From Combat Cockpit to Congress | Rebecca Bennett - S.O.S. #266

A Navy helicopter pilot who has landed on aircraft carriers in the middle of the night is now trying to land something even harder: real accountability in Washington. I sit down with Rebecca Bennett, a veteran leader who served more than 15 years, moved through corporate healthcare and health tech startups, and is now running for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district with a message that cuts through the partisan noise: country over party, results over reels.

We start with Rebecca’s path from small town Texas to Navy aviation, what it means to lead under pressure, and why military life forces you to solve problems with the team you have. From there, we shift into the U.S. healthcare system, including women’s health, menopause care, and why a fragmented system makes continuity of care so difficult. We talk incentives too: fee for service vs outcomes, prevention vs reaction, and why rewarding health outcomes could lower costs and improve lives.

Then we get into the gritty reality of modern politics. Rebecca explains what pushed her from volunteering to running, why campaign finance and fundraising rules block normal people from serving, and how she’s building a grassroots campaign without corporate PAC money. We also dig into veteran and military family issues like transition support, military spouse employment, the PACT Act, and why more women veterans in Congress matters.

If you’re tired of performative hearings and want practical leadership, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about service and civic life, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And Why Service Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Stories of Service podcast. As you guys know, I am very interested in the political process these days, partially because I'm going to graduate school for it, but also because I believe that all of us can play a part in being involved at the civic level. And we can do so in a way that doesn't smear the other side, doesn't denigrate others. And to kick this off, and I'm so excited because this is the first time I'm hosting a Democrat. A lot of people think I only host Republicans. And I will tell y'all, I'll be honest, I sometimes lean more right of center, but I love having conversations with people that lean a different way and that don't always agree with me on everything because I believe that's the best way to grow. And to kick that off, Rebecca Bennett, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01 0:44

I'm great. Thank you so much for having me on. I'm excited for the conversation.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Well, I am excited as well. And welcome to the Stories of Service Podcast. Ordinary people who do extraordinary work. And I am the host, Teresa Carpenter. And to kick this off, as we always do, an introduction from my father, Charlie Pickard.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

From the moment we're born and lock eyes with our parents, we are inspiring others. By showing up as a vessel of service, we not only help others, we help ourselves. Welcome to SOS Stories of Service, hosted by Teresa Carpenter. Here from ordinary people from all walks of life who had transformed their communities by performing extraordinary work.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Anne Rebecca flew high-risk missions and led under pressure. And today she is stepping into politics at a time when trust in institutions is low. So why even run? And for her, it comes down to one word: service. And in this episode today, we're going to talk about the shift from mission-driven leadership to a system that often rewards noise over results and why she believes accountability is missing in Washington. And she also took a different path, as I saw in some of her promos. No corporate PAC money. That means relying on people, not special interests. Harder, slower, and more accountable. And this isn't just about one campaign, it's about what happens when leaders trained to run towards problems decide to take on Washington and do it differently. So welcome again, Rebecca.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited. And I love that video from your dad. That was really cool.

Texas Roots And Joining The Navy

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Well, thank you. He was a per a DJ and then a professional voiceover artist. So I couldn't think of a better person in 2021 when I started this podcast to kick it off than to have a conversation with him. So it was very personal, and I had him record that intro. And it now just starts every single show. And I think it puts everyone on a good path. So thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. So I always start all my shows for people who have served, which is the majority of my guests. Where were you born and raised? And what inspired you to join the Navy?

Choosing Aviation And Deployments

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Yeah. So I grew up in a small town in Texas. And I always say if people have seen the TV show Friday Night Lights, it's basically the town that I grew up in. I grew up 40 acres, our driveway is a quarter of a mile long, like middle of nowhere. Elementary school is next to a cow field. And I, you know, I was in middle school, eighth grade, ninth grade, and 9-11 happened. And, you know, I'll just say for me, service has always been a really big part of my life. And I grew up in the Presbyterian church, and I had the chance to go on a number of service trips as a kid. And so for me, you know, my family wasn't wealthy, but you know, we never worried about having food on the table or a roof over our head. And, you know, going on those service trips was really eye-opening for me because it really showed just how much we had compared to, you know, even other people in this country. And so I wanted to serve in some way. And when I was looking at, you know, graduating high school and what I want to do for college, for me, I looked at AmeriCorps and I looked at a couple other things and I landed on joining the military as the path to giving back. I'm a big believer in leaving things better off than I found them. And so for me, I wanted to serve and give back in some way, and ultimately decided to do the military. And then I also wanted to study chemical engineering because I'm a little bit of a glutton for punishment. And so I really liked chemistry and I really liked math and I wanted to study chemical engineering. And long story short, decided to go apply to get an RRTC scholarship because you know colleges very it's very expensive now. It was very expensive back then. And so decided to get an RTC scholarship. And I ended up joining the Navy because true story, I applied to Navy and Army ROTC, and the Navy got back to me sooner. And so that is why I got my Navy RRTC scholarship and then you know got into where I ended up going to Cornell and studied chemical engineering up there. So that's that's why I ended up kind of going down the path of joining the Navy.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Why aviation?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yeah, you know, I when I joined the Navy at the time, women weren't allowed on submarines. And so basically, our options were you could drive ships or you could fly planes. And I'm a big believer in getting myself out of my comfort zone. And basically I'm like, what's the thing that scares me the most? And I'm gonna go do that. And so for me at the time, I decided I wanted to go be a pilot. And then after I started flight school, I once you get down, basically everyone in the Navy you start flying fixed wing. And then after a certain period of time, you basically select what your platform is gonna be. And so for me, I decided to fly helicopters because I grew up playing a lot of sports. I played a lot of soccer. And for me, everything I've ever done has always been about the people. And so I liked the idea of flying with the crew. I like the missions that you got to fly as a helicopter pilot. And so that's why I, you know, ultimately decided to become a helicopter pilot. But it was, it was, it was fun. Yeah, it was fun.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

