Correction: In a previous version of this article it stated that Matthew Hoh had served in Afghanistan three times, he has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan for a total of three times. Elon News Network regrets this error.
Matthew Hoh is running for the U.S. Senate as a Green Party candidate to help grow the party and give people another option of who to vote for. Hoh is a first time political candidate and said he has learned a lot through this experience.
“I believe the two party system is corrupt,” Hoh said. “Definitely it's undemocratic, and I believe it's harmful.”
Hoh said a main platform he has revolves around the antiwar work he’s been doing. Hoh served in Afghanistan and Iraq for a total of three times before he said he started speaking out against the war. He is upset by the inaction from the government.
“These wars that are still wrecking lives, and there's been no accountability for it,” Hoh said. “We've had almost no action on climate change, no real action. We've had just a series of financial collapses that have ruined 10s of millions of people, and the banks and the corporations get rewarded for it through bailouts.”
Hoh said while this isn’t an election he expects to win, he is running to get greater name recognition for the Green Party and its platforms and wants to give people more options in representation.
“I view the Green Party and other independent political movements as a way to represent people who otherwise aren't being represented,” Hoh said. “ That’s what 60% of the people who are living paycheck to paycheck say. That's the reason why I'm running with the Green Party.”
He also is thinking long term, not just for the midterm election. Hoh said when campaigning, many people didn’t know what the Green Party was.
“We've gotten to this point now. And so as we run a few races around the state this year, we've got three candidates this year in 2024, we'll have six or seven candidates, 2026 have 10 or 12 or 14 candidates, just continue to grow that way,” Hoh said. “That's the other primary goal of my campaign has been to get people experience, you know, give people, particularly the younger people on our team, the experience they need to do this in the future.”