John Deaton in 2024 MA Senate race

On Abortion: Out-of-control judges should not be deciding these things

On Government Reform: Regulation of crypto another example of government overreach

On Drugs: Opioid addiction is directly related to Border crisis

On Civil Rights: Enshrine equal marriage in law

On Education: We need more opportunities for kids in failing schools

We need more opportunities for kids in failing schools. We need to empower parents and provide for school choice--the money should follow the student. We need to provide access to charter and magnet schools, as well as increased vocational learning that prepares our kids to succeed in and stay in Massachusetts.

On Energy & Oil: Energy transition yes; but no Green New Deal

I oppose the Green New Deal. We need a multi-faceted and balanced approach to tackling this issue that protects our economy and is not ignorant to what is happening across the globe including emerging economies. We need to move ourselves through an energy transition, reducing our carbon footprint in a very systematic way while not causing a significant detriment to our economic well-being. Current policies promoted by Elizabeth Warren hurt the poor and middle class. Pursuing renewable energy and independence from fossil fuels is a must, but it must not be achieved on the backs of the people struggling the most. We must implement a plan that eventually achieves carbon neutrality in a sensible way. I’m confident that our future lies in renewable & sustainable energy, and that the ingenuity of this country, especially in places like Massachusetts, is poised to lead the rest of the world.

On Free Trade: Return American jobs lost to China with fair trade deals

China seeks to expand its geopolitical influence across the Middle East, Africa, and increasingly, Europe. To counter the growing threat of Communist China, we should pursue pro-growth economic policies, at home, to make America a more competitive place to invest and create jobs. We must also improve our relationships with our trading partners so we can increase our exports to foreign markets and return American jobs lost to China.

China is without question America's biggest economic competitor, and we must maintain the global advantage. Negotiating fair trade deals, addressing trade imbalances, and attracting foreign investments will help significantly. We must incentivize and support small businesses. We maintain a global advantage by investing in innovation and technology.

On Government Reform: Strong supporter of term limits

Congress is dominated by career politicians, like Elizabeth Warren, who become conflicted by special interests and fierce loyalty to only a party or political agenda. Simply put, if you can't effectuate change within twelve years of being in Washington, then someone else should get a chance.

On Health Care: Don’t let ObamaCare tax credits sunset

1. Expand the Premium Tax Credit (PTC) for low-income families. Tax credits implemented under the Affordable Care Act are set to expire in 2025, and it's imperative that Congress has the courage to keep them from sunsetting. This cost-sharing tool allows citizens who seek employment and transition away from Medicaid to maintain support while they adjust to an independent life.
2. Ban the use of medical debt in credit scoring.
3. Raise the cap on low-income families eligible for cost sharing reductions (CSRs).

On Homeland Security: Expand Veterans Choice Program to outside the VA

I support choice for Veterans. I believe we should expand the Veterans Choice Program to allow Veterans to seek treatment outside of the VA system to meet their medical needs and reduce the strain on the VA.

We must expand mental health services for Veterans returning home from foreign wars and conflicts. Thousands of troops have returned home from Afghanistan and Iraq with PTSD that has gone untreated. This is wrong, and as your next Senator, I will fight to be on the Veterans Affairs Committee and fight to ensure that every service member who needs care receives it.

On Immigration: Right to shelter makes MA Ground Zero in migrant crisis

I believe most of the undocumented migrants are good people, desiring a better life. But even if only a small percentage of people illegally entering America have bad intentions, our national security is at risk. Simply put, the status quo is unsustainable, undermines legal immigration, and it will cost MA taxpayers billions of dollars.

On Social Security: Honor our commitments & replenish our national trust fund

On War & Peace: Israel has the absolute right to defend itself

I believe Rules of Engagement must be followed. Even a country defending itself from an act of genocide must takes measures to reduce the loss of civilian life, whenever possible.

On War & Peace: Only finance Ukraine with metrics for tactical independence

On Abortion: Massachusetts got this right: unrestricted until viability

Warren: John Deaton gives us the big defense of the filibuster that keeps us from making Roe v. Wade law of the land. That's the problem. We can't pass it with 52 votes because the Republicans filibuster us. So here's the deal. If Republicans are in control of the Senate, there will be no bill to make Roe v. Wade law of the land. That means when they are coming for us in Massachusetts, we have no defense.