What ships did you deploy on?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Mostly on aircraft carriers. So I deployed with the Nimitz. I was with the Nimit Strike Group, I was stationed out in San Diego. And then I was also on the first air detachment for the littoral combat ship, which is a smaller ship. And so I was on that one. And then so those were the two that I spent most of my time on. But yeah, my squadron that I was with, we basically were a carrier-based squadron. And so our helicopter basically our squadron was mostly on the carrier, and then sometimes you'd be on like a supply ship or something like that. But yeah, mostly on aircraft carriers. But I always say it's way easier to land as a helicopter pile on aircraft carrier than on a smaller ship because it's basically a football field, you know what I mean? And so yeah, it's like you don't have to be as precise as you on some of the other ships. The other ships, you got to be like exactly where you need to land. And aircraft carrier is kind of like you gotta be in the box, but like it's okay if you're off by like a little bit, you know.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Yeah, I was also on Nimitz. I was the carrier's officer from 2016 to 2018. That's why when you said Nimitz, I'm like, oh, well, you were also there, I think, gonna decommission Nimitz shortly, is what I heard. I was like the oldest ship when I was there. And I remember we even had like our museum was just not in the greatest shape and some other things, but it was it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. And uh certain, certainly enjoyed my time serving serving on there. So, how many years did you do?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

So I did a little over 15. I did over a decade on active duty. So I commissioned back in 2009 and then stayed on active duty, put on lieutenant commander, and then switched into the Navy reserves. And then a couple years ago, I moved over to the Air National Guard. So I'm still in the guard. I'm in basically like an inactive status now, but yeah, I'm still a guard member.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Was it hard at the 10-year mark? Because that's the doer, like, hey, I'm gonna make it all the way to 20 and I'm gonna continue on, or I'm I'm I'm out. Like you really, and I got picked up for my officer program right at the 10-year mark. So I knew at that point because I I was gonna continue on. But for you, was it was it a family decision for you to say, okay, I'm gonna go into the reserves now?

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Yeah, you know, I I will say it was something I really struggled with. And I will when I got into the Navy when I commissioned originally, I was like, I'm gonna be the CEO of an aircraft carrier, I'm gonna stay here for 30 years. Right. And then, you know, and then life happens, and when you're 22 years old, it doesn't seem like it's that long. And then you're like, oh wow, 20 years is actually a lot of time. And so, you know, for me, I ended up becoming a test pilot, which you know, I'm sure we'll get into more, but I basically had gotten to Patuxent River and thought maybe I'd want to go become what they we have in the Navy, we have aviation engineering duty officers where you basically get to be a full-time test pilot. And I got to Pax River and basically decided, nah, I don't really think I want to do that. And so that was kind of my last point on the way making the decision to transition off active duty was going to Pax River and then deciding that I wanted to basically move to the private sector. And so that's when I ended up starting kind of working towards that path. But my husband is also a vet, and it is being into a military couple is really hard. And so, you know, we didn't see each other. We were stationed together in, well, I should say our stuff was together in San Diego, but we didn't see each other very often. You know, we did a full year where we were deployed separately, and you know, even now he's still in the reserves, he's gone right now. He's doing his like two weeks of stuff, and so you know, it's just it's just hard. And you know, we were getting to the point where we wanted to have a family, and and so you know, basically made the decision that we were both gonna separate, but I so I stayed in the serve in the reserves because I just like I love serving, it's such a big part of who I am as a person, and so you know, we both we both decided to stay in the reserves, but even that is tough. Trying to do reserves plus a full-time job plus kids is a lot. So trying to balance all that is stuff and running for office, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Yeah, no, I love it though. So, did you decide to go into healthcare because there was like that just call to service and and and that type of career just spoke to you?

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yeah, honestly, I kind of I joke, not really, that I kind of stumbled into healthcare. And the reason is because I, you know, so I decided that I was gonna I wanted to go work in the private sector. While I was a test pilot, I went and got my MBA at Wharton. And so from there I had the chance to get to know a bunch of people working in a lot of different industries. And, you know, I'll just say for me, this is something that I'm really passionate about. And I volunteered quite a bit in the space of helping people transition from the military to whatever their next job is gonna be because it's really hard and it's a loss of identity. I mean, it's really challenging. And so I spent a lot of time volunteering in that space. But, you know, basically, long story short, I ended up getting connected to, I was looking for general management programs. So I wanted, I didn't exactly know what I wanted to do. You know, coming out of the military, it's hard to know what kind of job you want to go into. And so I was looking for general management programs. And Johnson Johnson, the company that I went to go work for, had a program specifically designed for military veterans that were getting out of the service, and you basically got to move around the company and you got to try a bunch of different things. And so that was basically exactly what I was looking for was an opportunity to be able to move around different functional areas. So, because a lot of these programs are, you know, you go into operations, you go to marketing, and I wanted to be able basically to move more than that. And so that just ended up being a really good fit. And also, I really appreciated and still do, you know, JJ had something called the crater, which is basically mission, vision, values. You know, we call it commander's intent in the Navy. And so to me, I'm very mission-driven. I still am. And so to me, that really aligned with me of basically this idea of, you know, if you do right by the patients and the parents and the caretakers and the providers, the profits will follow. And I'm a big believer in you can do good and do well. And so to me, that is that's you know, that's been my perspective. And so that's why I went to go work at JJ. And then what I found is there are a lot of really good, smart, hardworking people that are trying to solve these big important problems we have in our society around healthcare. And so from there, you know, expanded my career and happy to kind of go into more details of what I've been doing in the healthcare space. But it's been it has been a really nice kind of second career home for me.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

