This year’s upcoming midterm election has been described as one of the most important elections in years, making it absolutely necessary for young voters to show up.
With all the information being thrown at voters, it can be hard to focus on the issues and find the candidate that matches your views.
Republican Candidate- Tim Burchett
Democratic Candidate- Renee Hoyos
SEXUAL ASSAULT/ #MeToo MOVEMENT
Tim Burchett: In our class visit Burchett expressed that he believes that consent should be taught in schools earlier. He also believes that rape convictions should receive the death penalty.
Renee Hoyos: When Hoyos visited our journalism class she expressed that she felt that it was necessary to start a conversation regarding sexual assault and consent with teenagers earlier on in schooling.
EDUCATION
Tim Burchett: Burchett believes that education should be in the hands of the state and that teachers should be paid more, as well as making sure charter schools receive funding.
Renee Hoyos: Hoyos supports working harder on the public school budget, and investing more money into teacher’s paychecks. Also, she does not feel public money should be sent to charter schools as a way to keep local money in the public schools.
GUN RIGHTS
Tim Burchett: As a lifetime NRA member, Burchett supports the Second Amendment. In the state legislature, he fought to expand gun rights.
Renee Hoyos: When Hoyos was asked about this issue in her class visit, she stated, “I support the Second Amendment, I believe hunters should be able to have guns, but I do not believe in putting dangerous weapons in the hands of dangerous people.”
ABORTION
Tim Burchett: Burchett is pro-life and will fight to make sure taxpayer dollars are not used to support abortions.
Renee Hoyos: Hoyos is Pro-Choice and thinks that a woman has a right to her own body.
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS
Tim Burchett: Burchett believes that members of the LGBTQ+ community are protected under Constitutional rights, and that “if you are born a girl you are a girl and if you are born a boy you are a boy.”
Renee Hoyos: “I believe in human rights for everyone.”
JOBS
Tim Burchett: As a small business owner whose company was put out of business, he votes that we get rid of government regulations that discourage people from taking risks.
Renee Hoyos: Hoyos hopes to create jobs within Tennessee. It is also worth noting that she advocates for a living wage by increasing the minimum wage a dollar a year before tying it to an index. This would land the wage at $10.00 an hour.
HEALTHCARE
Tim Burchett: Burchett is an advocate for free-market healthcare. He believes that the invisible hand of the economy will help naturally cut costs on health care. He also believes that Congress should focus on Medicaid/Medicare fraud. Money regained by enforcing the laws already in place will cover many costs. Simply put, he believes that bureaucrats should remain “out of the doctor’s office.”
Renee Hoyos: Regarding this issue, Hoyos recalls being diagnosed with skin cancer in her twenties and having no affordable insurance to turn to, saying that “America can do better.” She does not feel it would be wise to repeal The Affordable Health Care Act, but strongly believes that it leaves something to be desired, and would push to work to improve it.
ENVIRONMENT
Tim Burchett: As an organic gardener, Burchett cares a lot for our environment. He is highly favorable of using renewable resources.
Renee Hoyos: Hoyos spent most of her professional career working as an advocate for the environment, serving as the executive director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network for fourteen years. She even disclosed that she started to notice pushback on the legislation to preserve their work on the clean water act, and that is what made her decide she needed to do something. On our class visit she explained, “We need to attend to the issue of climate change,” and discussed how this issue is directly related to recent natural disasters.
MARIJUANA
Tim Burchett: Burchett expressed that he would be more inclined toward the legalization of medical marijuana. He also stated that sentencing for possession should be reduced because it is a non-violent crime.
Renee Hoyos: Hoyos has not publically taken a stance on recreational use of marijuana. However, on her class visit she stated that she believed in the need to reduce the minimum sentencing on non-violent crimes in order to save money and address the issue of overcrowding in prisons.
OPIOID CRISIS:
Tim Burchett: Burchett does not believe that the opioid crisis can be solved by the government. He suggests that we “bust the over prescribers” and put an end to over medicating people.
Renee Hoyos: Hoyos believes that we need to make more resources available to those suffering from addiction and that non-violent crimes need to be decriminalized before real strides can be made.
Find more information about Tim Burchett at https://www.burchettforcongress.com/
Find more information about Renee Hoyos at http://hoyosforcongress.com
The Bobcat Times 