John Glenn president would help unite the country. Glenn believed his experience as a senator from Ohio was ideal, due to the state's diversity. Glenn thought that Teddy Kennedy could win the election, but after Kennedy's announcement in late 1982 that he would not seek the presidency, Glenn thought he had a much better chance of winning. He hired a media consultant to help him with his speaking style. Glenn announced his candidacy for president on April 21, 1983 in the John Glenn High School gymnasium. He started out the campaign out-raising the front-runner, Mondale. He also polled the highest of any
Gary Glenn coalition, which launched the successful effort to enact similar legislation in that state. In 2015, the National Right to Work Committee named Glenn the recipient of its highest honor, the Senator Everett M. Dirksen Award, for a lifetime of achievement and commitment to the principle of individual freedom in the workplace. Glenn enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves during the Persian Gulf War buildup in 1990 and served eight years in the Reserves and Army National Guard, including with the 1460th Transportation Company headquartered in Midland. He was named Honor Graduate of both Basic Combat Training at Ft. Sill, Ok.,