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Iraq Vet Enters Delaware Race with Call to Accept 100,000 Syrian Refugees

There are now four Democrats vying to replace Carney, who isn't seeking re-election. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
There are now four Democrats vying to replace Carney, who isn't seeking re-election. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Iraq War veteran Sean Barney on Tuesday became the fourth Democrat to enter the race for Delaware’s open at-large congressional seat.  

He announced his campaign with a call for the U.S. to accept 200,000 refugees, including 100,000 from Syria, this fiscal year.  

“Times like this define the character of who we are as a nation,” Barney said in a statement.  

“For the sake of our security, we should embrace these families and children fleeing violence and tyranny, rather than force them to languish in refugee camps that will destabilize our allies and become recruitment grounds for ISIS.”  

Since the terrorist attacks on Paris on Nov. 13, more than half of America’s governors have called for halting the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states. Also, nearly 50 House Democrats sided with Republicans in voting for a bill that would add an extra layer of security checks to Iraqis and Syrians hoping to enter the U.S. as refugees.  

Barney joined the Marines after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and received the Purple Heart after being wounded in Fallujah, Iraq. He worked as policy director for Gov. Jack Markell after returning from Iraq and now is president of a Delaware venture capital firm.  

In 2014, he ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer. VoteVets backed his candidacy and is expected to support his congressional campaign.  

Barney joins Lisa Blunt Rochester , the state’s first African-American secretary of labor, state Sen. Bryan Townsend, and state Rep. Bryon Short, a small business owner and former aide to Sen. Thomas R. Carper, in the Democratic race to replace Rep. John Carney. In September, Carney announced  he would run for governor rather than seek re-election.  

The district has twice gone for President Barack Obama by double digits, so whoever wins the Democratic primary has a good shot at holding the seat.  

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