Greek-American Hero Skarlatos at Final Stretch for Congress Seat

As time closes in for the 2022 midterm elections on Tuesday, November 8, Alek Skarlatos, the Greek-American former soldier who tackled a terror attack on a Paris-bound train in 2015, is vying to win Oregon’s 4th Congressional House seat in his second run for Congress.

All 435 U.S. House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are on the ballot as the Democrats’ majority in Congress is razor-thin, and the Senate is a 50-50 split.

Skarlatos’s bid for Congress

Skarlatos was previously defeated by a narrow margin in 2020’s election when he ran against 18-term Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio, who has been in office for longer than Skarlatos has been alive — since the year 1987.

In December 2021, DeFazio announced that he would not seek re-election in 2022.

According to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), Skarlatos and Democrat Val Hoyle are the most hopeful candidates vying to replace retiring DeFazio. There are three other candidates on the ballot: Mike Beilstein, Levi Leatherberry and Jim Howard.

So far, Skarlatos has a financial advantage in fundraising -like it happened in 2020- but Democrats have a substantial voter registration edge in Oregon.

With only a few days left to mail ballots, I recently joined KOBI-TV, to outline my solutions to improve Oregon’s economy and bring balance to Washington.

Make sure to turn in your ballot as soon as possible. find a ballot box near you: https://t.co/86NpRUkc2c#ORPOL #Vote 🗳️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/kWXZ8oEgBh

— Alek Skarlatos (@alekskarlatos) November 4, 2022

“My life’s mission is to represent the America I know and love – the world’s bastion of freedom and economic prosperity. I protected innocent civilians by taking down a terrorist on a Paris-bound train. Now, I want to serve and protect you in Congress,” Skarlatos states on his fundraising website.

Tackling Train Terror Attack

Alek Skarlatos was one of six passengers on board a Paris-bound train from Amsterdam who tackled an armed terrorist in 2015, saving the lives of fellow travelers.

An Army National Guard soldier at the time, Skarlatos was on a European vacation with two childhood friends as he returned from Afghanistan.

The events of that day were later depicted in a Clint Eastwood film, “15:17 to Paris”, with Skarlatos playing himself.

The Greek-American train hero had also previously competed on season 21 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, with pro dancer Lindsay Arnold as his partner, and finished in third place.