Chase Oliver in 2022 GA Senate race

On Civil Rights: 2003: Launched his high school's gay-straight alliance

On Crime: End qualified immunity at federal level, then states

A: Whomever represents Georgia in the United States ought to take up comprehensive immigration reform, because it's something that we have been discussing and debating since Ronald Reagan was president, and it hasn't gotten done. We really need a bipartisan group of senators to come together to actually make immigration less costly, more efficient, and more simple. And as far as justice reforms, we really need to see an end to qualified immunity for law enforcement at the federal level, so that states can follow suit.

On Government Reform: His 2% vote caused runoff in 2022 Georgia Senate race

Oliver is the third name on the ballot in the marquee matchup between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker. In most states, that make would Oliver an afterthought. But Georgia law requires an outright majority to win statewide office. With polls suggesting a tight contest between Warnock and Walker, it may not take a considerable share of the vote for Oliver to force a runoff.

[OTI summary of Nov. 8 results:]
• 49.4% Democratic Incumbent Raphael Warnock
• 48.5% GOP Challenger Herschel Walker
• 2.1% Libertarian Challenger Chase Oliver

On Government Reform: Ranked-choice voting is better than runoffs

Coming out of an election where so many Georgians rejected the two-party system, Oliver says there might be momentum for additional changes. "Runoffs are better than plurality voting. Ranked-choice voting is better than runoffs," he says. "That's something that I'm going to be working on."

On Homeland Security: 2008: Close Guantanamo; stop drone policies

A: I started out my political life as an anti-war activist in the wake of the war in Iraq. I was an ardent supporter of Barack Obama in 2008, because he promised to close Guantanamo. He said he was going to stop the drone policies of the Bush administration, and the wars. And he really didn't do any of those things--and yet he got a Nobel Peace Prize. That, to me, was very insulting. And what really bothered me was that the anti-war left that was marching with me in the streets while Bush was president, completely disappeared while Obama was president. That drove me out of the Democratic Party.

On Energy & Oil: No carbon caps; no magic legislation

CHASE OLIVER: It sounds great to say that we could just magically pass a bill and stop using less carbon and lower the carbon output. But that's just not the way it's going to work. Government involvement stifles innovation. We need to let the marketplace innovate: quit over-regulating green technology. We can fight climate change; that doesn't require massive government action; it doesn't require carbon caps or new government programs. It just requires us to buckle down and American innovation will develop the technologies. In the meantime, government doesn't really have a role in deciding what technology is going to be developing in the next few years.

RAPHAEL WARNOCK: In the church, we call it "Creation Care": we ought to be kind to the earth because it's the only place that we have. I'm glad that we passed the Inflation Reduction Act which represents record investment in a green energy future.

On Families & Children: Support LGBTQ kids; stop demonizing LGBTQ people

A: I support the Equality Act. But at the end of the day, what we need to be doing is to stop demonizing LGBTQ people. I hear from folks like [GOP Senate nominee] Herschel Walker about how terrible LGBTQ people are; about how they're destroying our children. The fact is, I was a gay child at one time, and I was thankful that I had supportive teachers & supportive people in my life that could help me as I was growing up. I don't want to do away with that. But the reality is that we have far too many people looking to demonize LGBTQ people and I am not one who's going to stand for that. I support the Equality Act but the best way for me to be a good representative as an LGBTQ person is to get up, do the work, and just be like everybody else. Because that's what LGBTQ people are--we just love different people. There's nothing inherently wrong with us.

On Gun Control: Pink Pistols: no red flag laws; no gun confiscation

A: I'm a proud gun owner and I respect the 2nd Amendment. A lot of gun laws in this country come from a place of historical oppression and, frankly, racism and bigotry. I think people should have the right to defend themselves if they so choose. Now, how do we address gun violence? The truth is, we've always had guns in this country. You're not going to address gun violence [by] gun confiscation or passing unconstitutional red flag laws that do away with people's due process. The way we address gun violence is we have to address the culture of violence in our society, and that's not something you can do with a piece of legislation. At the end of the day, I'm not going to support red flag laws; I'm not going to support gun confiscation. I'm going to stand up for people's right to defend themselves. I'm a member of the Pink Pistols: armed gays are harder to oppress and they're harder to bash.

On Technology: Let innovators reduce carbon; not federal-chosen technology

A: Government involvement stifles innovation. We need to let the marketplace innovate. It just requires us to buckle down and American innovation will develop the technologies that will power us into the future not using carbon-based fuels. In the meantime, government doesn't really have a role.

Q: Can you name a market-driven innovation that reduced carbon emissions without a government incentive?

A: It's very hard to get that because of the Big Government world we live in. Every major company is reaching out for every subsidy and giveaway they can. But we need to bring market competition back to it, [not] a scramble for who can get the next federal dollars. Elon Musk would've developed the Tesla [electric car] with or without subsidies. Of course he'll take the free money, but that's your money going into Elon Musk's pocket. We don't need to give money to Green billionaires to develop new technology; they'll do that on their own.