VoteMatch Responses (Click here for VoteMatch quiz)
VoteMatch Question & Answer (Click on question for explanation and background)	Based on these stances: (Click on topic for excerpt & citation)
Strongly Opposes topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (-5 points on Social scale)	Ban abortions after 20 weeks; but no "heartbeat bill": Strongly Opposes topic 1 Require abortion clinics to have nearby hospital & doctor: Strongly Opposes topic 1 Cut $1.3M in funding for discredited Planned Parenthood: Strongly Opposes topic 1 Re-prioritize family planning funds away from abortion: Opposes topic 1 Defund Planned Parenthood, like we are trying in Ohio: Opposes topic 1 Reasonable exceptions, but respect other opinions: Favors topic 1 I attended a gay wedding; accept the Supreme Court ruling: Favors topic 1 Require women seeking an abortion listen to fetal heartbeat: Strongly Opposes topic 1 De-fund all family planning centers that discuss abortion: Strongly Opposes topic 1 Pro-life except rape & incest; supports litmus test: Opposes topic 1 Opposes federal abortion funding: Opposes topic 1 YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion: Strongly Opposes topic 1 YES on banning partial-birth abortions: Opposes topic 1
Opposes topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (+2 points on Economic scale)	Vetoed "fetal heartbeat" law (abortion ban after 6 weeks): Favors topic 2 Paid maternity leave is reason for pay gap: Strongly Opposes topic 2 Women workers in governor's office paid $10/hr less than men: Strongly Opposes topic 2 Admires courage of Aung San Suu Kyi & Rosa Parks: Favors topic 2 Made speech in high school to ease tensions during race riot: Favors topic 2 End “racial profiling” locally, or federally: Neutral on topic 2 Affirmative action OK via recruitment; not via quotas: Favors topic 2 YES on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions: Opposes topic 2
Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+2 points on Social scale)	Strongly opposed "bathroom bills" against transgender people: Strongly Favors topic 3 Court has ruled on same-sex marriage & we have to accept it: Favors topic 3 Pray for customers with whom you disagree, but sell to them: Favors topic 3 Government employees should comply with gay marriage ruling: Favors topic 3 Can respect and love gay people: Favors topic 3 I support traditional marriage, but it's time to move on: Favors topic 3 Supports Amendment to prevent same sex marriage: Strongly Opposes topic 3 YES on banning gay adoptions in DC: Opposes topic 3
Strongly Favors topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (-5 points on Social scale)	Respect for secular humanists: Favors topic 4 Broadcast Judeo-Christian values abroad, to help defeat ISIS: Strongly Favors topic 4 Chaired committee which overhauled the welfare system: Favors topic 4 Bible stories are historical facts: Favors topic 4 Did earth come about on its own? Evidence says No: Favors topic 4 Separating church and state is goofy misinterpretation: Strongly Favors topic 4 Limited government supported by our Judeo-Christian ethics: Strongly Favors topic 4 I can't figure out how anyone gets along without the Bible: Favors topic 4 Entertainment should not sabotage American culture: Favors topic 4 Allow faith-based institutions to address social ills: Strongly Favors topic 4 Focus next phase of welfare reform on fathers: Favors topic 4 Supports a Constitutional Amendment for school prayer: Strongly Favors topic 4 YES on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer: Strongly Favors topic 4 YES on responsible fatherhood via faith-based organizations: Favors topic 4
Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-3 points on Economic scale)	$112M for mental health hospital, plus Medicaid expansion: Favors topic 5 To Dems: let market work; to GOP: help people who need it: Favors topic 5 Medicaid expansion brought health care to 700,000 people: Favors topic 5 Reforming ObamaCare ok; cutting coverage is not: Favors topic 5 Very, very bad idea to phase out Medicaid expansion: Strongly Favors topic 5 Give financial incentive for low cost & good outcomes: Opposes topic 5 Expand Medicaid; everybody has a right to God-given purpose: Favors topic 5 Opposes ObamaCare but not all public programs: Opposes topic 5 Accepted ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion statewide: Favors topic 5 Expand Medicaid to 275,000 poor Ohioans, but not ObamaCare: Strongly Favors topic 5 Equalize mental health coverage with physical health: Favors topic 5 $776B tax cut plan helps people afford health care: Opposes topic 5 Opposes government-run healthcare: Strongly Opposes topic 5 Loosen "one-size-fits-all" approach to Medicaid: Opposes topic 5 YES on establishing tax-exempt Medical Savings Accounts: Opposes topic 5 YES on subsidizing private insurance for Medicare Rx drug coverage: Opposes topic 5
Favors topic 6: Privatize Social Security (+2 points on Economic scale)	Deal with all entitlements or we'll drown in debt: Favors topic 6 Fix Social Security: keep the promise: Opposes topic 6 Fix Social Security by lowering benefits: Favors topic 6 Personal Retirement Savings Accounts invest 2% privately: Strongly Favors topic 6 Reduce taxes on Social Security earnings: Favors topic 6 YES on reducing tax payments on Social Security benefits: Favors topic 6
Favors topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (+2 points on Economic scale)	Unfair to shift tax decision from people to school board: Strongly Favors topic 7 I like the ideas in Common Core, but not the program: Opposes topic 7 We need charter schools, with state oversight: Favors topic 7 No unfunded mandates for schools: Favors topic 7 Our broken public school system is beyond fixing: Favors topic 7 Competition is what's missing from public school monopoly: Strongly Favors topic 7 Send 95% of federal funds to classrooms: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Empower local people instead of bureaucrats: Favors topic 7 Create competition in public schools: Opposes topic 7 Tax money for entrepreneurial private schools: Strongly Favors topic 7 YES on vouchers for private & parochial schools: Strongly Favors topic 7 YES on allowing vouchers in DC schools: Favors topic 7
Neutral on topic 8: Fight EPA regulatory over-reach (0 points on Social scale)	Eliminate NOAA; let DOI safeguard natural resources: Strongly Favors topic 8 Properly balance environmental stewardship and job creation: Favors topic 8 Reduce Erie pollution with tougher fertilizer regulations: Opposes topic 8 Mandate best practices to reduce farm fertilizer runoff: Opposes topic 8 FactCheck: Catholic faith does NOT support death penalty: Favors topic 8 $2.5B invested in cleaning Lake Erie, and keep it clean: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Freeze all federal regulations for one year: Favors topic 8 We should not worship environment like pantheists: Favors topic 8 Strengthen Clean Water Act; increase federal grazing fees: Strongly Opposes topic 8
Favors topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (-3 points on Social scale)	Spared 7 death-row inmates; executed 15 more: Favors topic 9 Rehab, not prison, for low-level offenders: Opposes topic 9 CATCH court: prostitutes are victims of human trafficking: Opposes topic 9 Black Lives Matter means the system doesn't work for them: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Police must understand challenges of black community: Opposes topic 9 Put pimps in jail & treat women as victims of trafficking: Favors topic 9 Ban the box: no criminal history check on job applications: Opposes topic 9 Save money by converting prisoners to taxpayers: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Death penalty is consistent with justice & Christian values: Strongly Favors topic 9 My policies worked to integrate police and community in Ohio: Opposes topic 9 It's God's job to judge if punishment fits the crime: Opposes topic 9 Cops & Kids Plan: put more police on the street: Favors topic 9 Supports capital punishment for certain crimes: Strongly Favors topic 9 More prisons, more enforcement, effective death penalty: Favors topic 9 NO on replacing death penalty with life imprisonment: Strongly Favors topic 9 YES on making federal death penalty appeals harder: Strongly Favors topic 9 NO on maintaining right of habeas corpus in Death Penalty Appeals: Favors topic 9 YES on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime: Favors topic 9 NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons.: Strongly Favors topic 9
