William (Will) James Breazeale (R)

Current Job:

Birth Date:

June 24, 1968

Religion:

Baptist

Education:

Francis Marion University, BA Political Science

Biography:

William (Will) James Breazeale (pronounced Brazil) was born in Charleston, S.C. and was raised in Charleston area. He currently lives in White Lake, N.C. He is an airline pilot for Airtran Airways. He earned a political science degree from Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., in 1990, and has completed some coursework toward a master's in religion from Liberty University Theological Seminary.

Breazeale, 40, has been a member of the Army Reserve since 1990. He holds the rank of major and has been awarded a Bronze Star. He has been deployed three times - most recently from April 2006 to June 2007, when he trained the Iraqi Army at Al Kisik. Breazeale also serves as a chaplain for the Elizabethtown VFW post.

Breazeale is divorced and has one teenage daughter.

Profile:

Breazeale said he left the Democratic Party in 2004 because of its "disgusting" positions on the war in Iraq, illegal immigration and abortion.

He plans to make Democrats' handling of the war in Iraq one of the focal points of his campaign. Breazeale said he will bring his Army background and expertise to Congress, where few members have military experience. He favors leaving up to 70,000 soldiers in Iraq for peacekeeping.

Breazeale wants to eliminate income tax in favor of a federal, flat sales tax. He also wants to stop illegal immigration by closing the nation's borders and adding safeguards to government-issued social security cards.

Campaigns:

This is William (Will) James Breazeale's first campaign for federal office.Breazeale filed as a Congressional candidate on Aug. 13, 2007 and publicly announced his candidacy Sept. 6, 2007.When he was 18 years old, Breazeale ran for the school board in his hometown of Florence. He also ran for White Lake town commission in 2005. Both campaigns were unsuccessful.