Though I’ve been anticipating voting for quite some time, I was surprised how overwhelmed I felt opening my mail-in ballot during Fall Break. The first box had a list of Senate candidates, only two of which I recognized the names of. As I wanted to avoid being an uninformed voter, I quickly got on to my laptop to look up information on each of the candidates. I then found myself jumping from candidate to candidate, skimming through a lot of politician BS to find a few condensed backgrounds and beliefs of each of the candidates. So, instead of allowing every other HC reader to sift through that amount of information, I created a concise list of the candidates’ backgrounds and beliefs. Most of the issues I feel are more pertinent to students, but I must put in the disclaimer to please research each candidate on your own time in addition to reading this article.
Candidate Background Information
Tim Aalders
Aalders is a Utah small business owner, focused mainly in real estate and construction with a side-gig in talk radio hosting. Aalder’s parents were immigrants from Europe. He currently lives in Highland, Utah and has lived in Utah his whole life. To find out more about Tim Aalder, visit his campaign page http://timaalders.com/about .
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden is a small-business owner. He is a Marines veteran and has served in political positions for Weber county. He currently lives in North Ogden with his family. To find out more about Craig R. Bowden, visit his campaign page https://bowden4senate.com/ .
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless was raised as a farmer in Montana and hopes to bring Utah values to the Capitol. To find out more about Reed C. McCandless, visit his campaign page https://mccandlessforussenate.com/ .
Jenny Wilson
Wilson is a 5th-generation Utahn, an alumni of the University of Utah, and an experienced Utah politician as she has served on the Salt Lake City Council and as Chief of Staff for Utah’s Bill Orton. She currently lives in the Salt Lake Valley with her family. To find out more about Jenny WIlson, visit her campaign page https://wilsonforsenate.com/about/ .
Mitt Romney
Romney was the co-founder of Bain Capital and currently serves within Marriott International, Solamere Capital, and the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Research. Romney served on the Organizing Committee for the Utah Winter Olympics. For four years, Romney was the governor of Massachusetts. He is most notably known for running for President in the 2008 election. He currently resides in Holladay, Utah with his family. Though the rest of this article will remain purely unbiased, I will remark that Romney did not hold his residency in Utah until shortly after Orrin Hatch announced his retirement from the Senate. Now, make your own opinion about that action, but I will be the first to say that looks sketchy. To find about more about Mitt Romney, visit his campaign page https://www.romneyforutah.com/about-mitt/
Their Opinions On:
Education
Tim Aalders
Aalders believes that educational grants and resources should not be available through the Federal government because it is a violation of the Constitution’s limits. Thus, education should be handled by the states, allowing all 50 to compete to have the best education.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden does not believe in the states being required to follow federal education standards.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless’ campaign page is filled with a set of principles he firmly believes in, but not necessarily an explicit list of his positions. As he is a strict reader of the Constitution, I would infer that he does not believe in Federal involvement in state education.
Information sourced from McCandless for U.S. Senate.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson supports Prop 1 on the Utah Ballot. Her position on the Federal government requiring states to follow federal education standards is unknown.
Information sourced from Wilson For Senate and Vote Smart.
Mitt Romney
Romney supports Prop 1 on the Utah Ballot. He affirms that federal support of all school levels is necessary, but would like to make the system more efficient.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
Marijuana
Tim Aalders
Aalders has no position on the recreational or medicinal use of marijuana according to my resources.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden holds that both recreational and medicinal marijuana should be legalized to reduce the amount of people put in prison for drug crimes. He holds that drug addicts are not criminals, and supports efforts to rehabilitate drug users.
Information sourced from Bowden4Senate.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless’ position on marijuana is unknown.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson supports Prop 2 on the Utah Ballot. She opposes use of recreational marijuana.
Information sourced from Wilson For Senate.
Mitt Romney
Romney is against Prop 2 on the Utah Ballot. He opposes the use of recreational marijuana.
Information sourced from The Salt Lake Tribune.
2nd Amendment Rights
Tim Aalders
Aalders holds that the 2nd Amendment should not be infringed upon.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden opposes all and any regulation on the use, manufacturing, or ownership of firearms for self-defense by the government.
Information sourced from Bowden4Senate.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless holds that the federal government should not infringe on the right to bear arms.
Information sourced from McCandless for U.S. Senate.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson strongly supports the 2nd Amendment. In light of the rise of mass shootings, especially in schools, Wilson supports an assault weapon ban and expansion of checks for both gun shows and the online gun market.
Information sourced from Deseret News.
