Stephen Whitmer's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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Stephen Whitmer has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2024 Political Courage Test.
Indiana State Legislative Election 2024 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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 (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Taxpayers shouldn't fund abortions. In fact, government should stay out of healthcare. | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support limiting state government spending on social programs (e.g. SNAP, TANF)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to promote economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs in your state? | ||
| People do not need to be taxed more for public programs. If people want more public programs, nothing is stopping them from giving more of their hard-earned money to the government to fund them. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for violent crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of private prisons? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| I'm saying no on this, because I'm not sure what you mean by "nonviolent". Is that like saying I didn't get in a car accident while high on drugs? | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector (e.g. for business or the environment)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Indiana? | ||
| No | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in Indiana? | ||
| "affordable housing" projects are a scam for developers to make money on the backs of taxpayers. It's been proven developers are giving money to candidates, so they get the contracts for these projects. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) in Indiana? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Indiana? | ||
| No | d) Should immigrants in the United States who graduate from Indiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state governments allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| As long as we dont become Flint, Michigan | |||
| Yes | a)Do you support limiting campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent or bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in Indiana? | ||
| I've gone through the voter rolls Indiana. There are LOTS of people that have not voted in over a decade. The voter rolls need to be updated. If you need an ID to prove who you are at a bank, you need an ID to vote. People only want to vote once. Ranked choice voting would only work if people weren't lazy. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, closing the boyfriend loophole)? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the right to concealed carry in Indiana? | ||
| Go through MYcase and look how many times gun charges have been dismissed in Marion County. This is an accountability problem, not a gun problem. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| No | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die (e.g. those with a terminal illness) through euthanasia? | ||
| No | d) Do you support mandating vaccinations (e.g. for school or employment)? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| No | f) Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support banning gender affirming care for transgender youth in Indiana? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use in Indiana? | ||
| I haven't seen a single state that has had a net positive from legalizing marijuana. -More crime -taxes go up -Cartels take over areas -home prices go up | |||
| No | a) Do you support inclusion of sexual orientation in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Indiana's state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| I'm saying no because this problem doesn't exist. | |||
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