National security specialist Roger Polack joined the Democratic primary Wednesday to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil.

Already running is Josh Pade, who garnered 0.35% of the vote in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor.

Polack, who grew up in Racine and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served at the U.S. Treasury Department as an intelligence analyst and policy adviser under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

He was deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Treasury Department for 20 months and led an intelligence unit focused on the Taliban's financing, according to his campaign. After he returned, he earned a law degree from Georgetown University.

"I’m going to bring the same tenacity to Congress that I brought to protecting the United States throughout my decade of service to our country," Polack said in a statement.

He said he would not take money from corporate political action committees.

Steil won his first term in Congress in 2018 after Paul Ryan, then the House speaker, decided not to seek reelection. Steil is an attorney and former UW regent who once worked for Ryan.

Steil's campaign did not immediately react to Polack's announcement.

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.