From combat boots to the campaign trail: Army veteran marches into Michigan congressional race

Last week, Bouchard announced his campaign to represent Michigan's 10th Congressional District in the race to replace Rep. John James, R-Mich., who is retiring from Congress to run for governor next year. Ahead of Veterans Day, the Army veteran, paratrooper and Bronze Star recipient shared his vision for Michigan with Fox News Digital.

"This race, it's gonna be tough," Bouchard said. "I'm ready for that fight. I just got back from fighting a war abroad, and I didn't take a vacation. I'm here. I'm ready to go right now for the people of this district and for everyone who loves this country."

Throughout his military career, Bouchard said he felt the impact and ramifications of the decisions made in the nation's capital. 

"I spent about nine years in the Army, most of it was active duty," Bouchard said. "I was an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division, and I did intel for the 82nd. And then after that, I got out and joined the National Guard. And as soon as I got back, they asked me to go to Iraq, so I spent the last nine months in Iraq. I got back from Iraq two weeks ago, and we're hitting the ground running."

After former President Joe Biden completed the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, when 13 U.S. service members were killed in the Kabul airport bombing, Bouchard said he expected Russia, China and North Korea to become "more aggressive in their spheres of influence." About six months later, Russia invaded Ukraine. 

"Peace through strength isn't just a slogan to me," Bouchard told Fox News Digital. "I've seen it. I've lived it. I've led soldiers on the frontline that serve under what those decisions mean."

"I've led soldiers at the ground level. I've led negotiations at the strategic level. And I've made life and death decisions to hunt down our enemies abroad. And then the other part is, I have served at our border here. So I've faced down terrorists abroad, and I've defended our country here," Bouchard said.

Bouchard is a third-generation Michigander and the son of Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. His grandfather served in the Army during World War II before working for General Motors for 33 years.

"I love this state. I grew up here. I was born here. I live in this district, and this is home to me," Bouchard said.

Bouchard described the residents of Michigan's 10th Congressional District as the "salt of the earth," explaining that Michiganders ultimately want to work hard, raise a family, send their kids to good schools and live their lives without politics coming into play.

"I want to rebuild this economy to, not just win future wars, but to prevent them. I think if we truly stand up this economy to what it can be, we won't have the future war that everyone keeps talking about because we have built the best equipment in this district," he said. 

"Right now, housing costs are through the roof," he said. "The interest rates are too high, and people can't afford to buy the home that they want. There are a lot of things that we can do at the federal level to reduce that regulation, cut red tape and make it easier for people who are starting families to buy a house, move into the house that they want and own that home."