 Late in the campaign Schmidt claimed Mark Kirk, Republican Congressman from Illinois was the first Congressman to serve in Iraq, but Kirk said he had never actually been on tour in Iraq.Schmidt won the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, which frustrated her opponent, a long-time NRA member.She also won the endorsements of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Homebuilders Association, the Ohio Taxpayers Association, the Ohio Small Business PAC, and the Ohio Farm Bureau.