Iraq Vet Announces for Third District Race

J. Ashwin Madia, a former Marine who served in Iraq, has announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress.  Madia will run for the seat currently held by Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., who is retiring at the end of this term.

Madia, who will run as a Democrat, says he will seek to end the war in Iraq.

“We must have the courage to change course in Iraq,” he said in a statement.  “Through my time in Iraq, I learned firsthand that Americans cannot end this war militarily — Iraqis will have to end the conflict politically.  We must have leaders in Washington who understand this conflict and our military.”

Madia also cited global warming, health care, and a balanced budget as reasons for his campaign.

Madia served in the Judge Advocate General corps in the U.S. Marines, and was in Iraq from September of 2005 to March of 2006.  According to a statement on his website, Madia says his role was to support “efforts with military officers, officials from the State Department, Justice Department, United Nations, and the European Union, and Iraqi judicial officers to implement and strengthen the rule of law in Iraq.”

Madia, the son of first-generation Indian immigrants,  graduated from Osseo High School, and attended the University of Minnesota, where he was student body president.  He went on to New York University, where he received a law degree.  He is currently an attorney in private practice.