US elections: Who is John James, the Iraq veteran Apache pilot running in Trump's tightest race?

The 39-year-old says he was a victim of racial profiling by police – but remains silent on Trump's race record and mocking of servicemen and women

John James speaks at a campaign rally on November 2, 2020 in Traverse City, Michigan. Rey Del Rio / Getty Images / AFP

Captain John James flew Apache helicopters on multiple tours of Iraq during an eight-year Army career.

Now he faces a battle to become Michigan's first Republican senator since 1994.

The 39-year-old is running in the same state that could decide whether Donald Trump gets another four years or is unseated by Joe Biden.

In 2016, Mr Trump won Michigan by less than 11,000 votes and it looks set to become a bloody battleground, particularly if there is a legal challenge over the result.

On Wednesday, he was leading over Democrat incumbent Gary Peters with 52 per cent of the vote, but with hundreds of thousands of postal votes still in play.

The former pilot, who was honourably discharged and went on to run his family's shipping business, has previously spoken of being racially profiled by police.

He said he was pulled over on multiple occasions by police for no apparent reason – an issue that has caused deep divisions between communities and law enforcement in major American cities.

"I didn't see the George Floyd video – I felt it," he said in an interview with The New York Times in July, referring to the black man whose neck was knelt on by a Minneapolis police officer, causing his death.

He spoke of an incident in the past when he and the woman who is now his wife were approached by police, with guns drawn, as they sat in their car at an upscale mall in Detroit.

He suggested had his wife, who is white, not been with him to de-escalate the situation, he does not "know what would have happened".

But critics have noted Capt James' near-refusal to criticise incumbent President Donald Trump, who has shared racist videos on his Twitter account and whom polls show is mistrusted when it comes to handling race relations.

That is despite his status as the Republicans' only black candidate running for the Senate.

Although he denounced Floyd's killing as a "cowardly act of evil", he said the rioting that broke out during protests was "criminal", which caused anger among protesters.

Capt James appeared in campaign videos flaunting his US Army Ranger training – but shied away from commenting on claims that Mr Trump called servicemen and women who died in wars 'losers' and 'suckers'.

In an interview, The New York Times pressed the veteran on several points including the renaming of military bases named after Confederate commanders.

He repeated Mr Trump's warnings not to "rewrite history".

He has also pointed out that phrases such as "Black lives matter" are lost on many white, conservative and rural voters, but he hoped he can be a “cultural translator” between black Americans in mostly white communities.

Capt James stressed that he stood for “stability, unity in leadership".

US election night – in pictures

US President Donald Trump speaks during election night in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks at a drive-in election night event as Dr. Jill Biden looks on at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. AFP

Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden watch election results outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. AFP

US Vice President Mike Pence speaks flanked by US President Donald Trump during election night in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

Supporters pose with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, center, following his victory speech after winning another term in office, in Columbia, S.C. AP Photo

Biden supporter Lala Walker reacts to early election results in Houston, Texas. REUTERS

President Donald Trump supporter Loretta Oakes reacts while watching returns in favor of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, at a Republican election-night watch party, in Las Vegas. AP Photo

People gather to watch results in the presidential election on a screen in Times Square in New York, New York. EPA

Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee election commission is escorted by police from the central count location where absentee ballots were being counted carrying the final count in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. AFP

Election officials count absentee ballots in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. AFP

Los Angeles Police Department officers form a line in front of demonstrators during the 2020 Presidential election in Los Angeles, California. Bloomberg

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, speaks during a news conference at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg

A woman poses for a photo during an election night watch party organized by a group called "Villagers for Trump" in The Villages, Florida. AFP

People celebrate a win for incumbent candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) at Graham's election night watch party in Columbia, South Carolina. AFP

Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden worry as they watch the election results unfold on a giant screen in a square near the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

People react as they watch early results on T.V as they gather at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House during Election Day in Washington. Reuters

Martina Brown celebrates after being the last voter to cast her ballot at a polling station inside Knapp Elementary School on Election Day in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin. Reuters

A Code Enforcement officer asks to a supporter to stop placing US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence campaign signs in the limits of a polling station during the 2020 US presidential election in Palm Beach, Florida. Reuters

Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar speaks at the DFL election night watch party in St. Paul, Minnesota. Reuters

Republican US Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is joined by his wife Elaine Chao as he speaks at a press conference following his projected senate race victory at the Omni Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. EPA

Cairo Messenger newspaper publisher and editor Randy Fine, center, calls out election results as Steve Reagan writes them on the board on the front wall of the newspaper for the voters gathered in the street in Cairo, Georgia. AFP

Electoral workers at curbside voting in St. Charles County for voters who have coronavirus disease during Election Day in Missouri. Reuters

A election worker collects mail-in ballots at the Clark County election office in Las Vegas, Nevada. EPA

A woman wears a mask depicting US President Donald Trump at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC. EPA

Biden supporters face off a Trump supporter outside of a polling site, on Election Day in Houston, Texas. Reuters

Florida election results are displayed on a screen in Black Lives Matter Plaza during the 2020 Presidential election in Washington, DC. Bloomberg

First timer voter Jessica Henderson shows her "I Voted!" sticker after casting her ballot in-person on Election Day outside the Ruben F. Salazar Park recreation center, an official vote centre in East Los Angeles. AP Photo

Carolyn Fieles, left, Suzy Meredith-Orr, Frieda Wallison, and Judy Dunn open ballots in the Pitkin County Administration Building on Election Day in Aspen, Colorado. AP

Election workers organise ballots at the Multnomah County Elections Division Tuesday in Portland, Oregon. AP Photo

A supporter for Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) looks on during an Election Night party at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta In Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia. AFP

Volunteers gather at Detroit Branch NAACP Tuesday evening before polls closed in Detroit, Michigan. EPA

People gather in Times Square as they await election results in New York City. AFP

A woman helps an elderly voter put on headphone to follow directions as she casts her ballot at the Salazar Park polling location in Los Angeles, California. EPA