Renee Ellmers
Republican | North Carolina
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Renee Ellmers
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
Primary
Race
Lt. Governor
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Oakland University, Rochester, MI, BSN, 1990
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
Wounded Warriors Project, Contributor, ASPCA
Contributor, Saint Jude's hospital, Contributor
Shriner's Hospital, Contributor, Catholic Charities
Contributor, Sacred Heart Church (Dunn, NC), Contributor
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
U.S. House of Representatives, 2011-2017
Health and Human Services Regional Director, 2017-2019
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
Previous Races
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
2013
100%
2015-16
100%
2015-16
100%
2015-16
100%
2012
92%
2016
90%
2016
88%, 80% (cum.)†
2016
82%, 77% (cum.)†
2016
B
2016
77%, 63% (cum.)†
2016
71%, 62% (cum.)†
2015-16
61%, 57% (cum.)†
2015
52%
2015-16
46%
2013
|100%
2015-16
|100%
2015-16
|100%
2015-16
|100%
2012
|92%
2016
|90%
2016
|88%, 80% (cum.)†
2016
|82%, 77% (cum.)†
2016
|B
2016
|77%, 63% (cum.)†
2016
|71%, 62% (cum.)†
2015-16
|61%, 57% (cum.)†
2015
|52%
2015-16
|46%
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
2015
18%, 12% (cum.)†
2015-16
5%
2016
0%, 4% (cum.)†
2015
0%, 0% (cum.)†
2016
0%
2015-16
0%
2015
0%
2015
|18%, 12% (cum.)†
2015-16
|5%
2016
|0%, 4% (cum.)†
2015
|0%, 0% (cum.)†
2016
|0%
2015-16
|0%
2015
|0%
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (35)
Bob Gibbs (2013)
Bobby Schilling (2013)
Bruce Poliquin (2015)
Carlos Curbelo (2015)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (2013)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (146)
60 Plus Association (2014)
Aaron Schock (2015)
Adam Kinzinger (2015)
Allen McNeill (2012)
American Principles (2014)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (10)
Airline Pilots Association (2016)
American Maritime Officers (2017)
Bieri Werner (2013)
International Association of Masters, Mates, and Pilots (2015)
James Douglas Hines (2010)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Agree
I support the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires health care providers to provide life-saving treatment for infants who survive an attempted abortion.
Strongly Agree
If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, North Carolina should repeal its law allowing abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Since I believe that life is precious from conception to natural death, I cannot ever see a situation where it is justified. Some claim that there are situations where its justified if the mother’s life is in danger, but as a medical professional I can tell you that situation never occurs today.
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Strongly Disagree
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Governments should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with taxpayer or public funds.
Strongly Agree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
I promise to protect the freedom of Christians to share the Gospel and to practice Biblical principles.
Yes
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Many liberals try to use this term to keep God out of our schools and government, but that was never the purpose. Jefferson was clear in his letter to the Danbury Baptists – he suggested a wall of separation for the benefit of the Church, not the State. This phrase actually never shows up in our Bill of Rights, rather it says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” I believe this means that nobody with a government paycheck can ever tell you that you can’t pray or you can’t hold a certain belief. As Christians, our founding fathers definitely knew what it was like to be religiously persecuted, and they drew from that experience when writing the Bill of Rights.
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Strongly Disagree
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
This is central to my campaign – on day one I will ask the governor and the General Assembly to appoint me to the additional duties required to form a Healthcare Task Force. We will bring everyone in our healthcare system together to find real solutions. Most importantly, we will make sure patients have a voice at this table. To start, we can get rid of archaic regulations that cause doctors to focus on compliance over patient outcomes. We can also get to the bottom of the $100 million in improper Medicaid payments our auditor found last year. There are solutions out there, we just need to have someone in our state government with the experience to make them happen.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Strongly Agree
IMMIGRATION
I am in favor of construction of a wall and other necessary infrastructure on our border that gives complete control over entering and exiting the United States.
Strongly Agree
State, sheriff and local law enforcement agencies should be required to participate in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) Program to enhance the safety and security of their communities to identify and detain aliens.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
America has always been welcoming to hard-working people from across the planet yearning for freedom. That has never changed and never should. That said, a nation without borders is no nation at all, and we cannot bear the burden of the problems in the rest of the world indiscriminately. We need immigration reform on the federal level, and that includes legal immigration reform, illegal immigration reform, and border security. We need to prioritize the people trying to come into our country the right and legal way, we need to know who is here for our national security by ending visa overstays, and we need to build a wall to stop the flow of new illegal immigrants and cartel activity.
EDUCATION
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
I support adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Strongly Disagree
Parents should have the right to know what schools are teaching their children about sex and LGBT issues and should have the right to opt their children out of any instruction to which they object.
Strongly Agree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I was raised Catholic and our family still attends services a Sacred Hearth Catholic Church in Dunn.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
100% Rating with National Right to Life 2011-2016 “A” Lifetime Rating with the National Rifle Association Personally appointed to the Department of Health and Human Services by president trump, 2017
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
Starting as a medical assistant at age 19, I have been in healthcare for 36 years. I also spent 6 years in the United States House of Representative, serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee for 4 of those years. In 2017, President Trump personally appointed me as Regional Director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I think the most important thing I learned at HHS is how to bring people together. Healthcare is a complex issue with a lot of stakeholders and it will take serious coalition building to put real solutions in place.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
n/a
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Strongly Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
Yes
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I don’t believe more gun laws will solve a single thing. We need to focus on the dire state of mental health. That will be a focus of my Healthcare Task Force – by modernizing our doctor’s offices and school nurses’ offices with telehealth and telepsychiatry, we can better address the needs of individuals having problems before it becomes a bigger problem.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Strongly Disagree
The Electoral College should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
In priority order, what three areas of legislation do you propose to author or sponsor if elected?
As you know, the Lt. Governor does not author legislation, however as I mentioned, I will ask the Governor and General Assembly on day-one to appoint me to lead a Healthcare Task Force to find solutions to make healthcare work for our state. This task force will then send legislative recommendations back to the Governor’s office and both chambers of the General Assembly for consideration.
