War veterans seeking Congressional seats

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an interesting story today about a number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans running for Congressional seats this November.

Most eyes are on the race between Republican challenger Bill Russell and Democratic Rep. John Murtha, the pork king who has insulted U.S. troops on numerous occassions.

From the story by reporter David Brown:

In his first political outing, Russell is trying to topple a political giant.

The 45-year-old Republican this weekend kicked off his campaign against U.S. Rep. John Murtha, 76, of Johnstown, a powerful Democrat and decorated Vietnam War veteran seeking a 19th term.

"Murtha has a lot of issues on his hands, in terms of keeping his seat this November. There are chinks in the armor," contended Russell, who rode a motorcycle to greet supporters at a rally in Uniontown. The event at 12:01 a.m. Friday marked the start of Russell's civilian life and the end of military restrictions on his campaign.

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.