Glenn Nye

Glenn Carlyle Nye III is the 2008 Democratic nominee for (map) of the United States House of Representatives.

Biography
Nye is a fifth-generation resident of the Second District. He grew up in Norfolk and graduated from high school at Norfolk Academy. A graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he volunteered on medical education missions to the Middle East while in college. He began his foreign service career focusing on economic development in war-torn Eastern Europe, while working for the U.S. Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Foreign service experience
Nye joined the U.S. State Department in 2001, where he served in Kosovo and Macedonia as a member of the Foreign Service. During his time there, he helped secure the release of U.S. hostages which earned him the State Department’s Superior Honor Award.

Nye was then posted to the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, where he helped protect U.S. intellectual property rights during the negotiation of the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. From there he volunteered to go to Afghanistan, spending almost a year as part of a U.S. government sponsored team managing the historic Afghan Constitution Commission and supporting the country's first Presidential election.

He also managed a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) community development program in the West Bank and Gaza. He served as Operations Director in the Middle East by registering eligible voters in major U.S. cities for election. In Iraq, Nye led operations to create jobs for Iraqis as part of the counter-insurgency effort. After returning to Virginia, he advised a USAID program working closely with military colleagues to stabilize Iraqi neighborhoods by creating employment for over 70,000 Iraqis.

2008 congressional race
Nye is running against Thelma Drake, the Republican incumbent. CQ Politics rates the seat "Republican favored". The Cook Political Report rates it "Lean Republican". The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee considers Drake a "targeted Republican".

Nye's donations from national Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Representative Charles Rangel of New York, reflects the interest of the party in his race and the likelihood he will be given more money.

Policies and issue positions
Nye has worked to bring stability and economic development to struggling new democracies. In an interview with CQ Politics, Nye explained why he decided to run for Congress: "There is only so much one can do on the executing end of foreign policy in terms of advancing American interests, and there’s only so much you can do to influence the policy from the outside. I was frustrated with the course of the country, and I was prepared to offer my service to try to bring some expertise into the Congress that I think the Congress is lacking."

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