{{Short description|Nonprofit executive, retired U.S. Navy pilot, political candidate}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Ken Harbaugh | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|12|15}} | birth_place = Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | education = Duke University {{small|(BA)}}<br />Yale University {{small|(JD)}} | allegiance = {{flag|United States}} | branch = {{flag|United States Navy}} | service_years = 1996–2005<ref name="VS Bio" /> | rank = {{Dodseal|USNO3|25}} Lieutenant | battles = Operation Enduring Freedom | commands = Electronic Warfare Mission Commander<br />Combat Reconnaissance Crew Mission Commander | mawards = 30px Navy Commendation Medal<br />border|30px Navy Achievement Medal (2) }} '''Ken Harbaugh''' (born December 15, 1973)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.insideelections.com/news/article/candidate-conversation-ken-harbaugh-d |title=Candidate Conversation - Ken Harbaugh (D) |access-date=2018-11-06 |archive-date=2018-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132208/https://www.insideelections.com/news/article/candidate-conversation-ken-harbaugh-d |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Challenge Gibbs" /><ref name="Clift">{{Cite web |last=Clift |first=Eleanor |date=September 12, 2018 |title=Can Democrat Ken Harbaugh Win an Ohio District Trump Carried by 30 Points? |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/can-democrat-ken-harbaugh-win-an-ohio-district-trump-carried-by-30-points |access-date=September 29, 2018 |website=The Daily Beast |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121171401/https://www.thedailybeast.com/can-democrat-ken-harbaugh-win-an-ohio-district-trump-carried-by-30-points |url-status=live }}</ref> is a former United States Navy pilot, nonprofit executive, and author. Harbaugh was the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives seat to represent Ohio's 7th congressional district in the 2018 election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avon resident Ken Harbaugh launches congressional campaign |url=http://www.morningjournal.com/article/MJ/20170602/NEWS/170609831 |access-date=January 14, 2018 |newspaper=The Morning Journal |archive-date=January 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114073923/http://www.morningjournal.com/article/MJ/20170602/NEWS/170609831 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Early life, education, and military service == Harbaugh, who grew up in a military family, earned a bachelor of science degree from Duke University in 1996 and a juris doctor degree from Yale Law School in 2008. He studied at Oxford University while an undergraduate at Duke.<ref name="Challenge Gibbs" /><ref name="VS Bio">{{Cite web |title=Ken Harbaugh's Biography |url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/178847/ken-harbaugh |access-date=September 29, 2018 |website=Vote Smart}}</ref> He served for nine years in the United States Navy as a naval aviator. His qualifications include Electronic Warfare Aircraft Commander.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 8, 2014 |title=A Note From Our Chief Operating Officer - Team Rubicon |url=https://teamrubiconusa.org/a-note-from-our-chief-operating-officer/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405124937/https://teamrubiconusa.org/a-note-from-our-chief-operating-officer/ |archive-date=April 5, 2015 |access-date=January 25, 2017 |website=teamrubiconusa.org}}</ref> He was the lead pilot of an EP-3A Aries II electronic reconnaissance aircraft.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cappucci |first=Lt. (jg) Lou |date=November 1991 |title=Watching the World: EVACs, EVALs, and EWOPs |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/1990/pdf/nd91.pdf |journal=Naval Aviation News |publisher=Naval Historical Center |volume=74 |pages=16–18 |archive-date=2025-12-14 |access-date=2026-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251214175742/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/1990/pdf/nd91.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2015, Harbaugh wrote an opinion piece in ''The New York Times'', criticizing what he regards as a lax U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation program.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Harbaugh|first=Ken|date=1 June 2015|title=The Risk of Over-Thanking Our Veterans|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/01/opinion/the-risk-of-over-thanking-our-veterans.html|access-date=2021-01-24|page=19|issn=0362-4331|quote=And while most vets who receive disability checks deserve them, one of the worst kept secrets among those seeking a disability rating is that the system can be beaten. Claim the right combination of symptoms, whether you are suffering or not, and there is a decent chance you can get a monthly disability check, tax free, for the rest of your life. There are even blogs out there to walk you through the process of claiming an injury that cannot be disproved.|archive-date=2015-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607032909/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/01/opinion/the-risk-of-over-thanking-our-veterans.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Ken Harbaugh was the 2020 Hooah Award winner, given annually to an American veteran "who defines citizenship through service to our country, both in uniform and beyond".{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} His writing on civil-military affairs has appeared in ''The Atlantic'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Bulwark'', and ''Yale Journal of International Law''. He served as a commentator for National Public Radio and as host for Crooked Media's ''Reclaiming Patriotism''. He currently hosts several podcasts, including ''Warriors in Their Own Words'', and ''Burn the Boats'', which received a 2021 Ambies nomination for best political podcast of the year.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}
