By Anna Jo Bratton The Associated Press
OMAHA – After months of drought in Democratic House candidates for Nebraska, a 25-year-old former Marine Corps sergeant said he’ll run in one district and a former candidate could spark a contested primary in another.
Max Yashirin, a 25-year-old Lincoln Democrat who served in Iraq, said Thursday he will seek the 1st District House seat held by Jeff Fortenberry.
And Jim Esch, 32, who lost in 2006 to U.S. Rep. Lee Terry in the 2nd District, said he’s reconsidering a rematch. He’d face a challenge in the Democratic primary from 30-year-old Richard Carter of Bellevue, a captain in the Air Force Reserve and an economics professor.
Both Yashirin and Esch cited Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a source of inspiration.
“He’s motivating young people to actually go out there and take part in their right to vote,” said Yashirin, whose parents moved to Lincoln from Russia when he was 8 years old.
Esch said he’s received hundreds of e-mails encouraging him to run, and was heartened by turnout at Nebraska Democrats’ first caucuses on Saturday.
He said last year he would not enter this year’s race, citing personal reasons and the difficulty of running on a ticket alongside Hillary Clinton in Republican-dominated Nebraska.
Since then, the tight Democratic presidential race has generated so much excitement, he’s having second thoughts.
“I really believe in Barack and what he’s trying to do,” said Esch, who saw Obama speak to a crowd of 10,000 in Omaha last week. “There’s very few times in your life where there might be a true movement coming in the country.”The state Democratic Party would work hard to help its nominees get elected in November, said Matt Connealy, the party’s executive director.”We have oftentimes been on the sidelines in some of these races, especially on the presidential side, but I think we have a different attitude now,” Connealy said Thursday. “We need to build a party that has the capacity to help everybody.”Connealy said the party is working to build the infrastructure to help candidates down the ballot, from city and county offices to presidential races.”Part of what you’re seeing is a groundswell of young people who want to get into public service,” said Steve Achelpohl, chairman of the state Democratic party.No one has yet emerged to challenge U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith in the 3rd District, although Scott Kleeb has said he might seek a rematch if he decides not to run for Senate. Kleeb lost to Smith in 2006.
Esch surprised many with a stronger-than-expected showing against Terry in 2006, with no political experience and little party funding.
He said it was an uphill battle, and Yashirin knows he faces a similarly tough race against Fortenberry.
“I know it’s going to be a challenge,” Yashirin said. “I’ve been in the Marines, and I know what a challenge is.”
Yashirin said the nation needs to do a better job of taking care of veterans who return from war. He cited problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where wounded soldiers have said they experienced neglect and substandard living conditions.
“The conditions of that are just unacceptable,” Yashirin said. “These soldiers go over there and put their lives in danger for our country.”
He said other priorities include expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, a popular children’s health insurance program that House Democrats say needs billions of dollars over the next five years.
Yashirin joined the Marine Reserves after graduating from Lincoln’s Northeast High School.
He started working on a degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in international business with minors in Russian and economics.
Yashirin was called to active duty in 2004 and served a year at al-Asad in western Iraq.
He now works with people with mental and physical disabilities at Region 5 Services and is finishing his degree at UNL.
His family moved to Lincoln from Russia when he was 8 years old, escaping Cold War tension with their four young sons.
Fortenberry is in his third term and is running for re-election. He defeated former Lt. Gov. Maxine Moul in 2006 with about 60 percent of the vote.
Fortenberry has nearly $297,000 cash on hand to spend on campaigning, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Terry has nearly $455,000 cash on hand, and said this week he won’t be complacent about his campaign for re-election, a mistake he says he made in 2006.
“I took things for granted in the last campaign, and while I still won by 10 percent … I haven’t forgiven myself for taking last year for granted and not working as hard as I could have,” said Terry, who’s in his fifth term in the House. “I will not do that again this year.”
Carter announced he’d seek Terry’s seat last week, saying Nebraskans are tired of the politics of division, fear and intimidation.
He said his experience in the Air Force, which included flights over Iraq and Afghanistan, has prepared him to be the kind of leader the state needs.