Dave Hughes
Republican | Minnesota
Candidate Profile
Conservative (Conditional)
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Dave Hughes
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
Primary
Race
U.S. Rep., Dist. 7
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
California State University, San Diego, CA, BS, 1992
Squadron Officers School, Montgomery, AL, 2000
Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence, 2006
WORK & MILITARY
US Air Force, Major (O-4), 21+
AFFILIATIONS
National Right to Life Committee, contributor, Judicial Watch
contributor, National Rifle Association, Lifetime Member
Compassion International, contributor, Salvation Army
contributor, American Center for Law & Justice, contributor
American Legion, Member
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
US Rep, MN-7, 2016
US Rep, MN-7, 2018
Race
Previous Races
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
State Republican Party Organizations (2019)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (6)
Allen West Guardian Fund (2018)
Defenders of Freedom and Security (2018)
Electing Majority Making Effective Republicans (2018)
Freedom Club (2018)
Right Now USA (2018)
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
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Procured Abortion should never be allowed, as it is never medically necessary to save the life of the mother. Instead, surgical procedures for ectopic pregnancies, and C-sections, are sometimes necessary to save the life of the mother, and may unfortunately result in the death of the child if done early in the pregnancy. These procedures are much different than Procured Abortion. Rape and incest do not diminish the value of the unborn child.
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
How would you guarantee Social Security benefits for future generations?
Social Security is unsustainable in its current form because Americans are living much longer and having fewer babies. We could means-test benefits, increase payroll taxes, decrease benefits across the board, increase the eligibility age, or some combination of all these. But these options are unattractive for many reasons. I favor slowly transitioning to a privatized system whereby our federal government would eventually be completely out of the business that is today Social Security. By "slowly", I mean current recipients of Social Security would not have their benefits curtailed at all. They would keep their benefits for the remainder of their lives. Americans older than 50, but not yet recipients, would be transitioned to a hybrid benefit. Americans under age 50 would move to this new private system.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Immediately abolish the U.S. Departments of Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Commerce, and dozens of the 200+ federal agencies, bureaus, commissions, etc.. Reduce spending 20% per year in most of the remaining departments, and more in some. 70% of all federal annual spending is on social welfare benefit programs. Abolishing many of those benefits, by sending those functions back to the States, is the key to shrinking our federal government and balancing the Budget.
Under what circumstances should taxpayers help pay off existing student loans?
Taxpayers should never help pay off existing student loans as today's leftists are advocating, as if universal free higher education is a basic human right.
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
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?
It means a rock solid guarantee that government will not interfere in the people's free exercise of religion in America. It does NOT mean what liberal courts have contrived it to mean for 50+ years in America - that we must strip the public square of religion, crosses, and other symbols, and disallow high school students from voluntarily praying before sporting events. It does NOT mean allowing government to force bakers to bake a cake, or photographers to take those photos, or a Catholic charity to pay for Abortion.
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Strongly Disagree
I support the elimination of private healthcare insurance.
Strongly Disagree
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
One, totally repeal Obamacare. Two, implement sensible free market reforms such as national insurance marketplace, policy portability, and full tax deductibility for individuals. Three, require price transparency and universality for procedures and services. Four, get the federal government out of health care and health insurance as much as possible.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Strongly Agree
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of radical Islamic terrorism?
One, elected officials, military members/leaders, law enforcement personnel, members of the Intelligence Community, and their organizations (e.g. FBI, CIA, DOJ), must educate themselves and the American people about this dire threat, rather than expunge such knowledge as did the Obama administration. Two, we must equip these organizations to stay ahead of the threat, mostly in terms of current, high quality intelligence. Third, the U.S. Government should immediately repeal the current refugee resettlement program, to avoid the national security risk of bringing Islamists to American soil.
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
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
State and federal funds should be denied to any public or private entity, including but not limited to sanctuary cities, that are not in compliance with immigration laws.
Strongly Agree
Employers should be required to use E-verify to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Individuals who would be productive members of our society should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. Those who would be a burden to our generous social welfare benefit programs should not be allowed to immigrate. Chain migration and the migration lottery should end immediately and permanently. We should allow immigration when it is beneficial to us, and freeze or slow immigration when doing so is beneficial to us. I support President Trump's 2017 70-point plan for Immigration Reform.
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.
Neutral
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I'm a born-again Christian. Jesus Christ is Lord of All, and the greatest inspiration and example in human history.
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.
https://www.HughesForCongress.us https://www.facebook.com/dhughescongress/
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?
I've never held elected office. As a 21-year Active Duty retired U.S. Air Force combat veteran, I'm a Conservative Political Outsider. I'm running to serve and represent all the good people of western Minnesota, not just those who like me. I want to give the people More Liberty and Less Government. I want to get government off our backs, away from our wallets, and out of our lives. I'm the only candidate in this race with the National Security and Border Security experience and expertise so needed at this time. I want to permanently repeal our current refugee resettlement program. I want to secure our southern border by building a 1,954 mile wall from San Diego, CA, to Brownsville, TX. I'm running to partner with President Trump to accomplish his America First agenda. I'm running to promote the enduring political principles of our Founding - Free Enterprise, Limited Government, Individual Liberty, and Strong National Defense. Please support my campaign!
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Strongly Agree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Gun ownership should be restricted by local and state government when a very rigorous court process finds individuals mentally incompetent. I do NOT favor the current trend toward federal red flag laws, which are much too prone to abuse of due process rights. Violent felons must not be allowed by state and local governments to own firearms until such time and very rigorous process demonstrates these individuals no longer pose a public threat.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
I support BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanction) against Israel if they refuse to allow the creation of a Palestinian state.
Strongly Disagree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Disagree
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
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?
1. End Abortion in America by proposing an amendment to our U.S. Constitution. We can wait no longer for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade! 2. Make Agriculture profitable again by implementing many of the good legislative priorities of the American Farm Bureau Federation, by aggressively opening new foreign markets for American agricultural products, and by ending federal restrictions that centralize production. I support reforms like the PRIME Act. 3. Balance our federal budget every year by reducing federal spending, by further reducing taxes and simplifying our tax code, and by reducing burdensome federal overregulation.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Racism exists and is a terrible thing. But systemic racism no longer exists in America, hasn't for a long time, and is not a domestic security threat. The greatest domestic challenge to our nation today is the dissolution of the family, which was promulgated by the Great Society programs of the mid-1960s. We must reverse course on public policy, so as to incentivize work and the traditional nuclear family.
