In 2006, 27% of the members of the House of Representatives had previously been lawyers, 25% had been in public service and 22% had been in the business field. Rob Miller, the Democratic challenger to Republican Representative Joe Wilson in South Carolina's 2nd district, comes from a slightly different career path. His previous career was in the military, which produces only 9% of our Representatives. Miller's military career could potentially set him apart and give him a greater chance of winning his election than the average Democratic politician in this district.
Many Representatives have previously served in the military, but very few have done so for much of their career. Rob Miller served in the Marine Corps for 13 years, enlisting during his freshman year of college in 1995. He served two tours in Iraq and reached the rank of captain. Upon retiring from the Marine Corps in 2008, he and his wife opened up a store selling Marine Corps merchandise. Miller is a young politician and all of his professional experience is related to the military in some way.
The conventional wisdom for this year is that America is in an anti-establishment, anti-incumbent mood. Facing an incumbent is always a tall order, but it may be easier this year. If it is, Rob Miller may benefit from the perception that he is not a part of the political establishment, since his career path to date is rather unconventional for politicians. However, he was the Democratic nominee for this House seat in 2008 and lost by 8 points. Some voters may see him as part of the Democratic establishment because of this, which would harm his chances of victory.
SC-02 is also a district with a strong military presence. Parris Island, Fort Jackson and a Marine Corps air station are all located in the district. Voters may feel that they can relate to Miller's military background and be more inclined to vote for him. However, this may be tempered somewhat by the tendency of military members and veterans to vote Republican.
I think that Rob Miller's unconventional background will help him in a district so closely tied to the military. It remains to be seen if this will be enough for him to defeat Joe Wilson this time.
Those are some interesting statistics. I would have thought more candidates with military experience would be involved in politics. I find it even more astonishing that Miller is endorsed by the Democratic Party. One would figure that if anything he would relate more to Republicans.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, I got the statistics from the Herrnson book, and they were about the previous career of each Representative right before they took office. I would guess that more than 9% of the representatives have some military experience, but many of them went on to careers in other fields before running for the House of Representatives and are better known for that work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with BSchramm I would think that he would be more a Republican, seeing how most Democrats focus on what they can do for 'the people'. But seeing how he is running in a distract that is well involved in military activity maybe this is just what the district needs a liberal thinking military man.
ReplyDeleteThis race is particularly interesting because it is somewhat hard to predict. While South Carolina is a conservative state, a Democrat who is a former Marine in a district with a strong military history has a solid chance of knocking off the Republican incumbent.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Pols BN, i don't think that miller's background will be strtong enough to win simply becuase incumbency is hard to beat in general, as well as how democrats are unpopular this time around. I agree the military thing is quite gimicky but i feel that the voters will need more. And i dont think just because you served in the military you are by default a good candidate for office.
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