Christopher Herrod's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Republican for U.S. House (UT) - District 3
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Candidates who qualify will be invited to take the 2024 Political Courage Test.
Issue Positions
For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2022.
- Rated 0% byPlanned Parenthood (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.B. 461 "Requires a 72 hour waiting period prior to an abortion" (votesmart.org)
- "I am staunchly Pro-life. I believe America would be a greatly better country had not over 50 million babies been aborted." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- "I support the concept of a "Fair Tax," which encourages the implementation of a consumption tax." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- "Reducing taxes means more money for you! Reducing taxes also means increased revenue for government -- that's a fact of history, look it up! We need to force the government to stop stealing your money." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- "Our military has been greatly over-stretched over the past decade and needs to be supported. Those who volunteer and risk their lives deserve to have the best and fully functional equipment backing them up. The average age of our aircraft is approaching 50 years. It is unacceptable that many aircraft are not currently combat ready. Once the military has caught up to where it should be and our troops have received needed salary increases, can we then talk about decreasing military budget. I believe that we need to be more selective on where we should be involved." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- "Get rid of the Department of Education." (votesmart.org)
- "The federal government should not be telling states how to run education curriculum and the Department of Education should be abolished." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- "I believe that man may have some negligible impact on climate change but I do not believe in catastrophic man-made climate change. Severe restrictions hurt primarily working and middle class families." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- "I believe that the Keystone XL pipeline should have been approved years ago. Our economy is dependent of carbon energy for decades and restricting the pipeline only hurts us because the oil will be sent West to China. The U.S. might as well get some of the benefit because it provides good middle class jobs. I believe that government should not pick winners and losers. Its offensive to westerners that the federal government thinks that we want to drink dirty water or breathe dirty air." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- Rated 92% by the National Rifle Association (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.B. 49 "Authorizing the Concealed or Open Possession of Firearms" (votesmart.org)
- "Article 1, Section 6 of our Utah Constitution states, "The individual right of the people to keep and bear arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the state, as well as for other lawful purposes shall not be infringed;" As a State Representative I defended that right. Iâm a firm believer in the castle doctrine, that one has a right to defend themselves, especially in their own home, from any threat to their family or home. Iâm a proud holder of a Concealed Weapons Permit, and stand with the majority of Americans in support of the second amendment." (www.chrisherrod.org)
- "Absolutely! Congress voted to repeal Obamacare over 60 times when it did not count and sadly cannot vote once when it does. It is not healthy for our Republic when nearly 80% of Americans don't trust their elected leaders to do what they said they were going to do. Republicans ran on repealing Obamacare and need keep their promise. Having lived in Austria, Sweden, Ukraine, and Russia, I know that Socialize medicine simply does not work. It pushes the quality of care down for everyone and makes the world's best healthcare out-of-touch for the working and middle classes." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- "Socialized Medicine has failed everywhere it's been tried. The USA created the best healthcare system in the world because it was market-based." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- "We must listen to the men and women of the US Border Patrol and give them the tools they need including the completion of the border wall and the elimination of federal policies that act as "magnets" for illegal immigration." (www.chrisherrod.org)
- "Illegal immigration is among the most dangerous threats to our economy and our national safety. We can't find, detain and deport them all. However, if we remove the benefits of illegal immigration -- jobs, welfare, social services, medical care & education -- they will leave on their own and stop coming." (votesmart.org)
- "I proudly support legal immigration. We are a nation of immigrants but we are also a nation of laws; both of which must be protected. As we have seen under the Biden administration, our southern border is in disarray." (www.chrisherrod.org)
- "The most basic human principle is that what behavior you reward you get more of. Amnesty will simply encourage more people to break the law and risk their and their children's lives by crossing the border illegally. It is not compassionate to encourage illegal immigration. I was the sponsor of Utah's first Human-Trafficking bill and know of the horrors people find themselves in by crossing illegally. My wife is an immigrant, as is my sister-in-law, two nieces, and my businesses partner. Its not fair to legal immigrants trying to bring their families or to the those waiting in line." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
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.
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I am staunchly Pro-life. I believe America would be a greatly better country had not over 50 million babies been aborted. | |||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Our military has been greatly over-stretched over the past decade and needs to be supported. Those who volunteer and risk their lives deserve to have the best and fully functional equipment backing them up. The average age of our aircraft is approaching 50 years. It is unacceptable that many aircraft are not currently combat ready. Once the military has caught up to where it should be and our troops have received needed salary increases, can we then talk about decreasing military budget. I believe that we need to be more selective on where we should be involved. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| The federal government should not be telling states how to run education curriculum and the Department of Education should be abolished. | |||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| I believe that the Keystone XL pipeline should have been approved years ago. Our economy is dependent of carbon energy for decades and restricting the pipeline only hurts us because the oil will be sent West to China. The U.S. might as well get some of the benefit because it provides good middle class jobs. I believe that government should not pick winners and losers. Its offensive to westerners that the federal government thinks that we want to drink dirty water or breathe dirty air. | |||
| Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | |||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I believe that man may have some negligible impact on climate change but I do not believe in catastrophic man-made climate change. Severe restrictions hurt primarily working and middle class families. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I have lived in countries that have strict gun-control policies. Stalin starved to death 7-11 Ukrainians by simply taking their food and because of gun control they could not resist. Self-defense is a basic god-given right. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Absolutely! Congress voted to repeal Obamacare over 60 times when it did not count and sadly cannot vote once when it does. It is not healthy for our Republic when nearly 80% of Americans don't trust their elected leaders to do what they said they were going to do. Republicans ran on repealing Obamacare and need keep their promise. Having lived in Austria, Sweden, Ukraine, and Russia, I know that Socialize medicine simply does not work. It pushes the quality of care down for everyone and makes the world's best healthcare out-of-touch for the working and middle classes. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| The most basic human principle is that what behavior you reward you get more of. Amnesty will simply encourage more people to break the law and risk their and their children's lives by crossing the border illegally. It is not compassionate to encourage illegal immigration. I was the sponsor of Utah's first Human-Trafficking bill and know of the horrors people find themselves in by crossing illegally. My wife is an immigrant, as is my sister-in-law, two nieces, and my businesses partner. Its not fair to legal immigrants trying to bring their families or to the those waiting in line. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| I believe that States should have the right to set marriage policy. | |||
| No | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Unfortunately, I believe that many do not fully understand the difficulties of the Middle-East. Islam - Sunni/Shiite conflicts as well as centuries tribalism make resolution of any conflict and adoption of democracy extremely difficult. There is an international treaty against countries gaining nuclear weapons. In North Korea, there are no good or easy answer which reinforces the importance of preventing nations getting nuclear weapons in the first place and I am greatly concerned about Iran and the recent agreement. Comments made by President Obama sound eerily similar to what President Clinton said about North Korea. | |||
| Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | |||
| I believe in freedom, but unfortunately Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and has been used by politicians to fund current budgets | |||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| I believe in a flat tax as proposed by President Trump and Senator Ted Cruz and similar proposals that eliminate the need for the IRS. We need to get rid of almost all deductions which is one of most effective ways to "drain the swamp." Tax policy should eventually be made so that all but the poor pay the same effective tax rate. | |||
| Restoring the Original intent of the U.S. Constitution is my primary priority. Way too much power has been taken by the federal government. If the responsibility of Congress is not in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress should not be involved. I also want to claw back rule-making authority given to the executive branch by the legislative branch. I support Senator Rand Paul's REINS act which would require Congress to vote on any regulation having more than $100 million impact. I also want to use my international expertise to help guide U.S. Foreign Policy. |
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