A Rising GOP Star

Mandel is running for Congress, having served as an Intelligence Specialist in the Marine Corps Reserves, after graduating first in his class from Marine Corps Boot Camp and first in his class from Marine Corps Intelligence School. He has served two tours in Iraq, where he operated throughout the Al Anbar Province. During both tours, he received the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal for "superior performance of his duties." 

Given that he's a Republican in a two-to-one Democrat district in the Cleveland area, Mandel will need to give a lot more sterling speeches -- and raise another $400,000 -- to stay in his current job.

While Mandel could give almost any speaker a run for his money, the secret to his winning a state representative seat two years ago was knocking on almost 20,000 doors -- wearing through three pairs of shoes in the process. But with the GOP having a razor-thin four seat majority in the Ohio House, Mandel will be facing a tidal wave of cash from his opponent, the state Democratic party, and independent political groups, including so-called "527s."

If Mandel survives this November, expect to hear a lot more about him. Not only does he give a "world-class" speech, but he already has an impressive legislative track record. In his first (and only) term, he introduced Iran divestment legislation, and he successfully led the effort to force Ohio's massive pension funds to stop investing in companies that do business in Iran.