Zach Wahls' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State Senate (IA) - District 43, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for U.S. Senate (IA) - Jr
Key
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This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Iowa State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Iowa recently passed a "fetal heartbeat" bill, which bans abortion after just six weeks, which I strongly oppose. The tough, emotional decision to maintain or end a pregnancy should be made by the woman who is pregnant, not by politicians. The easiest way to reduce abortions is to reduce the demand for them by expanding access to safe, inexpensive, and effective contraception. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Iowa's budget.
| No | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| Yes | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| While the cost of living in Iowa has been rising, Republicans have been cutting taxes for the wealthy. Instead, our wealthy residents and big corporations should pay their fair share of taxes, and we should invest in expanded tax credits for working families. We have to provide real economic relief for working and middle-class Iowans who can�t keep up with the rising costs of living, housing, and education while their purchasing power deteriorates. We should review every tax cut and expenditure. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| No | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| b) Iowa currently has a very week medical cannabis law. We should loosen the current restrictions. If that goes well, we should carefully explore full legalization of recreational cannabis. c) This question is incredibly vague, as it depends on the crime and should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Iowa? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support offering state tax incentives to attract businesses to Iowa? | ||
| No | h) Do you support limiting the ability of state employees to use collective bargaining? | ||
| a) depends on the spending b) depends on the taxes c) depends on the regulation d) generally speaking yes e) generally speaking no f) yes g) depends on the incentives h) no | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Iowa? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Iowa high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget? | ||
| a) depends on the standards, but having high standards is important b) charter schools may be an opportunity for innovation but they can't be used as an excuse to bust teacher's unions c) if they were brought here by their parents, grew up in Iowa, and have not committed any crimes, they should be able to attend Iowa's public universities d) yes | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing economic incentives to Iowa farmers who participate in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy ("INRS")? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Iowa's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increasing state funding for children's mental health services? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Iowa's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Iowa's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Iowa state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Should state employees be held financially liable when sued for inappropriate behavior in the workplace? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| After knocking thousands of doors, I can say the three top issues facing Iowans are health care, education, and our economy. Health care: reverse Medicaid privatization, reform our mental health system, and fix our individual market. Education: fully fund K12 and reverse the $100M+ cuts to our Regents' schools. Economy: raise wages, slow the rising cost of living, and reinstate workers� rights. |
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