You really couldn’t script this race any better: Jon Powers is a 29-year-old Iraq Veteran and substitute teacher who founded a nonprofit to serve Iraqi orphans. He’s running to fill the just-vacated seat of Tom Reynolds (R-New York) — who, among the many blushes of his career, voted for the Iraq War, voted against a series of 9/11 Commission recommendations to improve homeland security, and for years turned a blind eye to Mark Foley’s proclivity for underage pages.
Powers faces a likely opponent in the self-financed millionaire, Jack Davis, who dismisses Powers’ chances accordingly: “He’s 29 years old, and he’s never had a real job.” (Because serving in Iraq and working as a substitute teacher don’t count.)
With Reynolds’ retirement, the tally of Republicans who have declined this year to run for reelection has hit 29.
Run, Powers, run!