That's so cool. I mean, you have a really wide array of experiences. I mean, you've you've seen like the corporate side, you've seen the healthcare side, you've seen the military side, you've seen the aviation side. I I guess I would ask at this point for the healthcare side, what were some of the biggest challenges that you saw working in corporate health care? I'm curious because I mean, I use Tricare, I use the VA, I stopped using TriCare because of all the hidden fees. I moved over to the VA. I only use the VA now. And I don't know a lot about corporate health care and and how that's managed. And I'm just curious, like, what were some of the biggest, like, I'd say stuck points that you saw in in that industry?

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Yeah, you know, I and I'll just say I qualify for the PACT Act, and I I personally have also had challenges navigating the VA system. And so, you know, I don't, I don't think, you know, anything is perfect. I will say, on a personal side, moving into corporate America was challenging because I'm of, you know, you're just a very direct, like the way we communicate in the military is very direct. And yes, so you have to, especially as a woman, having to basically soften my language of, and I remember being in yeah, but I remember being in meetings where I'd be like, just tell me what you're trying to say. Like, I don't understand, like people are using corporate speak and like I don't know how to translate that. And so, you know, that part was hard of just figuring out how do you say what you want to say without offending somebody, you know what I mean? And figuring out like how do you soften your language and be able to do that. So I'll just say on a personal level, that part was certainly challenging. I think for me, what I found. So after being a JJ, I moved into the startup world, which I love. And my focus was really how do we expand access and basically solve access issues for patients. And you know, one of the companies I worked at was a company that was focused on women going through menopause, which is just a huge amount of need in this country. Oh women's wise.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Oh, my God, I could talk for hours about that issue. Holy crap. I'm going through it right now. So I know firsthand that challenge and the lack of education around it.

Fixing Incentives In A Fragmented System

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Oh, yeah. I mean, and I remember when I was inter when I was basically interviewing for this company, I remember calling my mom and being like, Mom, did this happen to you? Like, this sounds terrible. And she's like, Oh no, you know, and I'm like, No, I don't know. Like, no one's talking about this. And so, anyway, women's health has been chronically underfoot in this country. We weren't even required to be in clinical trials until 30 years ago. With the way women present for things like a heart attack is very different than the way that men present. So there's all sorts of issues with just how we're supporting women. And I'll just also add women veterans in particular, we have our own set of issues, you know, when it comes to a lot of us have issues with infertility. I mean, there's just other stuff that women veterans have to deal with. So I'll just say that's, you know, an aside there. But, you know, for me, what I found is it's the same. You know, you a lot of people go into healthcare because they care and they want to make a difference. And one of the issues that I found is that it's such a fragmented system. And so, you know, just even being able to help a patient along the patient journey of how do you make sure that you're getting this information from, you know, say somebody comes into the emergency room, like how do you pull the information from if they were in a different health system or they were in a different hospital? Like, how do you make sure they have that continuity of care? And then how do you help people get connected to the different programs of, you know, just the idea of essentially social determinants of health of, you know, a lot of our health is impacted by what we eat in our surroundings and all those sorts of things. And so it's about not just the person show up shows up in the ER and they have an issue, but how do you help keep them from getting there? And then once they come there, then how do you try to keep them from coming back again? They would call them like frequent flyers, basically. And so essentially, how do we actually lower you know cost of care? But it's not because people don't care, it's just that it's such a fragmented system.

unknown 15:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

Yeah, it's not, it's not really set up for preventative care either. I've always often wondered why we don't have incentives for people to stay healthy. So let's say if you don't need to see the doctor and you, let's say use your use a gym membership or something, and you use it consistently and frequently, and they can track your visits and they can track what you're doing. And then you don't have some of these preventable health issues with obesity or some other issues. I feel like that should be rewarded somehow with your co-pays or with some sort of benefits. But the system, I feel like, is only set up to treat the sit to start to treat the symptoms and to deal with the deal with the after effects of poor decisions. And I believe that there is so much in the healthcare system that's preventable, but it's just not it's not pushed that way, which it really is at the detriment of not only us as the consumer, but it's just costing the system so much more money, like you said, to deal with the frequent flyers and the people that are constantly using medical. And I mean, it yeah, it's it's just it's unfortunate. And I do hope to see not only reform sides on the corporate end, I hope one day to see it all also on the VA end because I do believe that there's there's incentives there to continue to go to the doctor, to continue to stay on drug on drugs. And I just don't think that that's really the solution. I think the solution is to give incentives for people to stay off medication or people to find other ways to stay healthy through meditation or deep breathing or or or exercise. So I'm very passionate about that issue. So I'm I'm glad that you were able to kind of look at some of those issues.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

No, totally. And this is one of the things that I talk about is basically incentivizing for outcomes as opposed to what we refer to and what our more traditional healthcare system is, which is what we refer to as a fee-for-service healthcare system, where basically, you know, you're billing for every single procedure that's being done, as opposed to, you know, actually, is this person getting better? To your point about obesity, there's all sorts of you know, compound effects of, you know, we know people are more likely to get diabetes, for example, which is very expensive. There's hypertension, there's all sorts of other issues that people have. And so, you know, we know that as at a societal level, that keeping people healthy and helping them be able to do that is better for us. It's better for them as an individual. It's also better for us as a society. And so moving more towards that, I think, is one of the things we can do long term and really helping really bend the cost curve and how much money we're spending on healthcare.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Absolutely. So you're in your corporate job at Johnson and Johnson, then you go into the startup arena. And how long were you in the startup or are you still and are you still in these stars? It's kind of working the startup side.

