Erik grew up believing that we send our sons and daughters to war only when we have no other choice.

The men and women who put on that uniform are not pawns. They are our neighbors, our family members, our students. They deserve a government that treats their lives as sacred --- not as cannon fodder for weapons contractors and the politicians they own. And yet, for decades, Washington has done exactly that. We were lied to about Iraq. We were lied to about Afghanistan. Now we are at war with Iran, and the military-industrial complex is once again getting rich while Eastern Oklahoma families get folded flags. Our Representative, Josh Brecheen, voted to let the President send your kids to war with Iran without a single vote in Congress --- no debate, no authorization, no accountability. And when the bodies come home, we know who will be cashing the checks: Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and the army of lobbyists who have turned Washington into a war profiteering machine.

When elected to Congress, Erik will fight to end the era of blank checks for endless slaughter. That means demanding that Congress --- not the President, not the Pentagon --- make the decision to put American lives at risk, as the Constitution requires. It means cutting the fat from a defense budget that has made billionaires out of defense executives while our veterans sleep on the streets. It means treating diplomacy as a first resort, not an afterthought. The military-industrial complex has been running this country's foreign policy for too long, and the bill is being paid in American blood. Our service members swear an oath to defend this country. It is long past time that Washington returned the favor.