Neutral on topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (0 points on Economic scale)	1999: Cool off after school shootings; 2018: time for action: Opposes topic 10 Learn from mass shooting tragedies and take action: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Significant changes, while we protect the Second Amendment: Opposes topic 10 We need bipartisan gun reform to deal with mass shootings: Opposes topic 10 Background checks and increased attention to mental illness: Opposes topic 10 Supports state reciprocity and concealed carry: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Registering mentally ill is first priority in gun control: Favors topic 10 2nd Amendment advocate: NRA rating changed from "F" to "A": Strongly Favors topic 10 Keep existing restrictions, but tighten up on terrorist guns: Opposes topic 10 Cool off before making new gun laws after Littleton: Favors topic 10 More parenting better than more gun laws: Favors topic 10 Opposes restrictions on the right to bear arms: Strongly Favors topic 10 YES on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1: Strongly Favors topic 10
Strongly Opposes topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (+5 points on Economic scale)	Reduce tax withholding by 3.1%: Opposes topic 11 Eliminated the Ohio estate tax but hiked cigarette taxes: Strongly Opposes topic 11 No income taxes on small businesses up to $2M: Strongly Opposes topic 11 $3 billion in tax cuts for job creators: Strongly Opposes topic 11 Lower taxes to create competitive climate: Strongly Opposes topic 11 10% tax cut to promote charitable giving: Opposes topic 11 Tax credits (100%) for charitable donations: Opposes topic 11 Tax cuts and national renewal: Opposes topic 11 $776B tax cut plan helps people afford health care: Opposes topic 11 Opposes both marriage penalty & federal tax increases: Strongly Opposes topic 11 Supports the Taxpayer Protection Pledge: Strongly Opposes topic 11 Repeal marriage tax; cut middle class taxes: Opposes topic 11 YES on eliminating the "marriage penalty": Opposes topic 11 YES on $46 billion in tax cuts for small business: Opposes topic 11
Favors topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (+2 points on Social scale)	DREAMers are part of the fabric of America: Strongly Favors topic 12 Focus of immigration should be to keep families together: Favors topic 12 1993: end birthright citizenship; 2015: not part of approach: Opposes topic 12 Seal the border with Mexico, support legal immigrants: Strongly Opposes topic 12 Open to pathway to citizenship, but doesn't like it: Favors topic 12 Limit the number of legal immigrants, and their benefits: Strongly Opposes topic 12 Protect DREAMers instead of deporting them: Strongly Favors topic 12 Declared English the official language of the US: Opposes topic 12 YES on more immigrant visas for skilled workers: Favors topic 12
Favors topic 13: Support & expand free trade (+2 points on Economic scale)	Review trade violations without heavy-handed tariffs: Favors topic 13 Combat Chinese dumping and currency manipulation: Opposes topic 13 Trade was not responsible for job losses; technology was: Favors topic 13 Support TPP to eliminate 18,000 foreign tariffs on US goods: Favors topic 13 Tariffs slow down the economy and hurt 40 million jobs: Strongly Favors topic 13 Supports Trans-Pacific Partnership but not trade ideology: Favors topic 13 TPP takes advantage of economic opportunities in Pacific Rim: Strongly Favors topic 13 Shut down trade when countries dump in America: Strongly Opposes topic 13 I support fair trade against dumping, to protect steel: Strongly Opposes topic 13 TPP is a strategic alliance against China: Favors topic 13 Open trade is good for us, but don't be saps: Opposes topic 13 Trade, but not at all costs: clamp down on cheaters: Favors topic 13 Supports NAFTA and GATT: Strongly Favors topic 13 YES on 'Fast Track' authority for trade agreements: Strongly Favors topic 13 YES on Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China: Strongly Favors topic 13 NO on withdrawing from the WTO: Strongly Favors topic 13
