The Democrats Abroad Global Veterans and Military Families (VMF) Caucus is proud to speak with Democratic candidates running for office in 2026. Military and overseas citizen voters (a.k.a. "UOCAVA voters") are strongly encouraged to fill out a Federal Post Card Application using VoteFromAbroad.org as soon as possible in order to register (or re-register) to vote, and to request a ballot for all elections happening back in your home state in 2026.
The second candidate VMF spoke to this election cycle was Kevin Ryan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a teacher in Chicago public schools. With Sen. Dick Durbin not running for reelection, Kevin is running to be the next U.S. Senator from Illinois. He shared with us his thoughts on issues such as accessing VA health care abroad and the worries of Americans with non-citizen family members, among other items.
Have a listen to Kevin and feel free to share this video with other Illinois voters you know. To reach Kevin with any questions you may have, he can be reached at [email protected]. Questions for the VMF Caucus can be directed to [email protected].
Participants on this call:
-
Kevin Ryan, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate
-
Julian Becker, Illinois UOCAVA Voter and member of Democrats Abroad United Kingdom
-
Michael Ramos, Illinois UOCAVA Voter and member of Democrats Abroad Australia
*Note: Of the eleven Democratic candidates currently running in the race for U.S. Senate from Illinois, nine of the candidates did not respond to VMF's request for a speaking engagement. VMF is grateful to Kevin for taking the time to share his thoughts with us before Illinois' UOCAVA voters return their ballots.
Click here to view VMF's interview with Candidate Ryan: https://youtu.be/97sHhSGRJx4.
______________
The VMF Caucus has a membership of over 1,400 members located in dozens of countries and proudly consists of veterans, military family members, Department of Defense civilians, other national security professionals, and strong allies of our causes.