# Matt Maasdam 20-year Navy SEAL (SEAL Team Three) and former **Presidential Military Aide to Barack Obama** — including nuclear-football duty — running in the 2026 Democratic primary for [[MI-07-2026]] against freshman Republican [[Tom Barrett]]. Announced **2025-07-01**, the second Democrat in. Endorsed by **VoteVets** and **End [[Citizens United v. FEC]]** (April 2026). Q3 2025: $618K+ raised. April 2026 polling: Maasdam +4 over Barrett (43–39) — statistically tied with primary co-leader [[Bridget Brink]]. An unusually pure biographical case for persuadable Republican and independent voters: SEAL service plus direct-access White House military role spans the security and executive-branch experience frames simultaneously. ## 2026 cycle - **Primary date**: 2026-08-04 (Michigan) - **Rating**: Cook / Sabato / Inside Elections Toss Up; Cook PVI 2025 **EVEN** - **Polymarket** has not materially separated Maasdam from Brink in primary probability as of April 2026, despite Brink's institutional-endorsement edge (EMILYs List) - **Head-to-head generals**: both Brink (+4) and Maasdam (+4) ahead of Barrett in April 2026 polling - **D primary field (7 active)**: Brink, Maasdam, William Lawrence, Elyon Badger, Muhammad Salman Rais, Alexandra Prieditis. Josh Cowen withdrew October 2025 endorsing Brink — no equivalent consolidation around Maasdam. ## Background - 20 years active duty [[U.S. Navy]] SEAL; SEAL Team Three - Served as **Presidential Military Aide to Barack Obama**, including nuclear-football duty (one of five rotating officers) - Harvard Kennedy School MPA (post-military) - Post-military career: Under Armour; founded e-commerce ventures - First-time candidate for elected office ## Ideological positioning - Centrist national-security Democrat - VoteVets-backed; End Citizens United-backed — pairs veteran credential with campaign-finance-reform lane - Lives and runs in a PVI-EVEN bellwether — no partisan-identity forcing function - Risk: both he and Brink occupy the "establishment-credential outsider" lane, which could split the moderate-consolidation vote and let Lawrence (Sunrise Movement / WFP) plurality-win if Brink-Maasdam split evenly ## Related - [[MI-07-2026]] — 2026 race file - [[Tom Barrett]] — incumbent opponent - [[Bridget Brink]] — primary co-leader - [[Barack Obama]] — former commander-in-chief whom Maasdam directly served ## Sources - [FEC — Matt Maasdam committee (C00909549)](https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00909549/?cycle=2026) - [Michigan Public — Maasdam announcement (2025-07-01)](https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2025-07-01/second-democrat-announces-primary-campaign-to-unseat-gop-congressman-in-competitive-michigan-7th-district/) - [VoteVets — Maasdam profile](https://votevets.org/candidates/matt-maasdam)