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Republican Navy Veteran Enters Race for Missouri Senate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Another Navy veteran is running for statewide office in Missouri.

The Springfield News-Leader reported Courtland Sykes on Tuesday announced his candidacy for Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's seat. Sykes is touting himself as a Republican outsider.

McCaskill up for re-election in 2018. Other Republican contenders include Attorney General Josh Hawley.

According to his campaign website, Sykes joined the Navy in 2001 and worked as an intelligence analyst with the Navy SEALs.

The newspaper reports that Arkansas Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman also paid Sykes to do military and veteran affairs work in 2016.

Sykes appears to be using strategies similar to those employed by Republican Gov. Eric Greitens, who successfully touted his work as a former Navy SEAL officer and role as a political outsider during his 2016 campaign.

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