Democrats with intel, military backgrounds any service after Trump-Putin summit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer running in a competitive Congressional race in Virginia, is using the outcry over President Donald Trump's meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin to press what she and other Democrats believe will be a powerful campaign theme.

She declared that her Republican rival is choosing party over country – a message Spanberger and dozens of other Democratic candidates with US military or intelligence agency experience will resonate with voters, bolstered by their national security credentials.

By touting their service, the Democratic candidates are trying to upend a long-held political tenet that is the country's foreign-policy hawks. This year, some Democrats see an opening, fueled by Trump 's embrace of Putin, to speak to voters that American alliances may be shifting.

"Russia was never a daily issue, which is why our candidates were focused on bread-and-butter issues," said Democratic Cardinal Maria Cardona with the Dewey Square Group, who was a Democratic National Committee spokeswoman.

"But this is a question about a national security standpoint, which does matter, and they can talk about it."

In a statement after the Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki, Spanberger said Trump had "ceded authority to a foreign adversary and tyrant" by failing to confront Putin over Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

She said her Republican opponent, U.S. Representative Dave Brat, something "his party allegiance over our country" in his summit response.

Brat, in Twitter posts after the summit, said the United States should "stand unquivocally opposed to a foreign government meddling in our elections." He then criticized Democratic President Barack Obama's handling of Russia, and did not mention Trump or the summit.

In a statement, Brat called it "a joke" to suggest Democrats "have been tough on Russia." His campaign said he had long believed the United States "should look at Russia as an enemy, not a friend." 19659004] In November, all 435 House seats are up for grabs. Democrats need to flip 23 to gain control of the chamber, which would allow them to derail or stall much of Trump's policy agenda.

According to a Reuters / poll Ipsos, Russia may be more motivated Democratic voters. Some 36 percent of Democrats consider Russia an imminent threat to the United States, up from 27 percent in October 2016, according to the online poll July 16-17, after the summit on Monday. The poll showed 15 percent of Republicans said they consider an imminent threat, down from 24 percent before Trump was elected.

"COUNTRY OVER PARTY"

There are 236 military veterans – including 81 Democrats and 131 Republicans – running for House seats, according to Honor, a group that works to elect veterans from both parties.

VoteVets, which backs veterans with progressive policy platforms, says it has endorsed it in the past year.

The Trump-Putin meeting has many of these candidates to highlight their country and country.

"When will the GOP in Congress put #CountryoverParty and show the courage to flat out condemn these actions?" Democrat Amy McGrath, a Marine Corps train instructor training challenging Republican Republican in Kentucky, wrote on Twitter.

The Democratic veterans have had a liberal decision in the party. Representative Beto O'Rourke, for instance, has called for Trump's impeachment as he seeks to oust Texas Republican Ted Cruz from the U.S. Senate.

Veteran Navy Elaine Luria, another Democrat running in Virginia, tweeted that she agreed with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, a veteran and former prisoner of war, when he said, "President Trump not proved unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. "

Luria's Republican opponent, Scott Taylor, has first-term House member who is himself a trainer Navy SEAL, said in an interview it was" disappointing that the president did not seize the opportunity to let Putin and the "

But Taylor said he could foresee Luria overplaying an issue he did not think it would be a factor in their race.

Republican strategist Doug Heye said it was no surprise Democrats reacted quickly to the Trump-Putin summit.

"Being perceived as weak on defense has long been a vulnerability for Democrats," he said.

Spanberger, who spent eight years in the CIA in counterterrorism and worked on narcotics and money laundering cases for the US Postal Inspection Service, said in an interview that it will continue to focus on healthcare, education and other issues that are important to Virginia voters.

But the Trump-Putin meeting was "an impactful, really tangible event that makes this general feeling of 'who is this administration working for and why is it not standing up to the president?'" She said.