The Switch To Run For Office

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Yeah, yeah. So I was there for about three years. I ended up deciding, you know, it's basic, it's basically not possible to run for office and work full-time, which I found out first time because you know, people would ask me, like, how are you gonna do this? And I was like, Well, I was a test pile and I went to Wharton at the same time, so I can work and run for office. And then, you know, like basically the narrator voice overhead was like, She could not do both at the same time. And you know, it's just I'm not independently wealthy, and so the idea of who cannot work for two years, like that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

And that's and that's what makes it prohibitive for a lot of people, it's the fundraising side, yeah. And and then then not have being able to work. And so, did you when you just like how did you decide this? Like, I mean, you're you're working your job, you've got your family, you've got your husband, and you said it was it was kind of the election that that kind of pushed you to say, all right, I'm gonna do something about this. And you're are you and you're not from New Jersey. So, how did you get integrated into that community? Yeah, I know I got so many questions, I'm just so curious.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I'll just say, you know, back to your kind of previous question too. The way I was able to go full-time on the campaign is there's a rule that got passed a couple years ago that you can use campaign money to pay for childcare. And childcare is just such a huge part of our budget. It is crazy expensive in this country to pay for childcare. And so that's how we're able to make the math work. You basically tend to quit my job. But it is it basically the system is set up such that it's basically impossible to run for office if you're a normal person because you basically have to get independently wealthy. But, you know, I'll just say to your other question, you know, for me, the reason why I got involved in politics originally is, you know, I was serving in the military on active duty the first time that Trump got elected. And so for me, I remember being so excited about we're gonna have our first female commander-in-chief, we're gonna have our first woman president, and then we did not elect Hillary Clinton. And so, you know, there's restrictions on what you can do when you're in the military. But when I got out of the service, I just started volunteering. So I was like, I want to do something, I want to just try to give, you know, basically this idea of giving back, you know, and I was like, I just want to do something. And so I started volunteering as a just a normal volunteer. Basically, I went out and did door knocking and I did phone banking and I did text banking and I did postcards, like all the stuff, you know. And basically I started that in 2020 and then all the way through the 2024 election, and then after, you know, Harris lost in 2024, it was a couple of days after, and I just like I legitimately cannot explain this any other way than I just told my husband, I was like, it was like a switch flipped in my brain, and I was basically like, okay, I have to go throw myself at this problem now because we need people in office that are gonna go get stuff done. Do you know what I mean? And so for me, it was like I gotta, and so that is what led me down this path. But I'll just say I was never planning on running for office, and in fact, I really loved my job that I was doing. It was an amazing company, it was a great team. And so, you know, it but that that's why is and it's because I it's the same reason to do the military, you know. I love this country and I have two girls, and so for me, this is about what version of the country are we gonna live in? And I just wanted to know that I did everything I could, and so that is, you know, the reason why I went down this path of running for office.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

So you were integrated in into sort of the New Jersey Democrat political scene through these four years of of just being a volunteer and phone banking. And did you kind of I'm just trying to understand like, how did you know who to, if you didn't go through a program and you didn't know anything about campaign finances, like how did you learn how to do this process?

Fundraising Reality And Campaign Reform

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Well, you know, I will say I I didn't really know the New Jersey political scene, to be honest, because I like I was a very informed voter, but a lot of my volunteer work I did. Was in Pennsylvania because I lived in your, you know, it's like Bucks County, it's like a swing state. And so I was like, okay, that's where I can have the most impact. And so a lot of my volunteer work I did in Pennsylvania. But yeah, so basically I, you know, because sometimes people ask me this, like, how did you get, you know, get started? And I just volunteered myself, basically. So I ended up reaching out to a friend of mine who I went to Wharton with and I knew she worked in politics. And so I basically was like, hey, I'm really feeling this calling to do something. And she connected me to a couple people. And then it was kind of just off to the races. You know, I will say there is a group, I'm going to put a plug in. There's a group called New Politics that their whole thing is helping get people with service backgrounds elected. And so they have been with my campaign from basically the very beginning, but they really were really instrumental. But honestly, it was basically just I am a jump in the deep end and figure it out kind of person. And so basically they were like, okay, you have to raise$100,000 in the first 24 hours. You got to raise$400,000 in the first quarter. And I remember when I heard those numbers, my job was like on the table. I mean, I was just like, that is an insane amount of money. Like, how in the world am I gonna get$100,000 and$400,000? Like, that's crazy. And I basically made a spreadsheet of every person I've ever met in my entire life. And I called all of them. Like I literally called everyone. I was calling people from high school, like I was calling people from undergrads, everybody knew in the Navy. And it was just like, hey, like, hey, I'm ready for office. Like, this is why I'm doing it. And you know, what's funny is people were like, Oh, that's so amazing. I'm so excited for you. Like, what party are you running for? Because I've never really been publicly political because of being in the military. But yeah, it was just basically where I started was I made the spreadsheet, called everybody I knew, and asked them to give me money, and people did. And they were like, I believe in you, and they, you know, because we need good people in office. And so it, you know, it started from that, and then from there, now I've like expanded well beyond, you know, my personal network and have reached out to you know, people that live, you know, people live in New Jersey, people all over the country, but um, yeah, but no, that's how it started. It was just me and a and a spreadsheet in Google Sheets.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

