Marjorie K. Eastman, a combat veteran, former intelligence officer and mother of one, made her entry into North Carolina's Republican U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday.
The Cary resident plans to distinguish herself from the three leading candidates, U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, former Gov. Pat McCrory and ex-Rep. Mark Walker, as a political outsider with a fresh perspective.
“We need battle-tested leaders, not career politicians, and I look at the others in the primary, and they are just like President (Joe) Biden,” Eastman said in an interview Monday night. “If you add them all up, they have over four decades of being politicians, and we are not gonna get different results if we don’t send different people.”
Eastman said she decided to make a late entry into the race after the Biden administration's botched withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 10 civilians, including children.
She declined to say whether she accepts the fact that Biden was the legitimate 2020 winner and got over 7 million more popular votes than former President Donald Trump.
"When you look at what we see as the results, we are still having this question. The fact that you're still asking me this question is the answer to the question,” Eastman said.
Eastman said she has stayed off most social media platforms. With 45 Twitter followers as of Tuesday afternoon, she insisted she is prepared for an uphill battle.
“No one will outwork me," she said.