About
Isaac "Ike" McCorkle

Ike grew up watching his single mom try to make ends meet through nursing school and working full-time. His family depended on free school lunch, food stamps, and even welfare to keep fed and housed. Ike experienced first-hand what a social safety net can do for a family.

When she graduated, his mom used her training to serve her country, serving as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force and later in the Army, eventually retiring as a Major. Ike proudly followed in her footsteps, enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps and serving his country for over 18 years before retiring with combat Valor decoration, as well as a Purple Heart.

Ike retired to spend more time with his children, but as a civilian waking up every day to a country he recognized less and less, he felt the call to service once again. The politicians who are leading our country have utterly failed the American people, and Ike is here to deliver the shock to the system that is so sorely needed, to fight again for our freedoms, this time knowing how the system is manipulated to protect those who do the most damage.

I’m here to give Ken Buck the challenge he so richly deserves, to deliver the shock to the system that is so sorely needed, to fight again for our freedoms, but this time knowing how the system is manipulated to protect those who do the most damage.

As a Marine Veteran, people ask if I’m conflicted about my service: I’m not. I’m proud to have served and would do it again. But the politicians who are leading our country have utterly failed the American people. These failures aren’t limited to the most stunning examples, like policing and COVID-19. They are also failing on critical questions about allocation of resources, what to do about climate change, and if political power should trump rule of law.

So I had a choice to make. I could give in to bitterness, feeling resentful that the freedoms I fought for, are spit on by greedy hypocrites who disrespect the values that make this country great—people like Donald Trump and Ken Buck. Or, I could join the millions of Americans who protest, who donate their time and money and effort to make change happen, and stand up and say I do still give a damn. And that’s what I did.