GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Peter Meijer, the grandson of the late retail magnate Fred Meijer, is behind a new political group, With Honor, that plans to spend $30 million to elect "principled, next-generation veterans" to Congress.

With Honor plans to spend those millions on research, advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts for about 25 to 35 candidates - Republicans, Democrats and Independents - in 2018.

The new cross-partisan political organization officially launched on Thursday, Nov. 9, in Charlotte, N.C.

Meijer, 29, is the oldest son of Hank Meijer, co-chairman of the family-owned Michigan-based supercenter chain with more 230 stores across the Midwest. Hank and his younger brother Doug Meijer are the richest billionaires in the state with an estimated fortune of $7.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Unlike the DeVos and Van Andel families in West Michigan who are high-profile, deep-pocketed givers to conservative Republican causes and candidates, the Meijer family has traditionally been low key about its politics.

Meijer says he likes the organization's focus on creating a pathway for those who don't fit a party mold.

"I think you lose a lot of candidates that would be great in Congress but can't establish themselves quickly enough to survive the primary," Meijer said.

With Honor is a federally registered super PAC, with a non-profit entity called With Honor Action, which serves as the organization's policy and social-welfare arm.

Meijer is on the board of With Honor Action. He'll be serving in the volunteer position with George Schultz, a Marine Corps veteran and former Secretary of State during the Reagan Administration.

With more than 100 next-generation veterans running for Congress in 2018, With Honor will select a slate of at least 25 of the most capable candidates to endorse based on their leadership history, potential to win and willingness to take a pledge to lead with integrity, civility, and courage, the organization said in statement.

The pledge includes a commitment to meet with someone from another party once each month and sponsor legislation with a member of another party at least once a year.

"It isn't just if you're veteran, that is enough," Meijer said. "It's that you are a veteran committed to reducing the toxic polarization of our political process."

The military has been Meijer's passion since graduating from East Grand Rapids high school more than a decade ago. He served in the Army Reserves for eight years, from 2008 to 2016, including a mid-college deployment to Iraq from 2010 to 2011.

Meijer, who is splitting his time between Michigan and New York City, is currently in the individual ready reserve. He recently earned a MBA from New York University.

After finishing his undergraduate degree at Columbia University in New York, Meijer worked in Afghanistan as a conflict analyst for a humanitarian organization from 2013 to 2015.

He says his experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, during both of the much-publicized "drawdowns," left him with a deep impression that the ever-widening swings of this country's political pendulum had a deadly consequence overseas.

"Sudden reversals to strategy meant our local partners had no reason to believe we would follow through on our promises, so they did what anyone would do: they hedged their bets and sought short-term gains, often to the detriment of our long-term priorities," Meijer said. "These about-faces materially weakened our military's credibility, and made me understand that political polarization is a national security issue too."

With Honor is co-founded and led by Marine veteran, author, and entrepreneur Rye Barcott.

"With Honor believes a surge of new principled leaders is needed to reverse the record-high dysfunction and partisanship in Washington D.C.," said Barcott, in a statement. "A new generation of veterans is ready to serve in Congress. They value teamwork and know how to get things done in tough places regardless of their party. They're the kinds of principled, proven leaders we need."

Barcott served five years in the Marines, including tours in Bosnia, the Horn of Africa, and Iraq.

With Honor is being launched as the number of veterans in Congress is at a record low. The group contends the decline in the number of veterans in Congress has corresponded with a rise in partisanship and collapse of Americans' trust in Congress. Recent polls show just 12 percent of Americans have confidence in Congress.

Today, veterans represent less than a fifth of the House of Representatives compared to nearly half 25 years ago.

A big hurdle to running for office is money. The average cost of a Congressional race has quadrupled in the past two decades. Most veterans do not have access to affluent fundraising and political networks, the group points out.

But what veterans learn in the military is invaluable, Meijer believes.

"The veterans community is not only where I am member, it's where I see a great potential to give back and redefine the country for the better for years to come," Meijer said.