veterans.

These last few races will decide how many veterans will take seats in January when the 111th Congress convenes.

Currently, 129 members of the 110th Congress have served in the military, including in the National Guard or reserves. Only one — Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., the first Air Force Academy graduate to serve in Congress — is female.

Congressional Quarterly, which keeps demographic details on lawmakers, expects the number to fall to 117 — 25 in the Senate and 92 in the House.

Three Senate races have not yet been called. The process will be drawn out until at least Dec. 2 because one contest, in Georgia, requires a runoff election to determine if Vietnam veteran Jim Martin, a Democrat, can unseat Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The runoff is a high-profile affair, with leaders from the Republican and Democratic parties rallying on behalf of their candidates.

Chambliss never served in the military, but in Congress he has been a strong advocate for better military benefits, especially better retired pay for Guard and reserve members.

Martin said he can bring to Congress that Chambliss cannot: “I will never forget the lessons I learned serving in Vietnam. I came away from my tour of duty understanding the importance of personal responsibility as well as the importance of working together toward a common objective.”

In Alaska, winners for seats in the Senate and House have not been announced because the number of uncounted ballots — including about 80,000 absentee votes — exceeds the margin of the leads now held by the Republican incumbents, Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young.

Stevens and Young are both veterans. Stevens served in the Army Air Corps in World War II, with duty in China. Young served two years in the Army.

Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, was convicted just before the election on seven felony counts of failing to report gifts, giving his Democratic challenger, Mark Begich, a boost. Begich is the mayor of Anchorage, which has a large military presence.

Young, Alaska’s lone U.S. representative, is running against Ethan Berkowitz, a former Alaska legislator who now operates an alternative energy company.

Alaska expects a final vote count by Nov. 25.

A third undecided Senate race in Minnesota does not involve any candidates who are veterans.

In addition to the Alaska contest involving Young, five other House races are undecided, three of them involving veterans.

In Ohio’s 15th congressional district, Republican Steve Stivers has a narrow lead over Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy in a race that will be decided by absentee and provisional ballots. Stivers is an Ohio Army National Guard lieutenant colonel with 23 years of service, including service in Iraq.

In California’s 4th congressional district, State Sen. Tom McClintock, a Republican, leads Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, in another race to be decided by absentee votes.

In Washington state’s 8th District, incumbent Republican Rep. Dave Reichter, an Air Force veteran, has a lead of four percentage points over Democratic challenger Darcy Burner, a former member of the Civil Air Patrol who grew up in an Air Force family. More votes remain to be counted.

One veteran conceded defeat on Veterans Day. In Maryland’s 1st congressional district, Andrew Harris, a medical corps commander in the Navy Reserve, conceded defeat in an election decided by fewer than 1,000 votes. Harris, a Republican, lost to Frank Kratovil Jr., a state’s attorney with no military experience.