It was just a joke, he says. Still, previously little-known Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Tom Jandron of Clancy got plenty of attention for his vow to send U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) to war upon taking office.
“I’m running for US Senate,” Jandron wrote last week on the social platform X. “If elected, the first bill I introduce will draft Lindsey Graham into any conflict he publicly supports while in office.”
A retired member of the Montana National Guard who served in Afghanistan, Jandron’s post attracted more than 23,000 likes in five days. Yet he explained to The Monitor that his assertion was not entirely serious.
“My comment about Lindsey Graham was obviously tongue-in-cheek, and it clearly resonated with people,” he said in an emailed statement.
Jandron explained that he had no plans to draft such a bill, but that he would work to end the “wars of choice” created by Washington power players. The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, following failed nuclear deal talks.
Graham has strongly supported the Trump administration’s military operations on Iran and encouraged the White House to “take” Kharg Island, Iran’s offshore oil export hub. Jandron said he and many of his fellow veterans had grown tired of politicians who start and support wars because they face little risk.
“The men who beat the loudest war drums seldom have any skin in the game,” he said. “Lindsey Graham has no children who will be sent to fight and die in Israel’s war in Iran. But as a veteran with three children, I cannot sit back quietly as the U.S. fights yet another war that goes against our country’s interests.”
Jandron followed up his initial X post with a vow to “never” accept funding from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that supports the policies of Israel. He told The Monitor that his campaign is grassroots, with no Public Action Committee funding.
“I have not received any money from PACs, and have since received donations from Montana’s voters and nationwide as a result of my announcement to run,” said Jandron.
Jandron is running to replace Sen. Steve Daines, who retired minutes before the early March filing deadline and endorsed Kurt Alme, a former U.S. attorney for Montana. Jandron, one of two libertarians in the race, along with three Republicans and five Democrats, will face off against Kyle Austin of Billings in the primary election June 2.
