George McGovern, a Democratic Party politician from South Dakota, was first elected to the United States House of Representatives to represent South Dakota's 1st congressional district in 1956.
 He was re-elected in 1958, before making an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate in 1960 against Republican incumbent Karl Earl Mundt.
 After serving in the John F. Kennedy administration as director of the Food for Peace program, McGovern ran again for the Senate and narrowly prevailed over appointed Senator Joseph H. Bottum.
 In 1968, McGovern unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention and was re-elected to the Senate over former Governor of South Dakota Archie M. Gubbrud.
 In 1972, McGovern was successful in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, but lost the election in a landslide to incumbent President Richard Nixon.
 McGovern was re-elected to the Senate in 1974 over Vietnam War veteran Leo K. Thorsness, but lost re-election in 1980 to then-U.S. Representative James Abdnor.
 McGovern made a final unsuccessful run for president in United States presidential election, 1984.
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services.
 Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947.
 It is the most recent branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to be formed.
 The USAF is the largest and one of the most technologically advanced air forces in the world.
 The service articulates its core functions as Nuclear Deterrence Operations, Air Superiority, Space Superiority, Cyberspace Superiority, Command and Control, Global Integrated ISR, Global Precision Attack, Special Operations, Rapid Global Mobility, Personnel Recovery, Agile Combat Support, and Building Partnerships.
The Turkish Land Forces (Turkish: "Türk Kara Kuvvetleri" ), or Turkish Army (Turkish: "Türk Ordusu" ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations.
 Official claims state that the army was founded by Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire in 209 BC, but the modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
 Significant events since the foundation of the Army include combat in the Korean War and in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and acting as a NATO bulwark along Cold War frontiers through 1992.
 The army holds the preeminent place within the armed forces.
 It is customary for the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey to have been the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces prior to his appointment as Turkey's senior ranking officer.
 Alongside the other two armed services, the Turkish Army has frequently intervened in Turkish politics, which has now been regulated to an extent with the reform of the National Security Council.
 The current commander of the Turkish Land Forces is General Salih Zeki Çolak.
The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CSC) is composed of the most senior military personnel in the British Armed Forces who advise on operational military matters and the preparation and conduct of military operations.
 The committee consists of the Chief of the Defence Staff who is the chairman and professional head of the forces, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, who is the vice-chairman and deputy professional head of the armed forces.
 The Committee also consists of the professional heads of each branch of the armed forces: the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, the Chief of the General Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff.
The Soviet Air Defence Forces (Russian: войска ПВО , voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony, voyska PVO, V-PVO, lit.
 "Anti-Air Defence Troops"; and formerly protivovozdushnaya oborona strany, PVO strany, lit.
 "Anti-Air Defence of the Nation") was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces.
 It continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces from 1991 to 1998.
 Unlike Western air defence forces, V-PVO was a branch of the military unto itself, separate from the Soviet Air Force (VVS) and Air Defence Troops of Ground Forces.
 During the Soviet period it was generally ranked third in importance of the Soviet services, behind the Strategic Rocket Forces and the Ground Forces.
The Italian Armed Forces (italian: "Forze armate italiane") encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force.
 A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and are also involved in missions and operations abroad as a combat force.
 Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the Guardia di Finanza is part of the military and operates a large fleet of ships, aircraft and helicopters, enabling it to patrol Italy's waters and to eventually participate in warfare scenarios.
 These five forces have military status and are all organized along military lines, comprising a total of 350,000 men and women with the official status of active military personnel.
 The President of the Italian Republic heads the armed forces as the President of the High Council of Defence established by article 87 of the Constitution of Italy.
 According to article 78, the Parliament has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the necessary powers in the Government.
The Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy (RNoAFA) is the Norwegian Air Force’s college which conducts officer training for the RNoAF and the Norwegian Armed Forces.
 The school was established in 1949 and is one of the Armed Forces´ three military academies.
 The two others are the Army Academy and the Naval Academy.
 The students at the Armed Forces´ Academies are referred to as cadets and have full salary during education.
 The cadets at the RNoAFA have their own association, the Cadet Society (Kadettsamfunnet).
 The RNoAFA has a staff of 40 and a student body of 80 cadets and has since 1961 been located in Trondheim.
 The Commandant of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy is (from Autumn 2009) Colonel Ole Asbjørn Fauske.
Leo Keith Thorsness (February 14, 1932 – May 2, 2017) was a colonel in the United States Air Force who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War.
 He was awarded the medal for an air engagement on April 19, 1967.
 He was shot down two weeks later and spent six years in captivity in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war.
 After his military service, Thorsness served one term in the Washington State Senate.
The 2010 Kiev Victory Day Parade was held on May 9, 2010 in Kiev, honoring the 65th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War.
 Inspecting the parade was the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces General of the Army Ivan Svyda.
 The commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel General Gennady Vorobyov, Commanded the Parade.
 The President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych delivered a jubilee address.
 2,500 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces troops from Russia and Belarus took part in the parade.
 17 military orchestras took part in the parade under the command of the Chief of the Military Music Department of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Major General Volodymyr Derkach.
The McGovern–Hatfield amendment (alternately, Hatfield–McGovern amendment) was a proposed amendment to an appropriations bill in 1970 during the Vietnam War that, if passed, would have required the end of United States military operations in the Republic of Vietnam by December 31, 1970 and a complete withdrawal of American forces halfway through the next year.
 It was the most outstanding defiance of executive power regarding the war prior to 1971.
 The amendment was proposed by Senators George McGovern of South Dakota and Mark Hatfield of Oregon, and was known as the "amendment to end the war."

Question: George McGovern won a Senate seat in 1974 over a colonel in which branch of the armed forces?
Answer: United States Air Force