Cait Conley is running for Congress in New York’s 17th District. Hailing from Hudson Valley roots, she was the first in her family to graduate college after earning a nomination to West Point. She served 16 years as an Army officer, deploying six times to combat zones including Iraq and Afghanistan and earning three Bronze Stars. She then worked as Director for Counterterrorism on the White House National Security Council and at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under President Biden, where she helped protect America’s elections and critical infrastructure.

Chris Deluzio represents Pennsylvania’s seventeenth Congressional District as a veteran and former voting rights attorney. He was commissioned as a Navy surface warfare officer after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, later deploying to Iraq with U.S. Army Civil Affairs. He went on to earn his law degree from Georgetown and worked on voting rights and election security at the Brennan Center for Justice. In Congress, Chris serves on the House Armed Services Committee, including the Subcommittees on Seapower and Projection Forces and Readiness.

Pat Ryan represents New York’s Eighteenth Congressional District and is an Army combat veteran. Raised in Ulster County, where his mother taught public school and his father ran a small business. He attended West Point and served two combat tours in Iraq as an Army intelligence officer. Elected Ulster County Executive in 2019, he led the county through the pandemic and invested in affordable housing and mental health services without raising taxes. In Congress, he continues to the principles every cadet is taught: “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”

Jason Crow represents Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District and is an Army combat veteran who has dedicated his career to public service and support for veterans and working families. Raised in a working-class family in Colorado he enlisted in the Army after the September 11th attacks, serving three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and earning a Bronze Star. He returned home where he practiced law and helped veterans in Colorado secure their benefits. In Congress, Crow has served on the House Armed Services Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Herb Conaway represents New Jersey’s Third Congressional District and brings a background in medicine, law, military service, state legislative leadership, public health, and congressional defense oversight. A physician and attorney, Conaway served in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps at McGuire Air Force Base, rising to the rank of Captain. Before Congress, he served for decades in the New Jersey General Assembly, including in legislative leadership, and also served as Burlington County health director. In Congress, his national-security profile is rooted in military medical experience, public-health executive leadership, and defense and veterans oversight.

Analilia Mejia represents New Jersey’s Eleventh Congressional District and is a lifelong organizer and advocate for working families. Born and raised in New Jersey as the daughter of Colombian and Dominican immigrants, she worked as a union organizer, led the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, served in the U.S. Department of Labor, and later helped lead Popular Democracy before being elected to Congress. In Congress, Mejia has begun building a homeland security profile through her service on the House Homeland Security Committee, alongside her work on affordability, labor protections, voting rights, anti-corruption, and support for New Jersey families.

LaMonica McIver represents New Jersey’s Tenth Congressional District and was sworn into Congress in 2024 as the first Black woman to represent NJ-10 and the youngest person ever elected to Congress from New Jersey. A graduate of Bloomfield College and Seton Hall University, she served on the Newark City Council, including as Council President, and worked in education, public affairs, and nonprofit leadership before being elected to the U.S. House. In Congress, McIver has built a homeland security profile through her service on the House Homeland Security Committee, where her work connects public safety, emergency preparedness, climate resilience, and the needs of communities across northern New Jersey.

Nellie Pou represents New Jersey’s Ninth Congressional District and was sworn into Congress in 2025 as the first Latina from New Jersey to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before entering Congress, she spent decades in public service, including serving in the New Jersey General Assembly, New Jersey State Senate, and senior municipal roles in the City of Paterson. In Congress, Pou has built a homeland security profile through her service on the House Homeland Security Committee, including the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

Rebecca Bennett is running to represent New Jersey’s Seventh Congressional District after a career spanning military aviation, technology, and healthcare leadership. Bennett attended Cornell University on a Naval ROTC scholarship, studying chemical engineering, before beginning more than 15 years of military service. She served for over a decade in the U.S. Navy as an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter pilot and aircraft commander, graduated from flight school at the top of her class, and was selected for the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, where she became an experimental test pilot working on the evaluation of emerging aviation technologies. She continues to serve as an officer in the Air National Guard. Her background brings operational military leadership, technical and defense-innovation experience to her candidacy.

Josh Gottheimer represents New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex counties. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School, he worked in the Clinton White House, the Federal Communications Commission, and the private sector before being elected to Congress in 2016. In Congress, Gottheimer has built a strong national security and intelligence profile through his service on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, including as Ranking Member of the National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee, alongside his work on illicit finance, international financial institutions, cybersecurity, and bipartisan national security policy.

