The questions below were selected to provide you with a broad overview of a candidate’s political philosophy and priorities. We could not possibly cover all the topics and issues that are of interest to voters. Instead, we hope these questions will provide you a base for evaluating your choices, and we encourage you to visit candidate websites and social media pages to learn more about each person.

Representative in Congress — District 2

The core Lowell area — City of Lowell, Lowell Charter Township and Vergennes Township — falls within the new 2nd Congressional District.

Three candidates are vying for this seat in the November general election.

Responses have not been edited and are published exactly as provided by each candidate.

John Moolenaar — Republican

Campaign address: Midland
Website: https://www.johnmoolenaarforcongress.com/
Social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

Jerry Hilliard — Democratic

Campaign address: Mt. Pleasant
Website: https://jerryhilliard.com/
Social media: Facebook, Twitter

Nathan Hewer — Libertarian

Campaign address: Belmont
Website: No Congressional campaign website found
Social media: No current campaign social media accounts found
*Candidate did not respond to messages sent to the email address listed on a county elections page.

Why are you running to be a congressman?

Moolenaar: Our country is headed in the wrong direction. Food and energy prices are at historic highs, your savings lose value every day, there is lawlessness on the southern border, rising crime across the country, and American students left behind by leaders who kept classrooms closed.

In Congress, I will defend our Constitution, protect your Second Amendment rights, fight to rein in inflation, preserve American values, bring confidence back to our elections, secure the border and support our troops.

Hilliard: My main goals as a congressman are to rebuild the middle class to raise the standard of living of working people and is necessary to support the business community, protect the rights of women for autonomy over their own bodies, fight against gender bias and discrimination, fight inflation by resuming the enforcement of our anti trust laws, which will create the competition needed to manage inflation.

Hewer: Candidate did not respond to questionnaire.

What do you see as the three biggest issues facing the United States, and what specific policy or initiative would you champion to address each one?

Moolenaar: The biggest issue right now, and the one the Democrats in Congress are not doing enough to address, is inflation and gas prices. They have abandoned the policies that were working. Before the pandemic we had low inflation, low unemployment, and affordable energy. Republican policies were responsible for that. Now Democrats have gone in the opposite direction. President Biden came into office and killed a pipeline project on his very first day in office. That sent a very clear signal to oil and gas companies that they should not produce more. His administration has also looked at possibly closing the Line 5 pipeline. That pipeline brings oil and gas through our state and a lot of it is sold to Michigan residents as propane which they use to heat their home. I want to see the Line 5 tunnel move forward, so we can increase the safety of the pipeline. Pipelines are the safest and most efficient way to move oil and gas. I believe we must work toward American energy independence. That means using every possible energy source available to us including oil and gas.

Hilliard: The overall issue that is most important is protecting and restoring our environment, if we do not reduce the trend of a dying environment of the earth, then, doing all the other good things we want and need to do will not do us any good. Beyond that the inflation problem needs to be solved. The cost of living is increasing faster than wages, while at the same time corporate profits are at all-time highs. While farmers and small businesses face competition everyday, large corporations have bought up all of their competition which has created monopoly power in the marketplace for many industries, especially petroleum and food processing and distribution. The cost of living is increasing faster than wages, while at the same time corporate profits are at all-time highs. This means large corporations have monopoly power in the marketplace. Industry consolidation has created a lack of competition, which leaves corporations able to raise prices at will. There are three main ways to counteract monopoly power which causes severe inflation. The most beneficial way is to have robust competition between sellers(businesses). Competition is the key to controlling inflation. The second way is to suppress wages for the working class, which is what Republicans have been pushing since the 1980’s with anti-union and anti-living wage policies, and also when we stopped enforcing our anti-trust laws. Republicans want workers to stop getting raises to curb inflation, which decreases consumer buying power and stifles growth. The third and most harmful to working families is to raise interest rates. The current head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell says he is committed to fighting inflation by raising interest rates, but there will be pain. This pain will be borne by the working class. Does not being able to purchase items like homes, cars and other big ticket items sound like a way to grow an economy? If we want to control inflation, we must resume enforcing our anti-trust laws!

Hewer: Candidate did not respond to questionnaire.

If elected, what issues important to Michigan do you foresee being able to address at the national level?

Moolenaar: If elected, I will fight for energy independence, lower taxes for the middle class, and vital infrastructure for our rural communities including the expansion of rural broadband. I also will fight to protect the rights of parents and educational opportunities for all students. When I was a school administrator, I saw first-hand how empowering parents and students with choices makes a difference in their lives. That’s why I will continue to be a champion of parental involvement so that parents have a say in their child’s education

Hilliard: Codify Roe v Wade, resume anti-trust enforcement to solve inflation, bring impeachment proceedings against all the Supreme Court Justices that lied to congress when they were being confirmed and said they believed Roe v Wade was settled law and then voted that it was not settled law.

Currently, the top-of-mind issue that have constituents concerned is the Roe v Wade decision. Constituents are upset at the Supreme Court for going against the overwhelming desires of the citizens of the United States for women to have autonomy over their own bodies, by deciding to take away a constitutional right for the first time in history. For the first time in history the Supreme Court of the United States is considered by a majority of citizens as being illegitimate and or politically partizen. Roe v Wade is the latest in a long line of partizen complaints including, Citizens United v Hillary Clinton which stated that money is speech and corporations are people, Mitch McConnell held up president Obama’s candidate for our Supreme Court for a full year on the premise that the next president should have the right to make that choice, but when Amy Barret was nominated McConnell pushed her through in 6 weeks. In short the U.S. Supreme Court is acting like our rulers, not our public servants.

Hewer: Candidate did not respond to questionnaire.

Why should people vote for you?

Moolenaar: If you send me back to the House of Representatives, I will continue to stand up for Michigan’s hardworking families to ensure we have an economy that is strong, a nation that is secure, a future built on freedom and a government that is accountable.

Hilliard: People should vote for me because I am running to help our citizens have better lives, not to enrich myself.

Hewer: Candidate did not respond to questionnaire.