Commander Eric Massa of New York
- District: New York, 29th District
- Party: Democrat
- Military service: Navy – Beirut and Desert Storm
The son of a retired Navy officer and a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Commander Eric Massa spent 24 years on active duty as a Naval Officer and served combat tours in Beirut and Desert Storm. And although Eric survived Desert Storm intact, the war followed him home. He was diagnosed with lung cancer from what his doctors suspect is a result of Desert Storm Syndrome. Eric was one of six soldiers from his company who developed cancer. Doctors told him that he had four months to live – that was 10 years ago.
Massa was the first veteran candidate to declare his candidacy for Congress, doing so the day after George W. Bush won reelection. “I’ve spent 24 years serving my country with a strong belief in obeying my Commander in Chief, but no longer will I stand by while this president uses our troops as a political backdrop. The Iraq War will undoubtedly be remembered as the single greatest strategic blunder in our nation’s history.”
Eric is running against Republican incumbent Randy Kuhl in the 29th District of New York, which is a rural, conservative district. And despite a New York Times article that named his opponent one of the “most vulnerable seats” in Congress, Massa has struggled to garner the crucial financial support of the National Party. Still Eric believes it is possible for an average guy to go to Washington and is determined to prove it. He has managed to raise over one million dollars through individual donors who he believes are equally fed up with the “current rubberstamp Congress of this administration.”
Eric Massa along with Army veteran, Mike Lyon, first brought together the Band of Brothers candidates.