On Civil Rights: Supports marriage equality

"I am tired of these presidential candidates not representing the people that I care about--that's the working class & the poor. I got in this race because they are not being represented," he said. "When you look at the Senate, you do not see someone who has been working 50 hours a week."

On Environment: Represented people stricken by asbestos-related illnesses

Deaton gets feisty when he's asked about his comparably brief residency in the Bay State. He quickly points out that he lived in Roxbury while attending the New England School of Law in Boston. He supported himself, he said, by working at Legal Sea Foods at Copley Place. "You could find me playing basketball at Washington Park [in Roxbury]," Deaton said of his law school days.

Later, as an Ocean State-based attorney representing people stricken by asbestos-related illnesses, Deaton said his clients spanned the Commonwealth. "I have literally been sitting at the kitchen tables of Massachusetts residents who are asbestos victims for the last two decades," he said. The question isn't merely an academic one. Political hopefuls with residency issues traditionally haven't had great luck at the polls.

On Foreign Policy: They've got money for Ukraine war, but can't feed the poor

Warren: We are a partner for Ukraine as they fight for democracy and I think that's powerfully important. The question we have to ask ourselves is why are these handful of Republicans who have turned their backs on Ukraine and the answer is because Donald Trump is still angry with Ukraine because Ukraine wouldn't help him try to dig up dirt on Joe Biden back when Donald Trump was president.

On Government Reform: Bottom line: government is the problem most of the time

Warren: Housing prices are out of control. We have been sitting here for 40 years talking about how housing prices are going up and up and it has truly reached crisis proportions. It is time for the federal government to partner up and that's why I have mayors saying I want to be part of that. The Warren plan is a plan to build more housing and bring down costs. Mr. Deaton is one to say let the private market fix it like it has fixed at the last 30 years.

On Immigration: Expand legal immigration; against illegal immigration

Deaton: They do not need a senator reminiscing about some bill that did not actually happen to get passed in 2013. The bottom line for everybody out there is Senator Warren has the same exact position as Donald Trump, do nothing. The bill was not perfect. I can assure you of that. I want to see legal immigration expanded more and have zero tolerance for illegal immigration.

On Jobs: Regulations have driven commercial fishermen to bankruptcy

On Principles & Values: I come from extreme poverty in a dangerous neighborhood

Warren: I appreciate that John Deaton grew up in a really poor family and in a really difficult circumstance. And I have some sense of what it's like to listen to your mother cry because she can't pay the bills and worried you are going to lose your housing. I have spent my whole life fighting for working families. John Deaton, he takes care of himself first. Take a look at his tax returns. Worth what? Tens of millions of dollars, maybe $100 million and he couldn't find more than $56 to give to charity across two years?

On Tax Reform: We don't need 87,000 IRS agents for only 735 billionaires

Warren: The IRS agents he's talking about are the people hired to do enforcement against tax cheats who make more than $400,000 a year and it is an incredibly successful program. For every dollar invested we are getting somewhere between six and $10 back in revenues from people who don't follow the current law because they know under the Republican regime that the IRS doesn't have the manpower to come after them.

On Technology: Support Bitcoin; Warren introduced bill to ban it

Deaton has said cryptocurrency would not become a central issue in his campaign even though he provided legal representation to people who own crypto and has heavily criticized Warren for her stances on the matter.

After multiple speakers alluded to or referenced the topic during his primary night party, he alleged Warren was the "crypto candidate, not me."

"Why did, when she announced her reelection, focus on crypto," he told reporters after declaring victory. "I think we got some other issues to talk about. I'm not talking about crypto. She's talking about crypto. She's introduced a bill that bans Bitcoin."

On Welfare & Poverty: Oppose decades-old right-to-shelter law

The political newcomer has tapped into former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker's network to help run his primary and general election pushes. Deaton has pointed to Baker as one of the elected Massachusetts conservatives he admired most.

On Welfare & Poverty: Authored "Food Stamp Warrior", a memoir

"It's time to get someone who fights for things," Deaton said, declaring that Warren "fights for the rich and wealthy," while he "[wants] to fight for the poor and the middle class."

"I'm looking forward to introducing Massachusetts voters to someone like that," he said.