So yeah, but but you know what really impresses me about you, Rebecca, is that you don't strike me as being overly partisan. I know that you're running Democrat, and I know you have some Democrat values, maybe, or like I've seen some of your stuff about Pete Hageseth, which is everyone's favorite topic these days in the military. And yeah, and and I understand, I mean, I I'll be I'll be um frank. I I I supported his nomination, and I'm a little, I'm even as a person who who admittedly leans right of center, I'm a little disappointed, especially as it pertains to due process and military justice. I just haven't seen the the I mean, I haven't seen the things that that I thought he was going to be so adamant about, and I haven't seen the transparency. You know, I'm friends with Jessica Ruttenberg, she was on the call earlier, and the it's true, there was a women in combat study. We don't know why it was changed. I mean, there's just things that that I've seen that, although I I wanted to be more supportive, I am a little disappointed, admittingly. But you don't strike me as somebody who who's very partisan to the left. I've seen some other of the ladies who are running for Congress this year, and they're mostly Dems. I haven't seen a lot of Republican women, and they they're much more partisan than you are. And I'm just curious where that comes from. And I think it's a good thing because if you're gonna be in Congress, you're gonna need to know how to work across the aisle with people who have very different views from you.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Yeah. Yeah, you know, I to me, my leadership was really honed in the military, and we were there as Americans to get the job done. And you know this, we didn't talk about political party, you know, we were just there on the same, we're in the same squadron, we were on the Nimitz different times, but you know, right, it's just how it was. And so to me, I was just talking to somebody about this tonight is that I I love this country and I believe in this country, and I think that it's important that we remember that we do have more in common than divides us, and we are on the same team, and this is the best country in the world, and so to me, it's about reminding people of that. And I think if we can just get people to zoom out and just to say, hey, we all just want our kids to be better off than we are, you know what I mean? Like we can agree on where we're trying to go and then we can disagree on how we want to get there. But to me, it's about I think people are exhausted. I think they're tired of all the yelling and the bickering and the polarization. And I think people are just tired and they just want the government to work and to be able to actually get stuff done and to solve problems. And so to me, that's my mindset is how do I go get stuff done? And I will work with whoever I can to accomplish solving problems for all of us.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

I love it. It's very disappointing when I watch some of the hearings, especially like I said, the ones with DOD, and I just see the drama and the fireworks, and I think to myself, are these people just performing for their Instagram reels? Because I don't sense that they're really asking substantive questions. I don't sense they're actually trying to solve problems, they're trying to get free airtime and free film cameras, you know, camera angles so that they have a pretty reel and they have something to say to their their base. And it's disappointing as Americans. We don't want that. We we're okay disagreeing, but we're not okay with people lodging personal attacks against one another and and smearing one another. And I think that that's what's so refreshing about some of the veterans that I see who are running is that we we know how to not do that and we know how to get the job done with people that we disagree with.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Yeah, yeah, because you have to. You don't, you know, there's no choice. You know, you know how it is. I mean, you just got to figure out how to do it with the people that are there, and that's it. That's like that's your job, and you just figure out how to do it and you just you just do it, and that's it. There's no other option. And so to me, that's just the mindset that I have because that's just how I was trained, you know.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

Right. And you're running uh as a representative, not as a senator. My question is are you running your your your uh seat is is currently like your incumbent is is a Republican. Am I am I right? I that's right. So you're trying to you're trying to flip, you're trying to flip your district. Yes. How has what is the demographic of your district? Is it mostly Republican or mostly Democrat?

Country Over Party Leadership

SPEAKER_01 28:17

It's split pretty evenly. So it's basically split a third, a third, a third. So it's about a third Democratic, a third independent, and a third Republican. There's about a 20,000 vote registration advantage for the Republicans over the Democrats, but I mean, so it's you know, it's pretty even. I I will just say a lot of what we're talking about tonight is what I hear from people on the ground all the time, is that, you know, what I hear from independent voters, they feel like both parties have gotten so polarized that nobody represents them anymore. And so to me, it's about being able to build that coalition of, you know, yes, I'm a Democrat and yes, I'm a proud Democrat, and yes, I'm running as a Democrat. I've got a ton of grassroots support on that side, but also I've got independent voters supporting me, I've got Republicans supporting me because of how I've led my whole life, which is country over party. And that really resonates with people. And you know, and and I think like I see this in real life all the time, but being a military veteran, it just gives you the chance to basically it opens the door to having those conversations with people. And so, you know, they get to know me, they get to know my values, they know I'm gonna make the decision, what I think the right decision is in the room with the door closed, and then come back and tell everybody why I did it. Because at the end of the day, it comes back to integrity and accountability. And so being able to live those principles. And so that really does resonate with people. And, you know, there's a study that was done that shows that Democrats that are veterans outperform other Democrats by about six points. And and I think it's because of this, of just, you know, it just people appreciate, you know, my leadership style, other Democrats that are veterans, and just that country of our party, and you know, being able to lead that way.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

Right. And I hope we see more female Republicans who decide to run. I I think that it's unfortunate that sometimes we don't we don't see that. And I see that there's like vote vets and there's all these different coalitions and and and and and funding and support, it seems like around Democrats, but we don't see the same sometimes on the right, or at least I don't. And maybe there's more behind the scenes that I'm not privy to. But I pivoting a little bit, I want to ask you, because I I did just get somebody who asked about the major Richard Starr Act, and it made me think about what are some of the, I'm sure as a veteran yourself, you're you're very aware of some of the things that you see the VSOs are pushing right now. That's one issue. There's another issue with disclosure of different medications, like to have. So you go to the VA and instead of just getting prescribed a drug, you have to sign something that says that you understand what the side effects are, you under, you know, things like that. So I'm curious from your aspect, have you looked into some of the veteran issues that are being discussed on the hill and some of the ones that you would support or some of the ones that you're you're passionate about?

