Ken Rahjes' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (KS) - District 110, Republican
Key
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Ken Rahjes did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2022 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Kansas State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I am adopted so this issue is very important to me. As much as we try, it is impossible to legislate morality. This is an issue that should be worn in your heart and not your sleeve. It is unfortunate that the lives of the innocent are sometimes used as a political pawn. I will continue to defend life. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Kansas's budget.2) State Spending:Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) State Taxes:Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.
| No | a) Tapping into Kansas's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| Yes | l) Do you support reducing the sales tax rate on groceries? | ||
| We need a stable source of revenue through a fair and balanced sales, income and property tax formula. | |||
| We need tax policies to encourage growth of small and corporate businesses. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| Many of these questions are very open ended. These questions can be so easily spun to say what I truly am for or against, without any explanation other than yes or no. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Kansas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Again, more loaded questions. I am not sure if this is a political courage test or a "gotcha" test. Common Core Standards are what we use in Kansas, until something better is available and affordable it is what is we use as a base. Merit pay does not work. Lets work to make public education better, rather than create more schools. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Kansas's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support allowing concealed carry on public college campuses in Kansas? | ||
| At this time conceal carry on college campuses is the law beginning in July of 2017. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Kansas's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Kansas's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
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