In 2016, voters are fed up with career politicians. This year, both Democratic and Republican congressional candidates are striving to cast themselves in opposition to the Washington establishment.
Ironically, the majority of “outsider” candidates on the ballot in November will have a background in the military, which falls within the long list of government institutions that are the very core of the “establishment.”
With most states having completed their congressional primaries, the success of veterans running outsider campaigns against entrenched incumbents is startling. In fact, 37 of the 72 House candidates nationwide who are espousing an anti-establishment campaign heading into the general election have a military or law-enforcement background, no political experience, and an anti-establishment message.
It’s not hard to explain this apparent contradiction: According to a Gallup poll from June, 73 percent of people have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military, while a mere 6 percent have any confidence in Congress. It seems that not every establishment institution is feeling the public’s wrath.
