Republican incumbent Richard Hudson is being challenged by Democratic state Sen. Ben Clark for the U.S. House District 9 seat.
The newly drawn district includes part of Cumberland county.
CityView asked the candidates about several issues facing the community. Here are their answers.
Ben Clark
Age: 62
Occupation: Missions command trainer - Fort Bragg
Elected offices held: N.C. state senator, five terms
In light of recent mass shootings at a Texas elementary school and a Buffalo grocery store, would you support changing gun laws to help limit access to guns for the mentally ill, teenagers and/or people with a criminal past? How specifically would you change gun laws? Would you support new restrictions on access to military-style assault weapons?
In Congress, I will work diligently to take assault weapons out of the hands of teenagers, the mentally ill, and career criminals. I would have supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which my opponent – a top-10 recipient of money from the gun lobby – opposed.
Inflation has been on the rise from the supermarket to housing. Economists say the reasons include supply-chain disruptions, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and increases in costs for supplies and wages. Others say that big corporations are taking advantage of market conditions while making record profits. How should the federal government address inflation? What can be done to keep costs down for consumers?
President Biden and congressional Democrats have already taken some important first steps. They’ve taxed wealthy corporations and capped the out-of-pocket healthcare costs for the 65 million Americans on Medicare, sadly, without a single Republican vote. The next step is to raise the federal minimum wage. Millions of Americans still make between $7.25 and $10 per hour for full-time work. As prices increase, they are being left behind. Congress must raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in 12 years, which will raise wages across the board.
Abortion has become an even more divisive topic since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, allowing many states to put more restrictions on the procedure and prompting legislators on both sides of the issue to move toward federal legislation. Some say abortion should be banned; some say it should be limited; others say it should be a woman’s choice guided by her own convictions and circumstances. Where do you stand on the issue of abortion? Do you support restrictions and, if so, what types of restrictions? Or do you think abortion should be a personal decision?
The Republicans’ extreme positions on women’s healthcare is a threat to the health and safety of our country. My opponent sponsored HR 705 which prohibits termination of a pregnancy once a fetal heartbeat is detected, even if the baby has severe developmental deformities and can not possibly live outside the womb. I’m an IT guy; my opponent is a career politician. We're not qualified to make women’s healthcare decisions for them. I trust women to make their own choices about their own lives.
Richard Hudson
Age: 51
Occupation: Congressman
Elected offices held: U.S. Congress since 2013
Hudson did not respond to the questionnaire.