SPEAKER_01 30:52

Yeah, you know, I'm not I'm not familiar with that particular the major Richard Starr Act. I will say, you know, for me, the stuff that I'm really passionate about, one is the stuff that I mentioned before, which is what are we doing to support our veterans and military families, both when they serve and then when they come home? You know, military spouses are underemployed at a significantly higher percentage than their private sector counterparts, even though they are more educated than you know, people that are not military spouses. And it's because you have to move every three years. And if you have kids, you are the primary caretaker because your partner is deployed and gone and has a crazy operational schedule. And so you end up being the primary caretaker. And so it's an incredible burden that we put on our military spouses, but also on our service members of you know what we're doing when you get out of the military. And, you know, one of the groups that I volunteered with quite a bit before running for office was this group called Forblock, because basically their whole thing is they teach you all the stuff that you don't learn in the service. And it's a 12-week curriculum, but that you know, it's like, how do you make a LinkedIn? How do you make a resume? How do you network? You know, all this stuff that we just never learned, but it's so important. And so being able to help, you know, bridge those gaps. And so to me, I think there's a lot of work we can do in that space, you know, and then certainly from a healthcare perspective, you know, I'm a disabled veteran, I qualify for the PACT Act. And so I think making sure that we're still taking care of our veterans and getting them the access to the healthcare that they need. And, you know, I think specifically just making sure we're supporting our women vets, you know, and they mentioned this book basically like there's only ever been 13 women veterans that have served in Congress. And that's both parties.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

Wow, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

Yeah, that's both parties.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

13 women veterans. That's it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

It's crazy. And you look at the number of men, I mean it's thousands. And so there's a huge asymmetry, but you know, women vets have unique challenges and issues. And and so, you know, I think making sure that we have resources for all of us, you know, whenever we're we're getting out in service.

Veterans Policy And Finding Community

SPEAKER_00 32:49

And then for people who don't know, just I just want to give them the refresher about the major Richard Starr Act. It's been very heavily contested lately. And what it will do is people that are getting CR combat related special compensation pay, what it will do is if you are medically retired and you are now receiving that pay, you won't have to deal with an offset. So basically, you'll get your retirement pay from the military, and then you'll also get your VA disability. So it's kind of in their minds, they see it as it's closing a gap. So, for an example, somebody like me, I'm rated over 50% from the VA. And so because of that, I can get my pension and I can get my VA disability. Other people are not who have been medically retired or not in that same position. And so just recently they asked, which I thought was interesting, uh, Senator Blumenthal on the Hill when he was talking to Pete Hageseth, he asked him if he supported that. And he said, as I have told many of the VSOs, I do support that. So it was a it was a it was a nice moment. Again, I celebrate every moment that I see where something's bipartisan and people from different sides are getting along. And so when I saw, in fact, I've been meaning to kind of clip that part of the of the uh of the three-hour hearing because I felt like that was just such a neat moment where he asked the question and and he said, Yeah, it's for combat wounded retirees who have less than 20 years. So it may be something that you you will be deciding on or once you once you get in office. So it'll be an interesting issue. And it's probably the biggest issue that I see the VFW and some of the other VSOs. I have you that's another great question. Have you been talking to some of the VSOs since you've since you started this run?

SPEAKER_01 34:28

Yes, I have. Yeah. You know, I'll just say this is something I'm curious if other folks have experienced this too, but I think it's tough when you get out of the military, everyone just people just kind of scatter. And so it's hard to find the basically post-9-11 veterans and just like where do they go? You know what I mean? Right. So I have friends that I've I actually have a good friend of mine. We were in a squadron together, we just he happens to live in the district, and so you know, but so there's like people like that that I know that are vets because I served with them and they just happen to be in the area, but it's it's really hard to find that community. And I think that's one of the things about that transition that's really hard because you go from being in your squadron, having your team, you know, you've got this group, and then all of a sudden you're basically like an NF1. And so it's just very isolating. And so to me, I think it's that that community is also really tough, but it's hard, it's hard to find that's in the wild, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 35:24

And so it is, it is, and most of the VSOs like American Legion and the VFW, although they are doing a good job of trying to get in more younger veterans, they are still run by the Vietnam era veteran or people. And I find with a lot of the younger veterans, they either want to do a retreat or an outdoor adventure or a fitness fundraiser. I mean, I'm I'm gonna be participating in the New York City Navy SEAL swim this August. And oh, nice. I yeah, I'm very excited. I I I have to qualify. We'll see if I do. And if I don't, it's okay. I'm still gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Is it like an open water swim? What is it?

District Concerns And Campaign Grind

SPEAKER_00 35:59

It is, it's a three and a half mile open water swim across the Hudson River. And so yes, yes, and they'll be how cold is the water, it should be warm in August at least. I think it's about 70 degrees, but it's not only just the swim either. You do honor push-ups and you do pull-ups at different places, and you stop at these different, like the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island, and you and it's but very patriotic event. I can actually I'll send you some information about it after the call. There are definitely they don't have very many women who participate, and that's not because they don't welcome that, it's just because of the fact that it is so hard to keep up with the pact, and it is, but there are some women who do it. My friend Jessica, she does it, another a couple other women, ladies that I'm talking to right now and getting tips and advice from. They participate. So it's a it's an amazing, amazing event. But I feel like that's more what I see veterans doing these days. They're they're they're more into those kind of things than they are. Let's let's go to the bar and the canteen and have a beer together. I and I and I think that's just something that's different about the GWAT era uh versus some of the other veterans. But moving on from some of these other issues, what about some of the issues in your district? What what are the people in as you because I I see you canvassing and going door to door, and I'm curious, what are some of the things that the people in your district are very concerned with?

