Rep. Tulsi Gabbard broke down barriers when she became the first Samoan-American and first Hindu elected to Congress. Before her election in 2012, she served the Hawaiian Army National Guard — first in Iraq and then Kuwait. Before that, Gabbard became the youngest woman ever elected in the state, when she won a Hawaii House seat at age 21. On Jan. 11, Gabbard declared she’s looking to break down another barrier by becoming America’s first woman president.
Qualifications: After being homeschooled for most of her life, Gabbard studied business at Hawaii Pacific University and graduated in 2009. Gabbard does not have an advanced degree, but does have experience serving on Honolulu’s city council, in Hawaii’s state legislature, in the Army National Guard and as a congresswoman.
Rationale: Gabbard has recently visited crucial states like Iowa and New Hampshire. She also wrote a book slated to be published this spring. Unlike Trump, Gabbard has wartime experience. She actually left Hawaii’s House in order to serve in Iraq. “I stepped down from the legislature where I served, and headed to a war zone,” she said at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. “As a combat veteran, I know the costs of war.”
Controversies: Gabbard is only 37, and has limited congressional experience in comparison to other Democrats expected to enter the ring. Other than her age, she’s also faced criticism for helping her father’s anti-gay organization, the Alliance for Traditional Marriage, around the early 2000s. The organization ran a successful campaign to give the state legislature power to “reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples”. There is evidence the group also supportedconversion therapy, according to web archives. If elected, she’d be the youngest President in America’s history.