Favors topic 14: Support American Exceptionalism (+2 points on Economic scale)	America First should not be America Alone: Opposes topic 14 Cooperation and engagement instead of "Fortress America": Strongly Opposes topic 14 China is converting economic power into regional influence: Favors topic 14 Opportunity to cooperate with China instead of containment: Opposes topic 14 Allies directly affected should repatriate Syrian refugees: Strongly Favors topic 14 Balance cooperation and confrontation with China: Opposes topic 14 Tariffs lead to acrimony among friends & going it alone: Strongly Opposes topic 14 Engage the world, instead of acting unilaterally: Strongly Opposes topic 14 The sun is going to rise to the zenith in America again: Favors topic 14 Civilization's enemies seek America's fall: Favors topic 14 Path to darkness is seeing America broken by "the other": Opposes topic 14 NATO & Western alliance has kept the peace since WWII: Opposes topic 14 America's great, and you can shoot for the stars: Favors topic 14 Arm the Ukrainians and fight ISIS in Syria, Libya: Strongly Favors topic 14 Need to promote Western values to win war of ideas: Strongly Favors topic 14 Pause accepting Syrian refugees to create stringent checks: Favors topic 14 No more Syrian refugees in Ohio or anywhere in USA: Strongly Favors topic 14 Refugee crisis is on Europe, but US also has responsibility: Opposes topic 14 Phase out economic aid to Russia & others: Strongly Favors topic 14 No diplomatic relations with Cuba nor Vietnam: Strongly Favors topic 14 Engage internationally but choose missions carefully: Strongly Opposes topic 14 The Lord wants America to succeed and for America to lead: Strongly Favors topic 14
Opposes topic 15: Expand the military (+2 points on Social scale)	Prioritize nuclear agreements like START and INF: Opposes topic 15 Improve veteran healthcare with more options & fewer delays: Favors topic 15 Easier licensing for veterans; and more job services: Favors topic 15 Focused on excess spending on Armed Services Committee: Opposes topic 15 1980s: B-2 didn't make financial sense nor strategic sense: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Cutting Pentagon budget doesn't weaken defense: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Create "cyber-range" for cybersecurity training: Favors topic 15 $100B more to rebuild the military, with Pentagon reforms: Favors topic 15 I'm a "cheap hawk": Cut Pentagon waste, but not spending: Favors topic 15 $1B per plane for B-2 is a colossal misuse of money: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Cheap Hawk: Strong on defense; tight with a dollar: Opposes topic 15 Limited military use, only under US command: Opposes topic 15 No US troops under UN command; more defense spending: Favors topic 15 YES on deploying SDI: Favors topic 15
Favors topic 16: Make voter registration easier (+2 points on Social scale)	Supreme Court should disallow partisan gerrymandering: Strongly Favors topic 16 Supreme Court should disallow partisan gerrymandering: Strongly Favors topic 16 Require complete & sufficient ID on absentee ballots: Strongly Opposes topic 16 End simultaneous registration and early voting: Strongly Opposes topic 16 Skinny-down bureaucracy & kick out special interests: Favors topic 16 Money affects ability to honestly assess policy situation: Favors topic 16 NO on banning soft money and issue ads: Opposes topic 16
Opposes topic 17: Avoid foreign entanglements (-3 points on Social scale)	Keep up pressure on North Korea to give up nukes: Opposes topic 17 Forward-deploy US forces in the Pacific to challenge China: Opposes topic 17 War on terror should focus on threats to US homeland: Strongly Favors topic 17 Talk with North Korea, but reimpose sanctions if no results: Opposes topic 17 Eradicate leadership of North Korea but no military strike: Opposes topic 17 How to deal with Russia on Ukraine: Punch 'em in the nose: Opposes topic 17 Find moderate rebels in Syria; work with them against Assad: Strongly Opposes topic 17 No-fly zone 1st priority, but ok with more aid for refugees: Opposes topic 17 Invading force but no occupying force in Syria: Strongly Opposes