Donald Norcross represents New Jersey’s First Congressional District and is a lifelong South Jersey resident. An electrician by trade and longtime union leader, he served in the New Jersey Legislature before being elected to Congress in 2014. In Congress, Norcross has built a strong defense and national security profile through his service on the House Armed Services Committee, including as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, where his work has focused on servicemembers, military families, the defense industrial base, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and allied security cooperation.

Kweisi Mfume represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District and has dedicated his career to civil rights, economic opportunity, and public service. A graduate of Morgan State University and Johns Hopkins University, he previously served as President and CEO of the NAACP and has held leadership roles on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, House Education and Labor Committee, and House Small Business Committee. His career has focused on civil rights, economic opportunity, healthcare equity, education, and strengthening public institutions. He has served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee since 2024.

Jessica Killin is running to represent Colorado’s Fifth Congressional District after a career spanning military service, Capitol Hill leadership, White House service, veterans policy, and public-sector advocacy. A fourth-generation Coloradan raised in Colorado Springs, Killin served in the U.S. Army as a Captain, paratrooper, and Military Police Officer overseas before earning her law degree from Georgetown. In D.C., Killin served as Chief of Staff for members of Congress, and later served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Second Gentleman. Her profile shows her experience as a senior congressional and White House staff leader with direct experience in institutional governance, veterans policy, executive-branch operations, and military public service.

Johnny Olszewski represents Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District, covering much of Baltimore and Carroll counties and portions of Baltimore City. A former public-school teacher, Olszewski holds degrees from Goucher College and George Washington University and a Ph.D. in public policy from UMBC. He served more than nine years in the Maryland House of Delegates and two terms as Baltimore County Executive before being elected to Congress in 2024. Olszewski has built a growing national security and foreign policy profile through his service on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Tom Perriello is running to represent Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District after a career in Congress, diplomacy, conflict prevention, democracy work, and nonprofit leadership. He previously represented Virginia’s Fifth District in Congress and later served in senior diplomatic roles at the State Department, including as U.S. Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and as U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan. His State Department work focused on conflict resolution, humanitarian access, regional security, civilian protection, and democratic transitions. Perriello’s profile brings congressional experience, high-level diplomacy, human rights work, and direct engagement with some of the world’s most difficult security and humanitarian crises.

Chris Backemeyer is running to represent Nebraska’s First Congressional District after a career in diplomacy, sanctions policy, and national-security policymaking. He served in senior State Department and National Security Council roles focused on Iran, sanctions, Middle East diplomacy, and regional security. At the White House, Backemeyer served as NSC Director for Iran, advising senior national-security decision makers on Iran policy. At the State Department, he served in senior roles including Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iranian Affairs and helped represent the United States in P5+1 Iran nuclear negotiations, including work as a lead sanctions negotiator. His experience gives him a substantive national-security profile rooted in diplomacy, sanctions implementation, interagency policy, and high-stakes negotiations.

Nancy Lacore is running to represent South Carolina’s First Congressional District after a 35-year career in the U.S. Navy. Her service began as a Navy helicopter pilot and culminated in senior command as the 16th Chief of Navy Reserve and Commander, Navy Reserve Force. Lacore also held major operational and institutional leadership roles, including Vice Commander of U.S. Sixth Fleet, Chief of Staff for U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, Commandant of Naval District Washington, and commander of Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. Her background brings senior military command, overseas operational leadership, Navy Reserve management, and direct national-security experience to her candidacy.

Mark Warner represents Virginia in the United States Senate and has built one of the strongest intelligence-oversight profiles in Congress. Before entering the Senate, Warner worked as a technology and business leader and served as Governor of Virginia. In the Senate, he serves as Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, where his work has focused on intelligence oversight, cybersecurity, counterintelligence, artificial intelligence, and the relationship between national security and democratic accountability. His profile is especially relevant given Virginia’s central role in the intelligence community, defense leadership, and federal national-security workforce.

Carmela Conroy is running to represent Washington’s Fifth Congressional District after a 25-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service. Her diplomatic service included assignments across Asia, Europe, South Asia, and the Pacific, with work in political affairs, consular operations, public diplomacy, and interagency coordination. Conroy’s national-security background includes service as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Naha, Japan; political advisor to the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan, Afghanistan; watch officer in the State Department Operations Center; and political-military affairs work at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo. Her profile brings direct diplomatic, crisis-management, alliance, and overseas national-security experience to the race.

Jim Himes represents Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District and has built a senior intelligence-oversight profile through long service on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Before Congress, Himes worked in finance and nonprofit leadership and served in local government in Greenwich. In Congress, he serves as Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, where his work centers on oversight of the intelligence community, constitutional limits on intelligence activities, national-security accountability, and protecting intelligence capabilities while ensuring they operate within American law and values.