KSNF/KODE — With the midterm election set for Tuesday, November 8th, registered voters across the country will soon head to the polls to cast their ballot.
But for many, questions about candidates still remain.
Questions like, “which candidate should I vote for,” and, “where do these candidates stand on the issues,” are important to voters, yet many still linger.
As “Your Local Election Headquarters,” Fourstateshomepage.com is reaching out to those on the ballot, with the goal of getting answers to the questions voters may have about the candidates up for election this November.
We reached out those running for the U.S. Representative seat from Missouri’s 4th Congressional District: Mark Alford (Republican), Jack Truman (Democrat), and Randy Langkraehr (Libertarian).
Below, you’ll find each candidate’s response to several questions that Missouri 4th Congressional District voters want to know.
QUESTION 1
What would you consider to be the most important issue, overall, during this year’s midterm election?
Mark Alford (Republican)
“Most important issue is inflation. As we’ve traveled, we’ve talked with people who are having to make tough choices between filling up their tank and figuring out what food to put on the table. The Ford F-150 is a model of a truck that’s made in Kansas City and it shouldn’t be what it costs to fill up that truck. That’s a point that we got to win. You have a president who shuts down pipelines, and the so called Inflation Reduction Act, which does nothing to reduce inflation, only adds to our debt. There are different factors that are raising inflation, which is now 8.3%. The President says we have zero inflation. I think that the Democrats are out of tune and out of touch with the average American and when you put the crosshairs, as President Biden does, on the fossil fuel industry, you end up really targeting the American people. Also, trying to force through climate change initiatives. This force acceptance of electric vehicles, which will come naturally through the marketplace and through capitalism, the promotion and growth of new industry and new technology. When you do that, you are negatively affecting a large part of our population and forcing the people of the Fourth District to even higher debt and higher inflation rates. And inflation is really a regressive tax on everyone. And so you end up hurting the poor, the middle class, and the rich, you hurt all Americans by what he’s doing. So, I think inflation is the number one issue and will continue to be until we bring it down to where it was when President Trump was in office.”
Jack Truman (Democrat)
“I say there’s a lot of issues going on right now that are hot topics that I think are important. For me, my number one priority is protecting our children. That’s what the main issue that my campaign is about. Health and Education. I’m a college professor, I’m very health conscious, and I believe children our our future. So I think we need to put a focus on protecting and serving the children, the youth of our country because they’re the future. I mean, 20 years from now, they’re going to be the people that are running our areas and running our country. So I mean, there’s other issues that are important to discuss. Things like women’s right to choose, gun control, the economy, protecting our elderly, these are all things that are important to me, but the main thing I really want to focus on is protecting our youth.”
Randy Langkraehr (Libertarian)
“The only 100% issue I am concentrating on is stopping the federal spending. We have to get our budget under control and get our debt under control. But you know, both Republicans and Democrats just keep spending money. The debt literally has gone up trillions of dollars over the last few years, and there’s no end to it with them. When there’s no, like, ‘okay, we’re going to stop this and we’re going to get our budget under control and get our house in order,’ they just keep kicking the can down the road and keep following on.”
QUESTION 2
What’s special about the 4th District, including the residents of the 4th District?
Mark Alford (Republican)
“I have spent the last 23 years basically in the Kansas City Market. I’ve traveled in the district before and then spent extensive time in the district, but nothing like we have in the last eight, nine months. I’ve traveled 74,000 miles and I’ve been to all 24 counties in the Fourth Congressional District That was my pledge to voters because I wanted to see where they live. I wanted to hear their stories. I wanted to go into businesses, go to farms, go into the county commissioners offices, the courthouses, the town squares, and hear really what’s on the hearts, the souls, the minds of people here, because I really feel like that’s the one thing missing in politics now, especially when it comes to U.S. House of Representatives is that we’ve got politicians trying to leapfrog their way from one political position, to another ticket in Washington to make a career for themselves and come out the other side as well-paid lobbyists. That’s not the way our founding fathers set up the U.S. House of Representatives. I think the common denominator with everyone that we’ve talked with, that we’ve done townhall meetings with, is that people are starting to wake up, they’re starting to become awakened by what’s going on. They’re a nation and they want to have a stake in positive change.”