SPEAKER_01 37:21

Yeah, you know, I think for me, the biggest thing that I hear from people is cost of living, you know, and in the district that I live in, that I'm running in is one of the most affluent in the country, but New Jersey is an expensive place to live. And so, you know, even if you make a good salary, it still feels tight. And, you know, I mentioned child care earlier, but you know, child care is very expensive. Our energy prices went up by 20% last year, you know, groceries are really expensive. It's just like everything is just increasing. And so it just still feels really tight. And so I'd say that's the biggest thing I hear. And then, you know, I'm also talking to a lot of Democrats right now. We have, you know, I have a primary coming up in about a month. And so, you know, the other thing I hear is basically making sure that the administration is following the rule of law and making sure that we're not seeing people that are, yeah. I think to me, like a lot of the corruption piece of it of, you know, we just saw that Eric Trump, for example, is his company he's on the board of is getting like a contract from the Department of Defense. It's like that kind of stuff where people are just like, what is this? You know, and so I think it's about making sure we have transparency and accountability and making sure that our money is being spent effectively for, you know, for all of us. So I'd say those are the biggest things that I hear from people.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

Yeah, affordability is a big one, especially in some of our higher cost of living areas. Is your do you said your primary is coming up and and you said it's about a 30-30 split. I'm curious, do you guys have open primaries in New Jersey?

SPEAKER_01 38:46

So we kind of do. You basically, if you are a Democrat or an unaffiliated voter, you can vote in the Democratic primary. The date has passed. If you're a registered Republican, you can't switch parties at this point to vote in the Democratic primary. But if you're independent, you can vote in the Democratic primary or vice versa. You basically, if you're independent, you can pick. You do you want to vote in the Republican primary or the Democratic primary?

SPEAKER_00 39:06

Yeah, because um, I think also studies say that a lot of veterans are independents. And so I think it's really important to give everyone the opportunity to decide if they want to vote for a Republican or a Democrat because either party, either person could speak to them. And it it sucks it that you have to be confined, in my view, to one particular party. You should be able to vote across party lines of whoever the person is that you want to support. So you're your your primary is coming up. So it is, it is, it is game time for you right now. Yes. You're probably very, very busy. Is it just this must be like a day-to-day grind for you?

SPEAKER_01 39:40

It yeah, you know, honestly, uh the way I describe this is it feels like a mishmash of like getting ready for a deployment and working in a startup because it's like the date is coming, whether you're ready for it or not, just like you're leaving for deployment, whether you're ready to leave or not. It feels like the date is the date and it's happening. And so to me, it just feels like leading up to a deployment like workups a little bit, you know? And then also being in a startup where it's, you know, I have a I have a small but mighty team, and my team is awesome, but you know, we have a lean budget, and so it's about how can we be as effective as possible, and then where is where is my time best spent of you know, what's the thing I can have the most impact on? And to me, it is basically where can I communicate with voters? Where can I raise money? Those are kind of the two things is like you know, basically communication strategy, and you know, being able to fundraise because you got to raise capital for the organization. Those that's basically if it's not one of those things, like how do I delegate, how do I make sure I can just have my team do it? So, but you know, it's always like what fire needs to get put out today, what's going on? There, there's always stuff that comes up.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

Absolutely. And I'm curious, did you have have you had to schedule or are you going to schedule the next month a debate with your opponent, or is it is that not how things work? And I have no idea how those kinds of things. I just did a debate prep memo for my college class. So I'm curious. Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah, it was very interesting.

SPEAKER_01 41:00

Yeah, so we've been doing forums. So we've had a number of basically, you know, uh events where all the candidates come and people ask us questions and we basically just talk about our differences and what we view. So we've been doing that since January. Those have been going on. So we've had you know a number of those. We do have two formal debates that we're doing, and those are gonna be mid-May. So we've got those coming up in about a week.

SPEAKER_00 41:24

Wow. So and and those debates are they gonna be on like televised on broadcast television, or how are they gonna how are they gonna be played out?

SPEAKER_01 41:33

So one is gonna be on C SPAN and the other one, I I know it's I think I believe it's gonna be on Zoom, and then I think they're gonna record it and put it up afterwards so people can watch it.

SPEAKER_00 41:43

That's awesome. Very, very cool. And and what would you say, like how do you think you you differ from from your opponent? Like, do you, I mean, what would you say are are some of the main differences and some of the ways that that you differentiate from from that person?

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Yeah, you know, I I think it's really about ultimately we're trying to flip the seat from, you know, being held by Republican to being held by Democrat. And so what I hear most from people is they're like, I just want to win. I want to put our best player on the field to be able to flip the seat. And so for me, it's about making the case that I am our best general election candidate to be able to flip the seat. And, you know, it's my background as a military veteran, it's my worth in work in healthcare, it's being a mom of two, really uniquely positioned me on being able to do that. And, you know, it's a really powerful combination to be able to say I've led in some of the most challenging environments that exist on this earth. I've led missions in the middle of the ocean, the middle of the night, through the Strait of Four Moose, you know, where there's no margin for error, and I got the job done. And also, I'm raising my kids in this district, and my oldest is in public school, and my youngest is in daycare, and I understand the challenges that we're facing. And also, here are the solutions that I've put together for how we can actually solve these problems that we're all facing. You know, it's a really powerful combination for people. And then, you know, the other thing I'll just add is you mentioned this at the beginning, but we desperately need campaign finance reform in this country. And, but, you know, we also have to operate in the world that we live in. And we think this race is going to cost about$10 to$15 million, which is crazy. It is insane how much money these races cost. You know, I'm proud to share that from that initial spreadsheet with my, you know,$100,000. I've raised over$2.6 million so far for this campaign. And, you know, that's come from 13,000 individual donors. 93% of my donations are$100 or less. It's a lot of grassroots support of people that believe in this mission and investing in this campaign and investing in me, which I'm incredibly grateful for. But I've outraised the rest of the field by quite a bit. And so when people are looking at this, you know, we need to have the resources we need to be able to communicate with voters. That's the other kind of key thing that I bring up.

SPEAKER_00 43:47

Yeah, I I agree. And I I think that unfortunately that most people can't raise what you've raised. And there are probably some really good candidates out there that we don't get to we don't get we don't get. To have as our leaders because of the fact that they don't have the resources or they don't they they don't know the people that you you've met. And I think it's so impressive that I mean you're the first person I've talked to, and that I've well, and as I get more educated about this issue with elections, I can ask more deeper level questions about these kinds of things. And I think that is what's frustrating is that we're we're too polarized, and the the rules of the game are just so hard to play that most people just don't even they they just know they can't afford to do what it is that you're doing. And if we can change some of those rules by which the game is played, I think we're just gonna have better outcomes, we're gonna get better leaders, we're gonna not get you know paid actors that wanna. That's what I feel like some of these people are in Congress when they're just trading barbs with one another. I feel like they're just paid actors for the Instagram reels. Yeah, and I think people are tired of that, they don't want to see that take place. And you know, and it starts at the top. I mean, as I said, I'm right of center a little, but it starts at the top when you see somebody like Trump just mouthing off on a on an X tweet and just being absolutely disrespectful and inhumane towards people. I mean, look what he did to Rob Reiner. I mean, and I and I will call these things out, even as somebody who very much, like I said, my my values and a lot of my beliefs do line up right of center. I still can look at some of the things that I see going on in Congress, and it's just it disgusts me. It's like we're better than this. We're we're we're above this, and we're adults, and the adults in the room need to speak up and they need to lead. So I think what you're doing is outstanding. Is there anything else as we're kind of starting to wind down the call? Like, is there anything about your platform? Or I just want to give you this opportunity to really express how you feel about some of these issues.

How To Help And Closing Notes

SPEAKER_01 45:43

Yeah, you know, and I'll just say on that let last note too, I appreciate you sharing that. And to me, to me, it's about what role models are we gonna have for our kids? And you know, and you know, my daughter, my oldest daughter is she's gonna be seven over the summer, and so she's starting to learn about our government. And to me, it's about I want to have good role models for her to be able to look up to, and you can be a strong leader and have empathy, and kindness is not a weakness. And so to me, it's about showing that there's a different way to lead, there's a different way to bring people together, and ultimately, you know, we are stronger when we're all working together and and you know, kind of pulling in the same direction. So I just appreciate you you sharing that. So yeah, yeah. I think as far as you know, stuff to share, I would just say if people are interested in learning more about the campaign, please follow me on social media. I'm on all the platforms. I'm Rebecca for NJO7 and also my website is Rebecca BenditforCongress.com. So if you're interested in volunteering wherever you're listening to this, you know, we have phone bake set up. So you can definitely help if you're interested in volunteering or getting plugged into the campaign. So definitely would love to have your help. If you live in New Jersey or near New Jersey, you want to come knockdoors, that would also be great. But yeah, I think to me it's just about ultimately, I think that we need more people in office that are there for the right reasons. I do just want to put a quick plug in. So I I don't know if you've heard about the Hellcats. There's a group of us that are running, they're all women veterans, and one of them nicknamed us after us basically Hellcats were the first women Marines back in World War One. And so I think to me, it's been really awesome just to get to know those other women. So it's more Sullivan is running in New Hampshire, Kate Conley's running in New York, Joe Mendoza is running out in Arizona. But it's just, I just think we need more vets in office of being able to this idea of exactly what we said of you know, get in a room and just figure it out and solve the problems, and just to be able to actually move things forward.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

So yeah, but no, this has been great. I love it. I love it, I love it, Rebecca. I wish you all the best. I will be following your campaign very closely as I'm following a few other campaigns right now. And I thank you so much for taking the time to come on the Stories of Service podcast, tell it, tell our audience a little bit about you, and talk about a new way forward because I do believe that we all can do this. And I look forward to seeing some more veterans in office because I do believe that veterans are so best positioned to get the job done and to solve some of our hardest challenges. So I will go full screen, say goodbye to the audience, say goodbye to you backstage very quickly. But thank you so much again for coming on the show.

SPEAKER_01 48:14

Yeah, sounds great. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 48:17

All right, guys, that is a wrap. But guess what? I will be back this Thursday with a very, very serious show. And we'll be interviewing the father of Brandon uh Sierta. His son uh tragically took his life uh while he was at a helicopter squadron. And uh unfortunately he was facing a lot of bullying, and so that it did result, thankfully, in an act that was passed through Congress, which requires the military to allow people no questions asked to get mental health treatment. And as it is with any bill that gets passed, there are still some loose ends to tie up. And so his father will come onto the show and talk about where we are now with that law and what we need to do to move forward. So hope you guys can join me. That'll be this Thursday at 8 p.m. But as I always do to close these calls, I thank you so much for coming on to join us and some of the questions that we saw in the comments. Thank you so much. And as I always close out these calls, please take care of yourselves. Please take care of each other. Enjoy the rest of your evening as I get my camera right, and bye bye now.