Ian Root has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Girls and women should have the right to their own health care without government interference. No person has the right to tell another what to do with their own body. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | c) Do you support establishing a state sales tax in order to reduce personal property taxes? | ||
| I would exempt people earning under $50,000 per year from an income tax. I would raise income tax on wealthy. I would raise capital gains taxes on the wealthy. I would impose a wealth tax on the wealthy. I would collect all the income that the tax cut of 2017 gave to wealthy people especially guys like Greg Gianforte and Steve Daines who are some of the richest guys in Congress. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| I would everything I can to increase voting participation. I would let people in prison vote. I would register children who will be 18 by election day in the school. I would make it mandatory that they register. I would make Election Day a holiday. I would force employers to allow employees time off for voting. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Montana? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of recreational marijuana? | ||
| I support Tribal law on the Montana reservations similar to the recent Supreme Court ruling about eastern Oklahoma. I would empty the prisons of non violent criminals | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Montana? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| I support increasing the minimum wage. I support imposing a maximum wage. I would raise state income taxes on wealthy people. I would tax second home owners who vote in another state. I support forcing employers to provide sick days. I would improve unemployment benefits. I would provide a day care subsidy for working family's children. On the COVID-19 financial relief question, I would only help small businesses and individuals, not corporations. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Montana? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Montana? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Montana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I would only support federal educations standards for Montana IF the Montana standards are below the federal ones. I support free public education through college for all residents. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| The state of Montana should force the utility companies out of the fossil fuel business. All electricity should be generated with renewal sources. Clean drinking water should be a human right for all residents. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I would support strong background checks with a waiting period. I would require all military type machine guns be turned into the police for destruction. I would tax ammunition. I would not allow trophy hunting. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Montana's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| I support expanding Medicaid to include everyone. I support forcing large employers to provide sick days, vacation days and other benefits. i would force Wal-Mart to pay a decent salary so that their employees are not eligible for SNAP. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Montana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Montana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Montana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the creation of Indigenous Peoples Day in Montana? | ||
| Indigenous Lives Matter. I support any law that spreads equality to all who have been denied. I think women should be paid more than men as generally they do all the work. | |||
| In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, any additional priorities of your campaign that have not been covered in these questions. | |||
| In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top legislative priority and how you plan to fund it. | |||
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