{"id":29501,"date":"2018-10-26T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T08:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/26\/military-issues-largely-mia-on-the-campaign-trail\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:35:32","slug":"military-issues-largely-mia-on-the-campaign-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/leadership\/2018\/10\/26\/military-issues-largely-mia-on-the-campaign-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Military issues largely MIA on the campaign trail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 For months, President Donald Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/10\/23\/which-key-defense-lawmakers-are-up-for-election-this-year\/\" target=_blank>campaign trail speeches<\/a> have included the same version of the same applause line on national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur military will soon be more powerful than it ever has been ever, ever, ever before,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/10\/15\/support-for-trump-is-fading-among-active-duty-troops-new-poll-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\">the president<\/a> said at an event in Nevada a week ago. \u201cUnder Republican leadership, America is booming, America is thriving, and America is winning, because we are finally putting America first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/09\/26\/no-shutdown-house-finalizes-fy19-military-budget-and-trump-drops-his-opposition\/\" target=_blank>defense policies<\/a>, he insists, \u201care against your military.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Democratic National Committee\u2019s actual platform on national security says party members \u201care committed to ensuring our troops have the training, equipment, and support that they need when they are deployed and the care that they and their families need and deserve when they return home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But beyond those high-level feuds, the debate on national security issues has been more muted this year than in the 2016 election, when military and defense topics were center stage in the presidential campaign. Without a central Democratic figure like Trump stumping on national defense, the military has only played a significant factor only in races with bases or large defense contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/10\/23\/the-military-could-see-big-changes-if-democrats-win-control-of-congress\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18048234113763.jpg_380559.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The military could see big changes if Democrats win control of Congress<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">As polls show the possibility of significant Democratic wins in the midterms, military advocates may soon have to grapple with the possibility of a politically divided government.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt the end of the day (the election) comes down to the economy, whether or not people can pay their bills,\u201d said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and chair of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, in an interview earlier month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNational security, when you had the rise of ISIS, it probably spiked. But generally speaking, it\u2019s not on the top five list. It is on mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two years ago, officials from the Gallup Poll reported that about 11 percent of voters listed national security and terrorism as the most important problems facing the United States. In the most recent survey of that question, it dropped to 2 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dissatisfaction with the federal government and the national economy stand at the top of voters concerns. The irony is that candidates\u2019 stance on military issues will directly affect those other priorities in Congress\u2019 next session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Democrats take control over either chamber, the defense budget is likely to be one of the primary fights between the two parties, with the possibility of a government shutdown (and related economic impacts) hanging over much of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIs it an issue that\u2019s well understood outside the Beltway? Probably not,\u201d said Susanna Blume, a senior defense fellow at the Center for a New American Security. \u201cBut the defense budget could very well return Congress to the gridlock and last-minute negotiations that we\u2019ve seen in prior years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Where defense is the debate<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown \u2014 one of 23 Democratic senators running for re-election \u2014 said voters in recent months have approached him about Russian interference in U.S. elections and broader concerns about terrorism. But in general, national security \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem to be the voting issue it might have been in other years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where it does make a big difference in his campaign is jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown\u2019s state includes Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio\u2019s largest single site employer with a military and civilian workforce of 22,000; a Boeing facility working on the navigation system of the Trident II D5 submarine-launched nuclear missile; and an Army plant that assembles the MIA2 Abrams tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve been involved in saving a good many defense jobs in Cleveland and Columbus and Lima,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt\u2019s not so macro, how you voted for defense spending overall \u2014 and we all pretty much did \u2014 it\u2019s how did you respond to local concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala. and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has featured her advocacy for funding of Fort Rucker and Maxwell Air Force Base programs in her re-election push.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, recently unveiled a radio ad the former commander of Fort Hood extolling Carter\u2019s work getting funding for \u201ca massive barracks and motor pool upgrade so necessary to readiness to the force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Virginia, home to 26 military bases and shipyards, national security and job security go hand-in-hand. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine\u2019s re-election ads tout his support for a troop pay increase and a 355-ship Navy \u2014 both priorities of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Kaine\u2019s GOP opponent, Corey Stewart, has targeted the same military issues. Both candidates have accused the other of voting against critical defense funding bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/10\/05\/on-the-campaign-trail-defense-spending-fights-and-confusion\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18276004384942.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">On the campaign trail, defense spending fights and confusion<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Because of the complex nature of the defense budget, it&#039;s an easy target to twist in political attack ads and campaign trail talking points.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While one Democrat is touting his support for defense spending, another Democrat on the other side of the country is touting his votes against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been forced to defend his military support because of a midterm challenge from a 30-year-old democratic socialist who has cast herself as the \u201canti-war candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a debate between the two earlier this month, Sarah Smith questioned why the country was spending so much on the military and not enough on domestic priorities \u2014 a balance Rep. Smith frequently questions himself. She attacked U.S. intervention in Iraq, a vote Rep. Smith has said he regrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And she blasted the incumbent lawmaker for accepting big corporate donations from the defense industry. Smith, whose district abuts Joint Base Lewis-McChord and is close to Boeing facilities, said he has not been pressured by the contractor lobby, but is open to their perspective, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen it comes to the armed services committee, as much as I disagree with Boeing \u2014 I get into fights with them all the time \u2014 I listen to them,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI do not believe that corporations are evil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/10\/19\/here-are-the-172-veterans-running-for-congress-in-november\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4429025.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Here are the 173 veterans running for Congress in November<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Bookmark this page for election night updates on all the races featuring veterans.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Immigration as defense? <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While national defense has waned as a national election topic in recent months, immigration concerns have risen. The latest Gallup poll shows that as the third most pressing national problem on voters\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week, that issue again intersected with the military. The Pentagon unveiled Thursday plans to send 800 troops to the southern U.S. border to help border patrol members deal with the expected arrival of a caravan of migrants from Central America in coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent days, Trump has repeatedly promised to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/10\/25\/800-more-troops-to-be-sent-to-mexican-border\/\" target=\"_blank\">use the military to deal with the immigration issue<\/a>, accusing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/10\/26\/democrats-blast-trump-for-militarizing-the-immigration-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\">Democrats of undermining national security <\/a>by refusing to fund his plans for a wall along the U.S. and Mexican border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move could bring the armed forces to the forefront of the last days of the midterm campaign, as candidates weigh in on the Pentagon moves. But the number of troops there still pales in comparison to those deployed overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and other unstable areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWait to see what happens over the next couple of weeks,\u201d Trump said to a campaign rally in Wisconsin Wednesday night. \u201cYou\u2019re going to see a very secure border. Just watch. And the military is ready, they&#8217;re all set. They\u2019re all ready and there&#8217;s nobody like them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The midterm election is Nov. 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Last night, I had the opportunity to speak to the Dale County GOP. I shared some of the successes our unified conservative govt has accomplished over the last 2 years, including properly funding our nation&#39;s military &amp; unleashing our economy through historic tax reform overhaul. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RJIVIE906e\">pic.twitter.com\/RJIVIE906e<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Martha Roby (@TeamRoby) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TeamRoby\/status\/1052280826761814016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 16, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike past election cycles, national security has taken a minor role in the contentious November elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[104,106,31,15,68,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3294,3334],"class_list":["post-29501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acquisition-update","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-management","category-leadership","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"7KJQ2TPIVRCY3ARJ4TWVIUG4FE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/10\/26\/military-issues-largely-mia-on-the-campaign-trail\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Military issues largely MIA on the campaign trail - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unlike past election cycles, national security has taken a minor role in the contentious November elections.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Military issues largely MIA on the campaign trail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unlike past election cycles, national security has taken a minor role in the contentious November elections.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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