topic 17 China doesn't own the South China Sea; show US Navy there: Opposes topic 17 Destroy ISIS, with US troops as part of coalition: Strongly Opposes topic 17 No more dickering & delays: Syria's Assad has got to go: Strongly Opposes topic 17 No-fly zone in Syria & sanctuaries, enforced by U.S.: Strongly Opposes topic 17 Iran nuke deal makes us stronger; we could restart sanctions: Strongly Favors topic 17 Against nuclear deal with Iran; keep state sanctions: Strongly Favors topic 17 Make a coalition to fight ISIS in Syria: Opposes topic 17 Fight ISIS by supporting Kurds and educating Iraqis: Favors topic 17 2002: go to war with Iraq; 2015: we never should have gone: Favors topic 17 Fight ISIS with a coalition including US ground troops: Opposes topic 17 Iran nuke deal: verify, verify, verify, without the trust: Opposes topic 17 Focus on terrorism, oil, & nuclear development: Opposes topic 17
Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-3 points on Economic scale)	I've evolved on climate change: stop denying it: Favors topic 18 Subsidies for electric vehicles and renewables: Strongly Favors topic 18 Centrist climate policy: price for carbon dioxide emissions: Favors topic 18 Balance low-cost & environment by pursuing all sources: Opposes topic 18 Supports Keystone XL, clean coal; and "smart grid": Strongly Opposes topic 18 No state bailout for aging nuclear plants: Favors topic 18 Nuclear power is yesterday; natural gas represents tomorrow: Strongly Opposes topic 18 1978: Citizens Committee on Energy to discuss solar & wind: Strongly Favors topic 18 Keep state mandate on renewable energy: Strongly Favors topic 18 Mandate that electric utilities use at least 8.5% renewables: Strongly Favors topic 18 All-of-the-above approach, with stepped-up fossil fuels: Strongly Opposes topic 18 Open more federal lands to oil and natural gas exploration: Strongly Opposes topic 18 Balanced use of green energy & low-cost energy: Opposes topic 18 Raise severance tax on oil & gas from 20 cents upward: Favors topic 18 Opposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility: Favors topic 18 Manage the environment to bequest it to future: Favors topic 18 Environment and economy are not at odds: Favors topic 18 Devolve enviro policy-making to State and community: Opposes topic 18 NO on starting implementation of Kyoto Protocol: Strongly Opposes topic 18
Favors topic 19: Marijuana is a gateway drug (-3 points on Social scale)	Longer prison sentences for fentanyl-related offenses: Strongly Favors topic 19 Make low-level drug use a misdemeanor; treatment not prison: Opposes topic 19 Presidents can't solve drug problem; local communities can: Strongly Favors topic 19 If we all marched against drugs, we'd win that battle: Favors topic 19 Shut down the pill mills; put crooked doctors in jail: Strongly Favors topic 19 StartTalking! Talk to kids to say no to opiates: Strongly Favors topic 19 No mixed message: don't do opioids & don't do marijuana: Strongly Favors topic 19 2016: Legalized medical marijuana, with tight regulations: Opposes topic 19 Don't send mixed signals to kids by legalizing: Strongly Favors topic 19 The tsunami of drugs threatens families: Opposes topic 19 50% lower chance of drug use if kids hear "don't do drugs": Favors topic 19 Refuse to celebrate the drug-filled lifestyle: Strongly Favors topic 19 Educate students that marijuana is a gateway drug: Strongly Favors topic 19 Place babies of addicted mothers into foster homes: Favors topic 19 Rated B- by NORML, indicating a pro-drug-reform stance: Strongly Opposes topic 19 YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC: Strongly Favors topic 19
Strongly Opposes topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (+5 points on Economic scale)	Businesses are job creators, the engines of job growth: Strongly Opposes topic 20 Fund highways now; self-driving cars and drones later: Favors topic 20 We're nowhere close to a balanced budget; needs 3 things...: Opposes topic 20 Converted Ohio's $8B deficit to $2B surplus: Opposes topic 20 When you balance the budget & cut taxes, people get work: Strongly Opposes topic 20 Require balanced budget; block grant everything to states: Strongly Opposes topic 20