Mitt Romney
Romney holds protection of the 2nd Amendment. He believes that gun laws and school safety is a matter up to the states, not up to the Federal government. He supports removal of bump stocks for sales and an update of background checks for gun owners.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
Healthcare
Tim Aalders
Aalders wishes to stop HMO’s continue practice without competition to stop healthcare premiums from rising. Aalders opposes healthcare for undocumented immigrants.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden affirms repelling the Affordable Care Act.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless does not have an explicit position on healthcare and the role of Federal government in regards to it.
Information sourced from McCandless for U.S. Senate.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson affirms a reformation of the ACA while keeping coverage of pre-existing conditions and children under to age of 26. She wishes to expand Medicaid for Utah and negotiate with drug companies to lower drug prices for Medicare.
Information sourced from Wilson For Senate.
Mitt Romney
Romney wishes that the ACA be repealed and not replaced. He wants to put market-based incentives for private insurance companies to reduce costs as well as promoting health savings accounts. He also wants to spread the cost of drug development to other countries to lower prices in the states.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
Reproductive Rights
Tim Aalders
Aalders is strongly Pro-Life with exception of a threat to the mother’s physical or emotional health without an abortion. He believes Roe v. Wade should be repealed.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden is Pro-Choice, as he does not believe the government has a right to regulate reproductive health, though personally he is Pro-Life. He does believe that the visibility of a fetus should be a cut-off for abortion times though.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless does not have an explicit position on reproductive health.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson is Pro-Choice.
Information sourced from Wilson For Senate and Vote Smart.
Mitt Romney
Romney is Pro-Life.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
The Environment
Tim Aalders
Aalders does not believe in Federal funding for renewable energy sources or regulation of greenhouse gases.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden does not believe in Federal funding for renewable energy sources or regulation of greenhouse gases. In his opinion, the EPA has become an arbitrary arm of the government.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless does not have an explicit position on the environment.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson holds that the federal government should regulate greenhouse emissions and fund renewable energy sources.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Mitt Romney
Romney supports efficiency standards for cars and factories. He also supports using all different energy sources.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
Government Spending and Taxes
Tim Aalders
Aalders affirms no increase on taxes for any tax brackets. He affirms reducing money spent towards the defense budget.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden supports removal of an income tax and demolishing the IRS. He does not believe employers should be required to be tax collectors. In regards to spending, he believes the federal government should only spend money on what is outlined in the Constitution.
Information sourced from Bowden4Senate.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless believes the federal taxation on income and property should be at the same rate regardless of the values behind them in order to support protection of the states. He does not believe in the Federal government collecting taxes to support state or city governments.
Information sourced from McCandless for U.S. Senate
Jenny Wilson
Wilson argues that the Federal budget needs to be balanced and should not spend beyond its limits. She wishes to repeal tax breaks for the wealthy, expand the Child Tax Credit, and close tax loopholes.
Information sourced from Wilson For Senate.
Mitt Romney
Romney favors the GOP tax plan. He believes growing business will raise wages.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
Immigration
Tim Aalders
Aalders is supportive of higher controls on immigration and reducing illegal immigration.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden does not support construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border neither does he support deportation of unlawful immigrants before they are eligible for citizenship.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless does not have an explicit position on immigration.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson believes in immigration reform with a pathway for Dreamers to continue and reunifying families at the border.
Information sourced from Wilson For Senate.
Mitt Romney
Romney approves of immigration that is merit-based, meaning applicants are fluent in English, have a trade or skill, personal savings, and advanced degrees so immigrants are an asset to their communities. He wishes to simplify legal status verification. He opposes chain migration and the visa lottery program.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
Foreign Policy and Trade
Tim Aalders
Aalders affirms that the U.S. needs to avoid being the world’s police and not provide weapons to foreign countries.
Information sourced from Vote Smart.
Craig R. Bowden
Bowden does not believe in U.S. involvement in conflicts that do not threaten the American people. He supports reduction of drone use.
Information sourced from Bowden4Senate.
Reed C. McCandless
McCandless does not have an explicit position on foreign policy.
Jenny Wilson
Wilson believes in protecting national security.
Information sourced from Wilson For Senate.
Mitt Romney
Romney believes in involving the U.S. in conflicts with a key U.S. interest at hand. He encourages diplomacy abroad to share American values.
Information sourced from Romney for Utah.
Regardless of your political beliefs or who you support, the most important point from this article is that you need to vote! Your ballot should have already appeared in the mail, but you can vote in person on November 6th as well. Good luck out there, fellow Utah voters!
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