A First-time Candidate: Tragedy, Courage, and Hope in the 2019-20 U.S. Senate Race in Montana

A First-time Candidate is a memoir - covering 2019-25 - by John Mues, a 4th-generation Montanan, U.S. Naval Academy graduate, and London Business School MBA who served his country as a nuclear submarine officer, liaison officer to Naval Special Warfare (SEALs), and NATO exercise manager, and high school math teacher on a Native American reservation in north-central Montana, through the U.S. Department of Defense's Troops-to-Teachers Program. A Naval Reactors-certified nuclear engineer, John then served as a senior petroleum engineer for Fortune 100 companies before co-founding a low-carbon energy startup. A First-time Candidate - detailing John's personal experiences with political leaders, both national and in Montana, and perspectives on a politically changing Montana and country - takes the reader behind the scenes of a U.S. Senate candidate's campaign, staffed by some of the country’s most renowned political consultants. It also draws the reader into deep waters, literally. As reported on by national media, John, his pregnant wife, and their unborn son, were a part of a deadly campaign accident - a SCUBA diving accident in a Montana lake - which immeasurably impacted their lives. Read more