With anger spreading over Iran war, Democrats hope to flip Republican seats with veterans’ help

(AP) — The doorbell chimed “The Star Spangled Banner” as retired Col. Lou Christensen stepped inside the large house on the northeastern edge of Colorado Springs. The registered Republican and 28-year Air Force veteran was doing something he never expected to do — attending a party for a Democratic congressional candidate.

“The legislative branch needs to put up guardrails from President Trump,” said Christensen, 70. “We need another branch of government that stands up and says, ‘Uh, boss, that’s not constitutional.’” Christensen is backing Jessica Killin, a fellow veteran, over first-term Republican Rep. Jeff Crank in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, a conservative stronghold that includes five military facilities.

The district is a longshot for Democrats but they’re investing money here for the first time in years, counting on an unpopular war with Iran and upheaval in the armed forces to put more seats in play as the party pushes for control of the U.S. Democratic candidates who previously served in the military are also running in Florida, South Carolina and Virginia districts with significant veteran populations. Although veterans hold all sorts of political beliefs, the population overall leans right — nearly 6 in 10 voted for Trump two years ago, according to AP VoteCast.

Trump won Colorado’s 5th by 9 percentage points that year, and nearly one out of every nine people there is a veteran, according to federal statistics, making it one of the most veteran-heavy seats in the country. The district is home to NORAD, Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy. “I know there’s a bunch of veterans in the room, so I don’t have to tell you where we are with foreign policy,” Killin told more than two dozen voters who gathered on a recent Friday evening.

Unlike Colorado’s 5th, elections in Virginia’s 2nd have zig-zagged back and forth over the last decade. Democrat Elaine Luria, a retired Naval Commander who deployed to the M… The district is home to NORAD, Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy.“I know there's a bunch of veterans in the room, so I don't have to tell you where we are with foreign policy,” Killin told more than two dozen voters who gathered on a recent Friday evening.

Democrat Elaine Luria, a retired Naval Commander who deployed to the Middle E…