By Grant Schwab, MediaNews Group

Mike Bouchard, an Army paratrooper and son of the Oakland County sheriff of the same name, is joining the GOP primary race for a key suburban Detroit congressional seat up for grabs next year.

Bouchard is launching his bid Thursday, 12 days after returning to Michigan from a nine-month deployment to Iraq.

“I truly believe we need leaders, we need fighters and we need veterans in D.C. to stand up to a lot of the socialist, woke waves that we’re seeing right now,” the Rochester Hills Republican told The Detroit News ahead of his campaign announcement.

He added: “The toughest people I know jump out of planes into battle, and so I think we need to send a paratrooper to D.C.”

Bouchard, 31, is the second major GOP candidate looking to succeed Republican U.S.

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