I've spoken before about the Monmouth County Democrats and why I think they are best suited for leading our county in these troubled times. Right now, however, there's something I want to highlight: military service. As a graduate of MAST, I learned first-hand how important military service is to our country and the incredible values it can teach. That's why I'm so proud that three candidates from the Monmouth Democrats ticket are veterans. This is especially important to highlight, in my opinion, because it seems that for all their rhetoric, the Republicans just don't get it.

Nationally, Republicans have been making a mockery of our military. From the misuse of the Wounded Warrior Project, to Donald Trump's attack on John McCain and Gold Star Families, or the Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Jason Kander who was attacked for his gun policy (leading him to release an incredible ad in which he speaks while assembling a firearm blindfolded), Republicans have not lived up to their pro-veteran rhetoric. Astonishingly, this seems to have spread to Monmouth County.

As some of you may know, in July Democratic, Surrogate candidate Captain Vincent Solomeno went away for nearly three weeks training with the National Guard. To keep his campaign alive, the Monmouth Democrats borrowed from Republican Senator Joni Ernst to create the #OnDutyforVinny campaign, in which volunteers and elected officials posted a picture with a #OnDutyforVinny sign on their social media. After the success the Democrats saw, this was recreated as Sheriff candidate Colonel Jeff Cantor went overseas on a three-week deployment. Again, the program was met with success with volunteers and leaders such as Senator Cory Booker answering the call and posting their picture. Then, Shaun Golden and the Republicans thought it would be a wise to steal the idea. This is despite the fact that Sheriff Golden was at home, and has never been deployed anywhere except the campaign trail. Let me be clear: the Monmouth County Republicans posted a picture to their Facebook page with Sheriff Golden holding his own #OnDutyforSheriffGolden sign. So did they miss the point completely or are they trivializing military service? Because neither looks good.

While Colonel Cantor is overseas protecting our freedoms and serving his country, Sheriff Golden wants to steal the show and remind everyone, "Hey, I'm relevant too!"

This is unacceptable.

Campaigns are all about strategy, and stealing press is definitely an accepted practice, but this has gone too far. The Democrats have three candidates who have fought for this country, defending our freedoms and interests abroad. I don't mean to trivialize the duties of Sheriff or the police, but the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make are on a whole other level. Jeff Cantor has fought off suicide bombers, insurgents, and untold levels of danger while trying to establish order in war-torn Iraq. A mission he accomplished by helping set up a police academy in one of Iraq's affected cities. Still, Shaun Golden doesn't think Cantor is fit to be Sheriff.

Military service matters. Cantor knows what enemies we are facing today because he's faced them before. He wants to protect our soft targets, places like malls and beaches, which the recent Seaside trash can bombing has shown us is extremely relevant. Jeff Cantor knows how to keep us safe, and while I would not go so far as to say I'll always vote for a veteran or assume veterans to be better than all other politicians, in this case, it matters. The facts stand that the Democrats have three candidates who have dedicated their lives to sacrifice in the service of their country. They've learned leadership, structure, discipline, perseverance, how to accomplish a mission and more. Jeff Cantor himself has said, "One thing that the military teaches you is that you have a common mission. It doesn’t matter who that person to your left or right is, it doesn’t matter if they are Democrat or Republican, gay or straight, black or white, rich or poor. It doesn’t matter. You have a mission to accomplish. That is the mentality I bring to the table." He's putting people before politics. Along with retired U.S. Army Captain Sue Fulton, U.S Army National Guard Captain Vincent Solomeno, and Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, Colonel Cantor makes up one-quarter of a 75% all-military ticket. These are the values we need to embrace in November. Not the anti-veteran actions of Republicans, both local and national. Be informed, and go vote Democrat November 8th.