Ben Leming is a Democratic candidate for the 6th Congressional District of Tennessee. However, since he is currently on active duty, he is not permitted to campaign or engage in any partisan political activity.
Ben's wife, Sarah, will be hosting a life chat on Ustream.tv today, starting in just a few minutes. Please feel free to join the chat and learn more.
I had an opportunity to meet Ben's mother, Susie Leming-Lee, recently at an event in Nashville. She is a lifelong Democrat, a nurse quality manager at Vanderbilt University hospital, and a proud mother!
More after the jump, including the press release on today's live chat.
Just a quick update on the 6th district. Tennessee's 6th Congressional District has been a long-time Democratic party stronghold. Years ago, it was the district of Al Gore before he ran for US Senate. For the past 25 years or so, the seat has been held by Bart Gordon, a Blue Dog coalition member who has been a strong advocate of science and technology research as the Chairman of the House Science Committee.
Because of the suburban nature of this district, the demographics have changed considerably over the past 20 years. While the district was largely rural, it also includes two major Tennessee universities - Tennessee Tech and Middle Tennessse State University. More recently, the district has seen rapid economic development, suburban sprawl, and rapid population growth.
Ben Leming is a Murfreesboro native who joined the Marines right out of high school. He attended the Naval Academy, which is where he met Sarah.
One of the things Ben has been talking about since beginning to explore his candidacy is the idea of "Mission before politics" - the idea that partisanship should not matter as much as collaboration with fellow Americans to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Ben is a helicopter pilot, and also teaches leadership courses at the Naval Academy.
Here's the announcement of today's live chat with Ben's wife, Sarah:
SARAH LEMING TO HOLD VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCE ON USTREAM
WHEN: Friday, April 23, 2010 1:00pm CST
WHERE: http://www.ustream.tv/...
Sarah Leming, the wife of congressional candidate Ben Leming, will hold a virtual press conference Friday, April 23rd at 1:00pm via streaming video and audio on Ustream. Ben cannot yet actively campaign because he remains on active service as a Captain in the United State Marines.
Sarah Leming is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve. She is currently pursuing a master’s in Public Policy from the University of Maryland. Sarah and Ben have two boys, Kyle and Jacob.
The press conference will begin with an opening statement from Sarah detailing how Ben will put the mission first, and place politics last, as a Member of Congress. She will then open the forum up for questions from members of the media and 6th Congressional District residents.
Members of the media and residents can go to the URL listed above to view the event. They can establish a log-in with the website to use the "chat" function and ask Sarah questions which she will answer live through streaming video.
The press conference requires a "Ustream" account which is free and very easy to obtain.
Ben Leming, a Marine Captain, Naval Academy graduate, and Iraq War helicopter combat veteran, is running to replace the retiring Bart Gordon in Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District.
Full Disclosure: I am not a paid staff member of any political organization, party, campaign, or candidate. I am a Tennessee resident who is actively involved as a volunteer in state Democratic politics.