News coverage of 2017 House special elections


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Jimmy Gomez: Fight for Planned Parenthood and women's access.     Karen Handel: I cut ties with Planned Parenthood because I was ordered to.     Tommy Pope: 100% pro-life, period.     Jon Ossoff: Defend a woman's right to choose and Planned Parenthood.     Karen Handel: Chaired Commission with abortion grants, but opposed them.     Ron Estes: Lead the fight to protect the unborn.     Ron Estes: Strong advocate for the unborn.

Budget & Economy     John Curtis: Balance the budget; run government like business.     Ralph Norman: Deal with $19 trillion debt by Balanced Budget Amendment.     Karen Handel: Cut spending and reduce regulations.     Ron Estes: Returned $113M in unclaimed property, including tax refunds.     Ron Estes: Support a balanced budget amendment.

Civil Rights     Jimmy Gomez: Defend LGBTQIA rights, including seniors.     Jimmy Gomez: Retrofit facilities for Americans with Disabilities Act.     Jimmy Gomez: Protect Social Security from GOP restructuring.     Jon Ossoff: Fight discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.     Ron Estes: Kansas ABLE: tax-free savings for people with disabilities.

Corporations     John Curtis: Entrepreneurs need lower taxes, fewer regulations.

Crime     Jimmy Gomez: Ban for-profit prisons; support sentencing reform.     Jon Ossoff: Task forces to fight organized crime & political corruption.     Ron Estes: Support the safety of law enforcement officers.     Val Demings: As Police Chief, 40% drop in violent crime.

Drugs     Jon Ossoff: Locking up nonviolent drug offenders doesn't make sense.     Tommy Pope: Curb the opioid epidemic and focus on future prevention.

Education     Jimmy Gomez: Public college education should be debt free.     Jimmy Gomez: Vouchers take resources out of public education.     Jon Ossoff: Hire great teachers, and reduce class sizes.     Jon Ossoff: Work to make college more affordable.     Ron Estes: Oppose government telling us how to educate our children.     Ron Estes: More visibility for Learning Quest college savings program.     Tommy Pope: $100 million for repairs in poor rural school districts.

Energy & Oil     Jimmy Gomez: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.     Jon Ossoff: Human-driven climate change threatens global prosperity.

Environment     Jimmy Gomez: Fund river revitalization; fight for environmental justice.     Jimmy Gomez: Protect endangered species; and protect animal shelters.     Jon Ossoff: Investigate failures to enforce environmental laws.     Ron Estes: Fight the intrusive arm of the EPA.

Families & Children     Jimmy Gomez: Expand Paid Family Leave.     Karen Handel: Gay relationships are not what God intended.     Val Demings: Operation Positive Direction: mentoring at-risk youth.

Foreign Policy     Jon Ossoff: Defend the NATO alliance & multinational military exercises.

Free Trade     Jon Ossoff: Empower our community's businesses to compete globally.

Government Reform     Jimmy Gomez: Replace Citizen's United with public financing.     Ralph Norman: Term limits to end the rein of career politicians.     Jon Ossoff: Investigate corrupt politicians and organized crime.     Ron Estes: Five-year ban on members of Congress working as lobbyists.

Gun Control     Ron Estes: Support the rights of gun owners, sportsmen, and hunters.     Ron Estes: Support for concealed carry reciprocity.

Health Care     John Curtis: Repealing or fixing ObamaCare takes time.     Jimmy Gomez: Supports single-payer at state level and federal level.     Ralph Norman: Repeal and replace ObamaCare with free-market-based plan.     Jon Ossoff: Defend Medicare and Medicaid and affordable health care.     Ron Estes: ObamaCare must be repealed.     Jon Ossoff: Maintain funding for CDC pandemic infrastructure.     Tommy Pope: Repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Homeland Security     John Curtis: Make sure military has tools they need.     Jimmy Gomez: VA medical benefits, job training, and housing loans.     Jon Ossoff: Don't undermine private communications & strong encryption.     Tommy Pope: Allow opt-out for REAL ID rules for drivers licenses.     Tommy Pope: Peace thru strength: provide military with needed resources.

Immigration     John Curtis: Take politics out of immigration debate.     Jimmy Gomez: Deporting parents of U.S. citizens is morally wrong.     Karen Handel: Ok with 6-country immigration ban, but no religious test.     Ralph Norman: Build the wall to protect our sovereignty.     Tommy Pope: Build the border wall, and cut off sanctuary cities.     Jon Ossoff: Unconstitutional to slander or ban entire religious groups.     Ron Estes: Securing the Southern border must be our first priority.

Jobs     Jimmy Gomez: Raise the national minimum wage.     Jimmy Gomez: Equal pay for equal work & Paycheck Fairness Act.     Jon Ossoff: Minimum wage should be a living wage.

Principles & Values     Jon Ossoff: Early campaign pledge: "Make Trump Furious".     Ralph Norman: Empower those who believe in the virtues of faith in God.     Jon Ossoff: Supported by national anti-Trump neophyte networks.     Jon Ossoff: Campaign slogan: Make Trump Furious.     Karen Handel: 2010: Resigned as Secretary of State to run for Governor.     Jon Ossoff: Interned for Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Hank Johnson.     Jon Ossoff: Promises to move to 6th district after girlfriend graduates.     Ron Estes: Won special election with national GOP support.

Social Security     Ralph Norman: Raise retirement age; lower benefits for top 10% of earners.     Jon Ossoff: A civilized nation cannot abandon its elders to destitution.     Tommy Pope: Fund the state retirement system to keep our promises.

Tax Reform     John Curtis: Cut taxes; simplify system.     Ralph Norman: Cut taxes and eliminate regulations that kill job-creation.     Jon Ossoff: Reduce tax burden on small businesses & simplify tax filing.     Ron Estes: Simplified, fairer, flatter tax code grows the economy.

Technology     Karen Handel: Best for government to get out of the way on infrastructure.     Tommy Pope: Fix our dangerous and crumbling roads for the long-term.

War & Peace     Ralph Norman: Take the fight to ISIS on their turf.     Tommy Pope: End hands-off policy and destroy ISIS.     Jon Ossoff: Avoid reckless, destabilizing missteps like the Iraq War.     Jon Ossoff: Destroy ISIS without deploying regular US ground forces.     Ron Estes: Take the fight to ISIS and exit the disastrous Iran deal.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Jimmy Gomez Democrat U.S. Rep California-34 John Curtis Republican U.S. Rep Utah-3 Jon Ossoff Democratic Senate challenger Georgia Karen Handel Republican Challenger Georgia Ralph Norman Republican U.S. Rep South Carolina-5 Ron Estes Republican U.S. Rep Kansas-4 Tommy Pope South Carolina Republican candidate for Governor (withdrew) Val Demings Democrat U.S. Rep Florida- 10