At a high level, I believe in a smaller federal government and putting more power back to the state and local governments. In general, the closer you are to the issue or problem, the more likely you are to solve the problem - and you are likely to solve it more quickly and less expensively.

Our federal government has become a monster of a bureaucracy, and it desperately needs downsized. We have to make tough decisions to force it to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Whether you agree with it or not, the Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is a state issue, but I am happy to share my personal position.

I believe there are extreme positions on both sides of this very passionate issue and those extreme positions will never move together nor align. My opponents are each at opposite ends of this spectrum. Ashley Hinson supported a bill that completely banned abortion with no exceptions. Sarah Corkery is 100% prochoice (even up to the moment of birth). When asked in an interview “How far into a pregnancy do think an abortion should be allowed?”, Sarah Corkery responded “I don’t believe there should be any conversation about the number of weeks”.

I believe that the majority of Americans fall somewhere in between, and I am one of those individuals. As a legislator, I would never support a complete ban on abortion as I believe women should have abortion options early in their pregnancies. However, I find legalizing abortions up to the moment of birth to be barbaric and I would also vote no on any proposed federal legislation that would allow it. My position here absolutely excludes exceptions given for victims of rape, incest, mother's life at risk, or rare cases of extreme fetal anomalies that are not compatible with life and cause suffering and pain.  Abortion should never be used as a birth control method. As an example, the baby may have anencephaly, and the parents may be given the option to terminate the pregnancy or carry the baby to term. That would be a painful decision I cannot even imagine having to make, and I would wholeheartedly support the parent’s decision either way.

I support IVF. In fact, one of the most heartwarming moments in my life was being in the room when a dear friend got a call from her doctor that their IVF treatment finally worked - and she was pregnant!

I support legal immigration that creates opportunities for deserving individuals, but priority must be given to protecting our country and that means vetting everyone who comes here.

We need to close our borders and stop the chaos until our federal and state governments can develop, and fund, a comprehensive immigration policy and path to citizenship.

I am going to respond with a story. Back in 2001, there was an accounting scandal involving a large company called Enron.  The scandal took down Enron, their accounting firm, Arthur Anderson, and left shareholders with significant losses.

In response, Congress passed legislation in 2002 called the Sarbanes Oxley Act, or SOX for short. It was designed to protect the public from fraudulent accounting practices by corporations and their auditors. It requires a company’s management to certify the accuracy of the financial statements. Auditors have to review the company's reporting process, their control environment, and evidence supporting the numbers are complete and accurate.

As an executive who had to sign off on the financials, if I didn’t believe the evidence adequately supported the numbers, I refused to sign off, and I kicked the financials back to the team to either correct or provide better evidence. And in my role as an auditor, if a control failed it was written up and remediation was required.

In determining the future of our great country, our elections are even more important. Here in Iowa, I think Paul Pate has done a great job ensuring we have honest and fair elections; however, I don’t believe all states can say the same thing.

I will not certify any election results that I don’t feel comfortable with. In addition, I believe Congress should pass legislation similar to SOX for our election processes and require state election results to be subject to independent audit.

I believe only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote, and I believe voter ID with proof of citizenship should be required in every state.

I am a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment, had my own concealed carry permit before Iowa become a constitutional carry state, and I support required background checks prior to an individual being able to purchase a firearm. I also believe strongly in firearm training for anyone who carries a weapon.

I have not read the entire Operation 2025 document, and I do not support it. I have my own policy positions, which can be found on the Q&A page of my website. If there a specific policy issue not addressed on that page, please submit it through the Contact Me page.

This is a fair question. The honest answer is that I am not sure. So much would depend on what happens to the parties and the direction they take. I am a firm believer that we have individuals with too much power controlling the parties and our government in general. For right now, I like being able to have my own voice without having to have an allegiance to a party in order to get support.