2020 Kansas Senate Candidate Guide
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AFFORDABLE CARE ACT – Support Affordable Care Act (ACA), including Medicaid expansion?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. Build on ACA. As state senator, sponsored legislation to expand Medicaid eligibility. “I have been always about expanding Kansans’ access to health care.” Leading push to end surprise medical bills.
Roger Marshall – No. Opposed Medicaid expansion, saying it would bankrupt health care system while failing to provide “meaningful health care for the most vulnerable.” Voted to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. “Morally, spiritually, socially,” some “just don’t want health care.”
CAMPAIGN FINANCE – Make political ads disclose their largest funders?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. “Elections should be decided by candidates campaigning out in the open, not by mysterious special-interest groups.”
Roger Marshall – No position found. Voted against SHIELD Act, which would make campaigns report election interference from foreign powers.
CLIMATE CHANGE – Consider human-caused climate change a serious threat?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. “Climate change and extreme weather are some of the most significant challenges facing Kansas’ farmers and ranchers.” … “Without action, … our grandchildren will come of age in an unrecognizable world.”
Roger Marshall – No. “I’m not sure … there is … even climate change. … It’s something that we should continue to study and make sure our ecology continues to improve.”
CLIMATE CHANGE – Address as a top priority by taxing or limiting output of greenhouse gases?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. Supports “a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon emissions.” Opposed efforts to repeal state renewable energy standard. Would harness state’s wind energy potential.
Roger Marshall – No. Voted for a resolution opposing a carbon tax. “Innovating our way to solutions has been a trademark of the American spirit since our country’s inception.”
COURTS — SUPREME COURT – Support picking Ginsburg replacement now or letting November winner select?
Barbara Bollier – No. Avoid rushing replacement. “Now is not the time to politicize the Supreme Court.” See CEEP Supreme Court guide.
Roger Marshall – Yes. Calls for quick action. See CEEP Supreme Court guide.
COVID-19 – Support administration’s response to coronavirus pandemic?
Barbara Bollier – No. Opposes statewide mask mandate, but says Marshall’s unmasked campaign events show more concern “with his political health than” Kansans’ health. “Potentially dangerous … to promote unproven medicine” like hydroxychloroquine as a cure.
Roger Marshall – Yes. Trump is standing up “for our rights.” More would have died from shutting down the economy than the virus itself. “We are winning the war against this invisible enemy.” Says he is taking hydroxychloroquine for prevention.
EDUCATION – Use public funding for private and/or for-profit schools?
Barbara Bollier – No. “Private schools have no requirements for accountability” and are not required to take all students, unlike public institutions.
Roger Marshall – No position found.
ENVIRONMENT – Tighten or loosen environmental regulations?
Barbara Bollier – Tighten. “We must reduce carbon emissions,” but doesn’t support Green New Deal. League of Conservation Voters endorsed.
Roger Marshall – Loosen. “Agriculture is the lifeblood of Kansas, and we Kansans know our land better than federal bureaucrats.”
FINANCIAL REGULATION – Tighten or loosen regulation of banks and credit card companies?
Barbara Bollier – No position found.
Roger Marshall – Loosen. “Overregulation of community banks limits consumer access to credit.”
GUN RULES – Enact more restrictive legislation on guns?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. “Like almost everyone, including the majority of NRA members, I support universal background checks and reasonable gun safety training standards.”
Roger Marshall – No. “I believe all Americans have a right to keep and bear arms and I refuse to support legislation that would strip that right away from law-abiding citizens.”
IMMIGRATION – Support path to citizenship for undocumented residents, including those brought to the U.S. as children? Position on expanding border wall?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. “Immigrants play a critical role in Kansas’ economy.” Need “pathway to citizenship for those … who have stayed out of trouble and… are contributing to our society.” Supports strong border security; unclear on wall.
Roger Marshall – No. Opposed path to citizenship for DACA participants. “Build a wall.” “Turn off magnets that attract, promote, encourage and allow migrants to enter our country under false pretenses.”
IRAN – Require congressional approval for military attacks on Iran?
Barbara Bollier – No position found.
Roger Marshall – No. Voted against requiring Congressional approval.
LABOR – Support “right to work” laws, barring unions from mandating dues?
Barbara Bollier – No position found, but historically supportive of union positions.
Roger Marshall – Yes. Co-sponsored 2019-2020 National Right-to-Work Act.
LEGAL ABORTION – Keep legal or ban?
Barbara Bollier – Legal. Voted against requiring telling patients that abortions using a pill can be reversed. When “making complex medical decisions,” no one wants “a politician in the middle.”
Roger Marshall – Ban. Overturn Roe v. Wade. No exceptions for rape or incest. Could never “in my heart, find any reason to end a life.”
LGBT RIGHTS – Support same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights issues?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. “I support the people of Kansas. I do not condemn whoever they are.”
Roger Marshall – No. Supported ban on transgender people serving in the military because Trump said that his generals supported the ban.
MARIJUANA – Keep illegal or decriminalize?
Barbara Bollier – Decriminalize. Supports decriminalization of marijuana.
Roger Marshall – Keep illegal. Willing to consider medical use, but “not convinced … it’s medically proven.”
MINIMUM WAGE – Raise federal hourly minimum wage above current $7.25?
Barbara Bollier -Yes. “I support raising the minimum wage to a living wage.”
Roger Marshall – No. “Raising the minimum wage has a proven record of killing jobs,” particularly “those held by lower-income individuals.”
PLANNED PARENTHOOD – Allow Planned Parenthood’s receiving public funds for non-abortion care?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. Has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood.
Roger Marshall – No. “Federal funds should never go to abortion providers.”
POLICE/COMMUNITY ISSUES – Restrict police use of force and increase public oversight?
Barbara Bollier – Yes. Supports the Justice in Policing Act. Against defunding police, but supports reforms to “help end inequities in our systems that harm communities of color.”
Roger Marshall – No. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that the police have everything that they need to protect property and life.”
SAUDI ARABIA – Block arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
Barbara Bollier – No position found.
Roger Marshall – No. Voted against blocking arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
STUDENT FINANCIAL AID – Support free or subsidized tuition or loan subsidies for lower-income individuals?
Barbara Bollier – No. Doesn’t support free college, but more financial support for students and let students refinance loans.
Roger Marshall – Unclear. Supported public service loan forgiveness program.
TAXES – Support administration’s $1.9 trillion (2017) tax cuts?
Barbara Bollier – No. Tax cuts ballooned the deficit and benefited wealthy over middle class Kansans. Opposed similar Kansas tax cuts.
Roger Marshall – Yes. Voted in favor of the tax cuts. Average Kansas family kept “$2,000 of their hard-earned money.”
VOTING RIGHTS – Support stricter ID requirements and other rules on voting?
Barbara Bollier – No. Make it easier to vote, including early voting, same-day registration for eligible voters, and postage-paid return envelopes for mail-in ballots.
Roger Marshall – Yes. Opposed HR1, which included various measures to make voting easier. Opponents said this risked voter fraud and gave government undue power to interfere.
Campus Election Engagement Project is a nonpartisan effort to help colleges engage students in elections. Sources include Votesmart.org, FactCheck.org, Politifact.com and candidate statements. Vote411.org and Ballotready.org offer guides to local races.
