NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — With midterm election season rapidly approaching, Republicans and Democrats have something in common when it comes to recruiting candidates they hope will deliver majorities in Congress: a preference for military veterans.

Both parties anticipate a significant number of races where veterans will be opposing each other, using their military service as a foundation of their appeal even as they hold widely diverging views on issues.

Democrats are clinging to threadbare advantages in both the House and Senate, so the success of these candidates could determine the balance of power.

The chaotic winding down of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan — combined with President Joe Biden's blaming his predecessor's policies for much of what occurred — could resonate with voters in ways not seen since opposition to the Iraq War helped Democrats retake the House in 2006.

“When the U.S. suffers a very public defeat ... historically, that’s the kind of thing that does become an issue in the next election," said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.

In few places are military matters more likely to dominate the debate than in Norfolk, Virginia, and the surrounding area. It's a swing congressional district along the Atlantic coast and home to the world's largest naval base. One in 5 residents are active military personnel, veterans or their relatives.

Rep. Elaine Luria, a Democrat, served as naval commander, including on aircraft carriers that once helped stage Afghanistan bombing runs. She defeated an incumbent Republican, Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL, in 2018 and again in a rematch in 2020.

Veteran candidates can be seen as more willing to put country above self, which often plays best among moderate voters and in swing districts without a dominant political ideology.

“One of the reasons you see veterans on veterans is because the thought process is that just neutralizes that advantage,” Taylor said. “Both parties are looking for that.”