== Nonprofit career == In 2007, Harbaugh co-founded The Mission Continues, a nonprofit focusing on veterans issues, with Eric Greitens, who went on to become the Republican governor of Missouri.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bogan |first=Jesse |date=April 14, 2018 |title=Veterans of The Mission Continues shaken by Greitens saga |publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/veterans-of-the-mission-continues-shaken-by-greitens-saga/article_36857fd5-0de3-5440-a495-fabf97de7972.html |access-date=30 October 2018 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119045546/https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/veterans-of-the-mission-continues-shaken-by-greitens-saga/article_36857fd5-0de3-5440-a495-fabf97de7972.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Mission Continues was chronicled in Joe Klein's book ''Charlie Mike'', which detailed the efforts of Harbaugh, Greitens, and others to raise money for and then staff their organization.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKelvey |first=Tara |date=November 20, 2015 |title=Joe Klein's 'Charlie Mike' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/books/review/joe-kleins-charlie-mike.html |access-date=January 25, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507051005/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/books/review/joe-kleins-charlie-mike.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
He is the former president of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit that deploys military veterans worldwide as emergency first responders.<ref name="Challenge Gibbs">{{Cite news |last=Tobias |first=Andrew J. |date=June 1, 2017 |title=Ken Harbaugh, former naval pilot and nonprofit executive, to challenge U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs in 2018 |work=The Plain Dealer |agency=Cleveland.com |url=https://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2017/06/ken_harbaugh_former_us_navy_pi.html |access-date=September 23, 2018 |archive-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924033415/https://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2017/06/ken_harbaugh_former_us_navy_pi.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Publications == His writing on civil-military affairs has appeared in The Atlantic, ''The Bulwark'', ''The New York Times'', and the ''Yale Journal of International Law''. He hosts several podcasts, including ''Warriors in Their Own Words'', and ''Burn the Boats'', which received a 2021 Ambies nomination for best political podcast of the year.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}
He released videos via his Substack website, ''The Ken Harbaugh Show''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://substack.com/@thekenharbaughshow |title=Archived copy |access-date=2025-11-26 |archive-date=2025-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251007082239/https://substack.com/@thekenharbaughshow |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Personal life == Harbaugh and his wife, Annmarie, have two daughters and a son.<ref name="Election Guide">{{Cite news |last=Joliffe |first=Christina |date=April 29, 2018 |title=2018 Primary Election Guide: U.S. House 7th District |work=The Chronicle-Telegram |url=http://www.chroniclet.com/elections/2018/04/29/2018-Primary-Election-Guide-U-S-House-7th-District.html |access-date=September 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 6, 2017 |title=Ken Harbaugh for OH-7 (verified account) |url=https://www.facebook.com/KenHarbaughforCongress/photos/a.134745830394456/134745230394516/?type=3&theater |access-date=September 29, 2018 |website=Facebook}}</ref> In 2009, the family moved from Connecticut to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and then moved to California in 2014.<ref name="Residence">{{Cite news |last=Tobias |first=Andrew J. |date=September 18, 2018 |title=Democratic congressional candidate Ken Harbaugh pays thousands in taxes over residency issue |work=The Plain Dealer |agency=Cleveland.com |url=https://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2018/09/democratic_congressional_candi.html |access-date=September 29, 2018 |archive-date=September 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919115629/https://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2018/09/democratic_congressional_candi.html |url-status=live }}</ref> They moved back to Ohio in 2016.<ref name="Residence" />
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbaugh, Ken}} Category:Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections Category:Duke University alumni Category:Living people Category:Ohio Democrats Category:United States Naval Aviators Category:United States Navy officers Category:Yale Law School alumni Category:1973 births