Ken Harbaugh (born December 15, 1973) is a former

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

pilot and nonprofit executive. Harbaugh was the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

representing

Ohio's 7th congressional district Ohio's 7th congressional district is represented by Bob Gibbs. It is currently located in the northeastern section of the state, including the city of Canton. It was redrawn in 2012, following the 2010 United States Census, and was previously ...

in the 2018 election.

Early life, education, and military service

Harbaugh, who grew up in a military family, earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

in 1996 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

in 2008, and studied at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

while an undergraduate at Duke. He served for nine years in the United States Navy as a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

. His qualifications include Electronic Warfare Aircraft Commander, the lead pilot of an EP-3A Aries II electronic reconnaissance aircraft. In 2015, Harbaugh wrote an opinion piece in ''The New York Times'', criticizing what he regards as a lax VA disability compensation program. Ken Harbaugh was the 2020 Hooah Award winner, given annually to an American veteran “who defines citizenship through service to our country, both in uniform and beyond.” His writing on civil-military affairs has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Bulwark, and the Yale Journal of International Law. He served as a commentator for National Public Radio and as host for Crooked Media's Reclaiming Patriotism. He currently hosts several podcasts, including Warriors in Their Own Words, and Burn the Boats, which received a 2021 Ambies nomination for best political podcast of the year.

Nonprofit career

In 2007, Harbaugh co-founded

The Mission Continues The Mission Continues, formerly Center for Citizen Leadership, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers veterans facing the challenge of adjusting to life at home to find new missions. Founded in 2007 by Republican politician Eric Grei ...

, a nonprofit focusing on veterans issues, with

Eric Greitens Eric Robert Greitens (; born April 10, 1974) is a former American politician who was the 56th governor of Missouri from January 2017 until his resignation in June 2018 amid allegations of sexual assault and campaign finance impropriety. Born a ...

, who went on to become the Republican Governor of Missouri. The Mission Continues was chronicled in

Joe Klein Joe Klein (born September 7, 1946) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his work as a columnist for ''Time'' magazine and his novel ''Primary Colors'', an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton' ...

's book ''Charlie Mike'', which detailed the efforts of Harbaugh, Greitens, and others to raise money for and then staff their organization. He is the former president of

Team Rubicon Team Rubicon is an international non-government organization (NGO) specializing in disaster response. History Team Rubicon was formed in January 2010 following the Haiti earthquake, when William McNulty and Jacob "Jake" Wood led a medica ...

, a nonprofit that deploys military veterans worldwide as emergency first responders.

Personal life

Harbaugh and his wife, Annmarie, have two daughters and a son. In 2009, the family moved from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Chagrin Falls, Ohio Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and is a suburb of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio's Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area, the 19th-largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and h ...

, and then moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 2014. They moved back to Ohio in 2016, purchasing a home in Avon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbaugh, Ken Duke University alumni Living people Ohio Democrats United States Naval Aviators United States Navy officers Yale Law School alumni 1973 births Candidates in the 2018 United States elections