GOP race for U.S. House seat heats up over veteran status

Crawford campaign slams rival Smith

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford (left) and state Rep. Brandt Smith are shown in this combination photo. Smith is challenging Crawford in the 2022 Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District seat.
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford (left) and state Rep. Brandt Smith are shown in this combination photo. Smith is challenging Crawford in the 2022 Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District seat.


The campaign of Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford is questioning the veteran status of his primary opponent Brandt Smith, disputing Smith's descriptions of his ties to the military.

David Manns, campaign manager for Crawford, issued a statement May 13 saying the congressman finds it "repugnant" that Smith "stands when veterans are asked to stand" and is listed "as a veteran on the state legislature's website."

Smith, a state lawmaker, is running against the incumbent in Arkansas' 1st Congressional District.

Smith has said he worked for the U.S. Army as a civilian, but the specific timeline of his employment with the U.S. Army was not immediately known Friday.

Campaign material says Smith went to Iraq as a "senior social scientist" with the U.S. Army. The campaign advertisement shows a picture of him in military fatigues. He is listed as a veteran on state legislative websites for sessions in 2022, 2021 and 2019, but is identified as a nonveteran on websites for sessions in 2018 and 2017.

Smith, who said this week that he was too busy campaigning to answer further questions about his time in Iraq, said in a May 9 interview that "I am considered a veteran. But it's not the same as a military or combat veteran, even though I trained up and deployed with our service members. And so it gets a little sketchy."

In the interview, Smith said there are members of the veterans community who consider him a veteran "when they hear what I did for the mission."

"And so when someone at a meeting says, 'Would all of our veterans stand up?' I stand up," he said. He said he is quick to let them know that he was "a Department of Army civilian."

Crawford, a veteran, had enlisted in the U.S. Army out of high school, according to his congressional website.

Manns, in the statement, said they are "awaiting Brandt's apology to America's veterans."

He also accused Smith of leading people "to believe that he received numerous commendations including the Bronze Star."

Smith did not respond to further questions about his employment history, including whether he had ever served as a service member of the U.S. military. He did not respond to an question about the changes in his veteran status on the legislative websites.

Smith, in a candidate video with Arkansas Farm Bureau, said he received the "the Bronze Star for service."

His campaign website says he was "was contacted by a friend in U.S. Special Forces and asked to return to Iraq to serve on a Human Terrain Team."

"After praying and seeking God's leadership, Brandt went back to Iraq after six months of training at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, Ft. Irwin, CA and Ft. Benning, GA before deploying to Iraq where he remained until the end of the war," according to the website.

Both Smith and attorney Jody Shackelford are running to unseat Crawford, a six-term incumbent who serves on the House Agriculture Committee and is running with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

In an interview earlier this month, Crawford, a Jonesboro Republican, said his office does a great job when it comes to constituent services. One portion of constituent work is centered on getting veterans health care through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he said

The primary race is playing out in the state's redrawn 1st Congressional District, which now includes part of Pulaski County.

The district covers northeast Arkansas and stretches south through the Delta on the state's eastern border.


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