The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is endorsing former Captain Kevin M. Nicholson, USMC as the 118th Combat Veterans For Congress candidate in the last 9 years; he is a fiscally conservative candidate who will work to rein in the out of control spending by irresponsible members of Congress, reduce the national debt, and will work toward unleashing the private sector to create jobs, and stimulate private sector business investment.  He believes in an efficient government that serves the people and upholds the highest standards of integrity and transparency.  Captain Nicholson of Delafield, Wisconsin, is running in the primary election for the Republican nomination to run for the United States Senate in Wisconsin for the seat currently held by Senator Tammy Baldwin.  Baldwin has been a career politician, having served in the Senate for 6 years, in Congress for 14 years, in the state legislature for 6 years, and on the Dane County Board of Supervisors for 8 years.  All told, she has been an elected official for 34 years.

Baldwin was one of the first Senators to sign on to support the very dangerous Iranian Nuclear Weapons Agreement, which has permitted Iran to develop nuclear weapons and has sent billions of dollars in cash on pallets, loaded onto cargo planes, and delivered to the Iranian government.  Baldwin supported this deal as Iran manufactured Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and Explosive Formed Penetrators (EFPs) and provided them to Radical Islamic Terrorists.  It is unconscionable that Baldwin was willing to support this deal with an enemy of the United States, who had been killing and maiming American military personnel on the battle fields in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The current Iranian government is the largest state sponsor of terror that should never receive support nor cover from the United States.

Baldwin supported the flawed Obamacare health insurance program and now supports single-payer government-run healthcare for all Americans.  Many veterans with access to the VA medical system, a government-run health care system, will tell you that this system has wreaked havoc on their lives and blocked their timely access to care.  Baldwin failed to respond to concerns raised by a whistleblower with concrete information regarding over-prescription of opioids at the Veterans Administration Hospital, in Tomah, Wisconsin, resulting in the death of at least one veteran.

Kevin comes from a family of Honorable American Patriots who have long heard the call to serve and defend their country.  Kevin’s Grandfather Ed Mandarich served in the US Army Air Corps training radar operators, and his Grandfather John Nicholson served in the Pacific Theatre as a US Navy Gunnersmate in a Navy Guard Unit aboard US Merchant Marine Tankers during WWII; he was Honorably Discharged as a First Class Petty Officer.  Kevin’s Great Uncle Don Behling served in the United States Marine Corps, and his Great Uncle Jerry Behling served in the US Army, during the Korean War era.  Kevin’s Cousin SGT Eric Nicholson, USA is currently serving in the US Army at Fort Riley, KS.  

Kevin Nicholson is a native of Wisconsin and was and born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 1, 1977.  The bulk of Kevin’s youth was spent in the greater Milwaukee area.  He attended elementary school and middle school in the greater Milwaukee area, and in June 1996 he graduated from Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisconsin.  Kevin played football, baseball, wrestled, and ran track while matriculating at Homestead High School.

In June 2003, Kevin graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, with a major in Political Science and a minor in History.  In June 2012, Kevin graduated from both Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he was conferred with a Master of Arts Degree in Public Administration and from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he was conferred with a Master of Business Administration.  

On October 3, 2004, Kevin Nicholson reported to the Marine Corps Command Development Command at the US Marine Corps Base, Quantico, VA, and entered Officers Candidate School on base; he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps in December 2004.  Following completion of Officers Candidate School, in February 2005 he reported to Martial Arts Instructor Course (green belt instructor) and completed the instructor course in March 2005.  In April 2005, 2nd Lt Nicholson reported to The Basic School (BOC-05) at Quantico, and completed Basic Marine Corps Officer Training in October 2005.  In October 2005, 2nd Lt Nicholson reported to the Combat Engineer Orientation Course at the US Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, NC.  He completed training in February 2006 and reported to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2D Marine Division at Camp Lejeune.  Second Lieutenant Nicolson was promoted to First Lieutenant in December 2006, and assigned as the Platoon Leader of Combat Engineer Platoon to train 37 Marines in preparation for deployment.

In March 2007, as part of the troop surge, 1st Lt Nicholson’s Combat Engineer Platoon was deployed to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Division.  The Combat Engineer Platoon supported two large units, the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in Rawah, Iraq and the 1st Infantry Battalion at Al Qaim, Iraq.  He served as an expert and advisor in support of both unit commanders.  During his deployment, 1st Lt Nicholson executed Combat Engineer capabilities to include: standard infantry operations, the use of standard infantry weaponry, demolitions, construction of survivability positions, and breaching enemy obstacles & fortifications.  His platoon was also involved in detection and reduction of enemy weaponry, ammunition, and explosives.  In November 2007, 1st Lt Nicholson returned to CONUS, and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and various Campaign and Service Medals.

In December 2007, 1st Lt Nicholson was ordered to report as Company Commander, Headquarters and Service Company in the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; in November 2008, 1st Lt Nicholson was promoted to Captain.  In November 2008, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Captain Nicholson deployed to Forward Operating Base Ramrod, in the Maiwand District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.  The Maiwand District is the ancestral homeland of the Taliban.  Forward Operating Base Ramrod was named after the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, US Army.  Captain Nicholson led a counter-IED Team as part of Task Force Paladin that was comprised of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and civilian personnel that worked to remove IEDs---disarming and cleaning up----from the battlefield.  Captain Nicholson’s Counter-IED Team served as a Quick Reaction Force in support of the US Army’s 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment at Forward Operating Base Ramrod.  

Captain Nicholson retuned to CONUS in May 2009.  Captain Nicholson was Honorably Discharged from the US Marine Corps on August 1, 2009.  During his Marine Corps career, Captain Nicholson was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the NATO Medal, and various Campaign and Service Medals.  

In September 2009, Kevin entered Dartmouth Tuck’s School of Business in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the Master of Business curriculum.  In June 2012, Kevin graduated from both schools and was conferred a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Harvard and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Dartmouth.  Kevin was employed at McKinsey & Company from May 2012 to February 2015.  Since March 2015, he has been employed at ghSMART.   

Kevin is a member of the American Legion, the VFW, the National Rifle Association, the Marine Corps Association, and the Marine Corps League.  Kevin’s endorsements are from National Security Advisor John Bolton, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Ed Rollins (former campaign manager for President Ronald Reagan), Club for Growth, Wisconsin Family Action, Freedom Works, the Madison Project, Great American PAC, the Combat Veterans For Congress PAC, and the Tea Party Patriots.  Kevin, his wife Jessie, live in Delafield with their children Connor, Emily, and Kate; they attend the First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is pleased to endorse Captain Kevin M. Nicholson, USMC, who will bring to Congress private sector skills and wisdom to better solve problems in government and will represent Wisconsin and the Republic. If you review Captain Nicholson’s positions on his Web site, you would be pleased with his stands; they agree with the Combat Veterans For Congress Mission Statement.  We look forward to working with Captain Nicholson, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his caliber is running for Congress. 
 

If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in Wisconsin, kindly pass this E-mail on to them, and ask them to support Captain Nicholson by working in his campaign, providing financial support for his campaign in any amount, and/or by networking with others who would be willing to support his campaign.  The military is one of the few remaining institutions producing the caliber of men and women needed to restore this nation to the greatness our Founding Fathers envisioned.  We have endorsed another Combat Veteran For Congress that General George Washington would have approved of.  He is a Veteran who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including his life.”