Kevin Burge

Burge was born into a working-class family in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and says his family later settled in North Carolina.[2][3] He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at 17 after the September 11 attacks, and Ballotpedia lists his service in the Marine Corps Reserve from 2003 to 2011. According to his campaign website, he served two deployments to Iraq, including as a logistician, and later deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, leading a security team escorting intelligence analysts.[3][2] Burge earned a master's degree in sustainable development from North Carolina State University.[2][3]

He worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, then in the intelligence community, and served as technical advisor for the White House Situation Room renovation during the Biden administration. His campaign website describes more than 20 years of leadership experience.[3][2][6] Burge lives in North Richland Hills with his wife, a Texas Army National Guard officer who came to the U.S. from Honduras as a child, and their son.[2][3] He led the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 48.0%, then won the May 26, 2026 runoff over TJ Ware with 78.1% of the vote.[2] He received 46.6% of the vote to Beth Van Duyne's 53.4%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]