Academy grads join political ranks

Dozens of USAFA graduates were on the ballot during the most recent election, and quite a number of them came out on top.

We’re certain that this list is incomplete. Please email jeff.holmquist@usafa.org if you were recently elected to office or are currently serving as an elected official — or if you know of someone who is a current elected official.

Congratulations to these Zoomies who, win or lose, want to make a difference in their communities and states and throughout the nation.

Victory

• Casey Weinstein ’04 (D-Hudson) won a close battle in his first campaign for state office. He is the new representative in Ohio’s District 37. Weinstein has been a council member in Hudson, Ohio, since 2015.
• Zahra Karinshak ’89 (D-Georgia) will represent District 48 in the Georgia State Senate as a result of the November election.
• Lt. Col. (Ret.) Tommy Gregory ’94 (R-Sarasota) is the newly elected District 73 representative in the Florida House of Representatives.
• Lt. Col. (Ret.) Mike Shower ’90 (R-Wasilla) was appointed to the Alaska State Senate (District E) earlier this year and was elected in a landslide this November to continue in that role.
• Don Davis ’94 (D-Greene) was re-elected to the North Carolina State Senate for District 5. Previously he served as mayor of Snow Hill, North Carolina for seven years.
• Capt. Pat McGeehan ’03 (R-Chester) was re-elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in District 1.
• Maj. Priscilla Giddings ’05 (R-White Bird) represents District 7 in the Idaho House of Representatives. She was re-elected by a wide margin in November.
• Mark Miloscia (R-Federal Way) represented Washington’s House District 30 from 1999-2013. He switched from Democrat to Republican in 2014 and won election to the State Senate’s 30th District seat and has served in that capacity since.
• Mike Thomas ’68 (Appleton) was re-elected to the Outagamie County Board in Wisconsin earlier this year. He’s served on the board for 20 years.

Academy Try

• At presstime, it appears that Martha McSally ’88 (R-Arizona) will narrowly lose Arizona’s U.S. Senate race. McSally has represented Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District since 2015.
• Tony Monetti ’87 sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri but lost the primary to the eventual senator-elect.
• Andy Coleman ’02 sought the Republican nomination for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, but he lost a tight battle in the primary.
• Jeff Burum ’84 sought to become the Republican nominee in U.S. House race in California’s 26th Congressional District but failed to gain the necessary support.
• Tim Kane ’90 also sought the Republican nomination for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District but didn’t succeed.
• Shak Hill ’88 ran an unsuccessful campaign in the Republican primary to unseat the incumbent in Virginia’s U.S. House District 10.
• John Mitchel ’70 lost the primary election to become the Republican nominee for Ohio’s 10th Congressional District seat.
• Max Della Pia ’75 ran in the primary to become the Democratic nominee in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. He lost a very close race.
• Frank Schmuck ’88 was unsuccessful in his campaign for Arizona’s State Senate District 18 seat.
• J.D. Wooten ’07 lost in his bid to become the next state senator in North Carolina’s District 24.
• Harold “Spike” Murphee ’74 lost his campaign to become the next state senator in New Mexico’s Senate District 39.
• Allen Schmid ’81 ran to become the next state representative in Idaho’s District 9, Seat A but lost.
• Nikki Foster ’03 campaigned to become the next state representative in Ohio’s House District 54. She lost in the general election.
• In Vermont, Michael Morgan ’83 served on the Town of Milton board for nine years and has served as town moderator since 2005. He sought to become a state representative in the Vermont House in the Grand Isle-Chittenden District, losing a close battle to the incumbents.
• Bryce Remkes ’05 lost his bid to become the next state representative in Georgia’s House District 71.
• Lawrence Romo ’78 sought the Democratic nomination in the Bexar County District Clerk race in Texas but lost to the eventual winner.
• Bob Schutt ’69 was unsuccessful in his attempt to get elected to the Gunnison County Board in Colorado.
• Blair Kaiser ’96 sought to become Ward 1 alderman in Clayton, Missouri, but failed in his quest.
• Felix Grieder ’75 ran to become the District 9 trustee on the Alamo Colleges District board in San Antonio, Texas, but lost a close race.
• Tony Wolusky ’80 lost his bid to join the University of Colorado Board of Regents in District 5.
• In Tennessee, Rob Hensley ’90 sought election to the Signal Mountain Town Council but lost in a close race.

Still Serving

• Tim Ingle is a council member in Wichita Falls, serving since 2010. Most recently, he ran to become the city’s mayor but lost the election.
• Owen Hill ’03 (R-Colorado Springs) has been a Colorado state senator since 2012, representing District 10. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District seat in 2018, but is still serving as a state senator.
• Lt. Col. (Ret.) Darryl Glenn ’88 (R-Colorado Springs) has been an El Paso County Commissioner (District 1) in Colorado since 2010 and currently serves as its president. He previously served on the Colorado Springs City Council (2003-10).
• Lt. Col. (Ret.) Longinos Gonzalez, Jr., ’92 (Colorado Springs) also serves on the El Paso County Board, representing District 4.
• Jon Kleve ’01 is a member of the Holyoke, Colorado, School District Board of Education.
• Maj. (Ret.) Bob Campbell ’87 is president of the Green Board of Education in Ohio.