Question 1

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on guns?

Accepted Answer

Lieutenant Governor. PHILLIP ENSLER (Democratic): He supports gun-safety measures including safe storage, allowing intervention during mental-health crises, and restoring a permit requirement for public carry. JOHN WAHL (Republican): No public statement found in our sources. U.S. Senate. EVERETT WESS (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. BARRY MOORE (Republican): He supports the Second Amendment and opposes federal gun confiscation.

Question 2

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on abortion?

Accepted Answer

U.S. House, District 3. LEE McINNIS (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. MIKE ROGERS (Republican, incumbent): He says he wants to close the borders and protect the unborn. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 8. ASHLEIGH MEYER DUNHAM (Democratic): She says Alabamians deserve privacy, compassion, and fairness in decisions involving IVF, reproductive care, and other personal health care, and says she would work to keep the state out of personal family decisions. GREG SHAW (Republican, incumbent): No public statement found in our sources.

Question 3

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on immigration?

Accepted Answer

U.S. Senate. EVERETT WESS (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. BARRY MOORE (Republican): He supports zero tolerance for illegal immigration and says he would prioritize border security and immigration enforcement, including deportation of undocumented immigrants. Attorney General. JEFF McLAUGHLIN (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. KATHERINE ROBERTSON (Republican): Her campaign has identified tougher laws addressing gangs, child exploitation, and illegal immigration as priorities.

Question 4

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on health care and retirement?

Accepted Answer

Governor. DOUG JONES (Democratic): Jones proposed expanding Medicaid and protecting rural hospitals, and called for a one-year pause on new AI data center projects until statewide safeguards are established. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (Republican): No public statement found in our sources. U.S. Senate. EVERETT WESS (Democratic): Wess supports affordable health care, with particular emphasis on funding rural medical providers and supporting hospitals in underserved areas. Wess has said he would seek federal funding to improve rural health access, provide care for veterans, and encourage medical professionals to work in underserved communities. BARRY MOORE (Republican): No public statement found in our sources. U.S. House, District 3. LEE McINNIS (Democratic): He supports broader access to health care, citing rural health-care deserts and shortages in mental-health and emergency services. MIKE ROGERS (Republican, incumbent): No public statement found in our sources. State House, District 28. ROBERT LOUIS HUNTER (Democratic): He supports closing the Medicaid coverage gap and expanding access to affordable health coverage. MACK N BUTLER (Republican, incumbent): No public statement found in our sources.

Question 5

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on schools and education?

Accepted Answer

Lieutenant Governor. PHILLIP ENSLER (Democratic): He supports eliminating the grocery and overtime taxes and raising the minimum wage; he opposes using public funds for private-school vouchers. JOHN WAHL (Republican): Wahl has said he wants to improve education and give parents a greater role in their children’s education. Wahl supports school choice, saying families should decide what is best for their children. U.S. Senate. EVERETT WESS (Democratic): He advocates voting rights, equal justice, quality public education, and economic opportunity. BARRY MOORE (Republican): No public statement found in our sources. Attorney General. JEFF McLAUGHLIN (Democratic): He says he fought to keep Alabama’s public schools strong. KATHERINE ROBERTSON (Republican): No public statement found in our sources. State Senate, District 10. ANDREW JONES (Republican): He supports expanding access to Pre-K, while saying it should not be mandatory, and supports parental access to classroom curriculum. JESSE BATTLES (Independent): He supports expanding technical programs at Gadsden State and aligning high-school education with workforce needs, including trade training and financial literacy. State House, District 29. MARK A. GIDLEY (Republican, incumbent): He supports voluntary chaplain services for educators and students through the School Chaplain Program Act. He says the Assistant Principal Bill added assistant principals to schools across the state.

Question 6

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on housing?

Accepted Answer

U.S. House, District 3. LEE McINNIS (Democratic): He argues that policy should make life more affordable for working families and that the wealthy should pay a fairer share of taxes. MIKE ROGERS (Republican, incumbent): No public statement found in our sources. State House, District 28. ROBERT LOUIS HUNTER (Democratic): He supports rent control as a possible way to promote stable, affordable housing. MACK N BUTLER (Republican, incumbent): No public statement found in our sources.

Question 7

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on public safety?

Accepted Answer

Attorney General. JEFF McLAUGHLIN (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. KATHERINE ROBERTSON (Republican): Her campaign priorities include supporting law enforcement and strengthening public safety. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 8. ASHLEIGH MEYER DUNHAM (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. GREG SHAW (Republican, incumbent): A summary of his 2020 reelection campaign quotes his position that judges should interpret the law rather than create new law, stating: “Activist judges legislate from the bench, but not conservative Justice Greg Shaw.”