Jack Truman (Democrat)
“Because this is where I’m from, I think it’s going to take somebody who’s from here, who really knows how different people are, who can really understand the things that are important even though this tends to be a more conservative district that has conservative roots, I have an open mind and I think really that qualifies me to find out what’s important to the people around here and best represent them. I think people around here are special because they’re my neighbors. This is where I come from. District Four is my roots. And so the people around here are good people. They’re good, down-home people with good values and I respect them for that. I think family is important. Our children are important. My top priority in my campaign is protecting our children. People around here care about their children. They care about what’s best for others. So, I think that makes people around here stand out and makes me proud to represent them.”
Randy Langkraehr (Libertarian)
“First of all, it’s my home district in Missouri and that makes it special. I do love this area, I really enjoy living here in this area and I would love to represent this area. It is just the right blend of both country and you know, city. We do have our urban areas and we do have our country areas. I was brought up on a farm, you know. District 4 is just the good backbone of Missouri.”
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QUESTION 3
What are some of the biggest issues facing Missouri in the coming years, and what might be some solutions?
Mark Alford (Republican)
“I think the two biggest issues facing me as a new member of Congress is going to be the Farm Bill. We have 95,000 farms in the state of Missouri. It is the largest economic engine for the state of Missouri and we need to get the government off their backs. The over-regulation by the EPA, the over-regulation by the USDA, and we need to come up with a healthy farm bill that protects our farmers, because when we protect our farmers that protects us as a nation. Our food supply is a national security issue. And if we don’t protect our farmers, we’re going to be in trouble. We’re not just the breadbasket of Missouri or the Midwest or of America. We’re really the breadbasket of the world. When you look at our corn and soybean production, it’s a huge part of the world consumption and that has to be protected. Number two is the protection of our military bases and building our military. We have two fabulous military bases, Whiteman Air Force Base, home of the B-2 Bomber, and Fort Leonard Wood, of course, which is home to many of the recruits that come through the Army system.”
Jack Truman (Democrat)
“I think a big issue right now is a woman’s right to choose. That’s a hot topic right now since Roe vs. Wade has been overturned. There’s been such outrage across the country. And I mean, I support a woman’s right to choose. I don’t believe a man should have an opinion to tell a woman what to do with her body. That’s just my belief. But at the same time, Missouri immediately went with the overturn and outlawed abortion in the state. Kansas passed that constitutional amendment where they protected a woman’s right to choose. A good start would be making sure that women are protected when they go outside of our state since they can’t get an abortion here. So, I think abortion is going to be a hot topic that affects Missouri in these next coming years. I think there’s other issues too, that I could go on about with with gun control, and the military and our economy. Just a lot of things I could talk about, but I think the most relevant hot topic right now is a woman’s right to choose.”
Randy Langkraehr (Libertarian)
“100% of my focus is on getting our budget in line and quit borrowing trillions of dollars. It’s like the house is on fire and you’re deciding what color to paint the bathroom. First priority, you know, let’s put out the fire, let’s get this under control, let’s fix the damage. Then we can worry about all of the, you know, all the other little fixing up things. So my first priority is to fix the budget. If elected I would take an oath not to, you know, spend any more money. We have to have a budget and we should be getting our financial house in order.”
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QUESTION 4
Why should a resident of the 4th Congressional District here in Missouri vote for you in November?
Mark Alford (Republican)
“I believe that someone in the Fourth Congressional District should vote for me because I’m going to be the loudest, strongest, most consistent, unwavering voice for conservative rural Missouri that they’ve seen in the House for too long. The loudest voices from Missouri, getting media attention, getting attention in Washington have been coming from two districts: The two Democrat districts. That being St. Louis and Kansas City. So with my communication skills, my passion and love for America, my respect for Missouri and what we have to offer, I’m going to be able to lay out a case for Missouri, as a leader in our nation, that we have the right values, that we have the right morals, that we have the right vision for where we need to take our nation to restore its greatness.”
Jack Truman (Democrat)
“I think because I represent being for the people, I represent being for the regular person. I’m not about the money. I’m not a politician. I care about things that are important to the regular person. I’m a non-politician so I hope that message gets out. I welcome hearing from people and hearing what things are important to them and I just want to make a difference. I want to serve the people.”
Randy Langkraehr (Libertarian)
“I’ve got 30 years experience in bookkeeping and tax preparation. I’ve got 30 years, you know, being a real estate broker and developer. So I understand the markets, I understand real estate, I understand accounting and I have very good business skills.”
For more information on each candidate’s campaign, you can visit their websites at the following links:
