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Navy SEAL congressional candidate coming to Birmingham

Republican congressional candidate Ryan Zinke
Republican congressional candidate Ryan Zinke

Navy SEALS are well known for their unmatched toughness on the battlefield, but former Navy SEAL commander Ryan Zinke has decided he’s ready to put his skill set to use in the rough-and-tumble arena of U.S. politics. He’s currently running for the lone congressional seat in his home state of Montana.

Zinke is a former member of the legendary SEAL Team 6, the elite special forces unit that carried out the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.

He has since gone on the serve in the Montana State Senate, and gained some national notoriety in 2012 for launching a super PAC called Special Operations for America, which gave the special forces community a channel through which they could express their frustrations with President Obama.

Montana’s current congressman, Republican Steve Daines, recently announced that he’s running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, who President Obama is nominating to be the new U.S. Ambassador to China.

The move opened up a competitive Republican primary in Montana, but Zinke has emerged as the frontrunner in recent weeks.

On Monday Feb. 17, Zinke will be in Birmingham, Ala. for a fundraiser hosted by Landon Ash and Bradley Stegmeier of Alabama-based defense contractor XTreme Concepts and Alabama State Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Arab. The event is being held at The Club and has a suggested donation of $250 per person, or $1,000 for a chance to participate in a “business roundtable” and photo op with Zinke.

For more information, call Clayton Turner at (205)540-3264 or email [email protected].


Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

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