Question 8

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on energy and utilities?

Accepted Answer

Governor. DOUG JONES (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (Republican): Tuberville has voiced support for data centers in Alabama. Lieutenant Governor. PHILLIP ENSLER (Democratic): Ensler supports a state lottery and a moratorium on data center construction until safeguards and transparency rules are in place. JOHN WAHL (Republican): He has called for lower taxes, fewer business regulations, and energy independence from foreign oil. U.S. House, District 3. LEE McINNIS (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. MIKE ROGERS (Republican, incumbent): He supports expanding American energy production and growing the economy.

Question 9

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on roads and infrastructure?

Accepted Answer

State Senate, District 10. ANDREW JONES (Republican): He supports road and bridge investment, including widening U.S. 411, extending I-759 and building a new Southside Bridge. JESSE BATTLES (Independent): He supports extending I-759, building an I-59 interchange for the NEAR Megasite and prioritizing local roads and infrastructure. State House, District 30. CRAIG LIPSCOMB (Republican): He said roads and bridges in the area were built for far fewer people than use them today. He identified the Southside bridge as a District 30 infrastructure priority and also supported completing I-759, while noting that it is outside the district.

Question 10

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on the environment?

Accepted Answer

Attorney General. JEFF McLAUGHLIN (Democratic): As a state representative, he wrote legislation to protect the Tennessee River. KATHERINE ROBERTSON (Republican): No public statement found in our sources.

Question 11

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on elections and how government runs?

Accepted Answer

Governor. DOUG JONES (Democratic): He supports letting voters decide on a state lottery and creating a citizen-led ballot initiative process. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (Republican): No public statement found in our sources. U.S. House, District 3. LEE McINNIS (Democratic): He says he would reject corporate PAC and foreign-government PAC money and hold town halls to remain accessible and accountable to constituents. MIKE ROGERS (Republican, incumbent): No public statement found in our sources. Secretary of State. WAYNE ROGERS (Democratic): Rogers said he wants to change how Alabama conducts and finances elections and would work for an Alabama Voting Rights Act of 2027. He also proposed lowering the voter-registration age to 16, while leaving the voting age at 18. Rogers says his campaign priorities include protecting voter access, election integrity, and transparent and trustworthy election processes. CAROLEENE DOBSON (Republican, incumbent): Dobson said she would prioritize election-security enforcement and support legislation for statewide post-election audits. Dobson said she wants to maintain accurate voter rolls, strengthen proof-of-identity and citizenship requirements for voter registration, and enforce laws against absentee-ballot harvesting.

Question 12

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on taxes and spending?

Accepted Answer

Governor. DOUG JONES (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (Republican): Tuberville says he will seek further tax cuts, reduce waste, and make living in Alabama more affordable. He has pledged to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries and audit state spending.

Question 13

Where do Gadsden candidates stand on jobs and the economy?

Accepted Answer

U.S. Senate. EVERETT WESS (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. BARRY MOORE (Republican): He says he would support fully funding law enforcement and cutting regulations and taxes for small businesses. State Senate, District 10. ANDREW JONES (Republican): He supports cutting red tape and regulation to help small businesses and family farms, and says he has supported restrictions on foreign-adversary purchases of Alabama farmland. JESSE BATTLES (Independent): He proposes working with local mayors and cutting tax burdens and government overreach to support local entrepreneurs and economic development. State House, District 28. ROBERT LOUIS HUNTER (Democratic): He supports raising the minimum wage, indexing it to inflation, and supporting workforce development and small-business incentives. MACK N BUTLER (Republican, incumbent): No public statement found in our sources. Secretary of State. WAYNE ROGERS (Democratic): No public statement found in our sources. CAROLEENE DOBSON (Republican, incumbent): Dobson says she will reduce fees on Alabama businesses and streamline services for the public.

Guns

Lieutenant Governor

U.S. Senate

Abortion

U.S. House, District 3

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 8

Immigration

U.S. Senate

Attorney General

Health care and retirement

Governor

U.S. Senate

U.S. House, District 3

State House, District 28

Schools and education

Lieutenant Governor

U.S. Senate

Attorney General

State Senate, District 10

State House, District 29

Housing

U.S. House, District 3

State House, District 28

Public safety

Attorney General

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 8

Energy and utilities

Governor

Lieutenant Governor

U.S. House, District 3

Roads and infrastructure

State Senate, District 10

State House, District 30

Environment

Attorney General

Elections and government

Governor

U.S. House, District 3

Secretary of State

Taxes and spending

Governor

Jobs and the economy

U.S. Senate

State Senate, District 10

State House, District 28

Secretary of State

Other positions

Attorney General

State House, District 29

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 7

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 8