Jason Kander

Jason David Kander (born May 4, 1981) is an American attorney, author, veteran, and politician.

Kander was born on May 4, 1981, in Overland Park, Kansas, the son of Janet (née Secor), a juvenile probation officer, and Steve Kander, a police officer who later ran a small business.

He is the nephew of composer John Kander, best known for writing the scores of Cabaret and Chicago.

His father is Jewish, and Kander was brought up in a Jewish household that he describes as "Reform but not very observant."

He was raised in Shawnee, Kansas, with his younger brother, Jeff, and several troubled children that his parents fostered.

He graduated from Bishop Miege High School in 1999, where he played baseball and was a member of the debate team.

He attended American University in Washington, D.C., where he studied political science.

After the September 11 attacks, Kander enlisted in the Army National Guard.

While earning his JD degree at Georgetown University Law Center in the capital; he earned his commission as a second lieutenant through the university's ROTC battalion.

He completed law school in 2005, and volunteered for a tour in Afghanistan.

There he served as an intelligence officer.

While serving, his main responsibilities included investigating groups and individuals suspected of corruption, espionage, drug trafficking, and facilitating Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

When he returned home, Kander took a position as an instructor at the Missouri Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School at Fort Leonard Wood.

He taught 'leadership skills in combat' to hundreds of students.

He also worked as an adjunct instructor in political science at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, and as an attorney at local law firms.

Heartland Democrats of America (HDA) was a political action committee founded in 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri, by Kander and his wife, Diana.

He served as the treasurer until 2007.

HDA raised over one hundred thousand dollars from special interest groups and individuals in support of Democratic candidates and causes.

Notable supporters included current and former state and city elected officials, along with national figures, such as Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman and former Virginia governor; George Lakoff, an author and professor at the University of California, Berkeley; John Halpin, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress; and Mark Talisman, an author, Democratic activist, and president of the Project Judaica Foundation.

HDA's mission was to "recognize the need for Democrats to engage in, expand, and ultimately win the 'values debate.' HDA members understand that progress cannot wait for the next campaign season, because Democrats need to start changing minds now. HDA champions strong Democratic values in Missouri and throughout America's Heartland. The era of the apologetic Democrat in middle America is being laid to rest forever – replaced by a unifying values message worthy of the hard-working people of middle America."

HDA was officially terminated in 2008.

Kander was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2008, representing the 44th district.

He easily defeated two other Democrats in the primary election, and was unchallenged in the general election.

Serving on the Budget Committee, Kander fought against no-bid contracts and worked to pass balanced budgets without raising taxes.

He helped pass legislation strengthening Missouri's human trafficking laws, as well as a law that enabled authorities to prevent kidnappings during custody battles.

He had previously served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2009 to 2013.

Before entering politics, he was an intelligence officer in the Army Reserve.

He served in Afghanistan and achieved the rank of captain.

In addition to his legislative duties, he was appointed in 2009 to serve on the Missouri Veterans Commission, which oversees all services for the state's veterans.

In 2010, he was named one of ten finalists for the Army Reserve Association's Major General Strom Thurmond Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year Award.

In 2010, Kander worked with Republican colleague Tim Flook to pass the first major ethics reform bill in Missouri since 1991.

Later that year, he ran for re-election to his seat and won 69.6% of the vote to defeat Republican Sally Miller.

He was honorably discharged at the rank of captain in 2011.

A Democrat, he served as the 39th secretary of state of Missouri, from 2013 to 2017.

He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate for Missouri in 2016, losing the election to Republican incumbent Roy Blunt.

After the Senate election, Kander founded an organization called Let America Vote, a campaign dedicated to ending voter suppression.

Though he was a rumored 2020 presidential candidate making frequent trips to early primary states, he instead declared as a candidate in the 2019 Kansas City mayoral election before dropping out on October 2, 2018, while revealing that he suffered from PTSD and depression stemming from his service in Afghanistan.

Kander serves as president of national expansion at VCP (Veterans Community Project), a non-profit organization serving homeless and at-risk veterans with tiny homes, wrap-around support services, and emergency assistance.

After the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, Kander founded the Afghan Rescue Project to assist Afghans he had served alongside.

The non-profit organization has since evacuated thousands of Afghans who assisted the United States.