S. Marshall Wilson
Constitution | West Virginia
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
S. Marshall Wilson
Party
Constitution
Election Year
2024
Election
General
Race
Governor
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Liberty University Online, Lynchburg, VA, PhD, Currently Enrolled
The Institute of World Politics, Washington, DC, MA, 2020
US Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, KS, Graduate, 2017
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, BA, 1992
WORK & MILITARY
US Army, Infantry, Operations, Major, 20
WV Delegate (State Representative), Delegate, 4
PIONEERS, International, Church Planter, 4
AFFILIATIONS
PIONEERS, International, Church Planter, Cross Keys Baptist Church
Ordained Minister
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
WV Delegate, 4
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
WV Governor, 2020
WV Delegate, 2016 and 2018
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (1)
West Virginians for Health Freedom
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
None
Chemical abortion drugs should meet essential safety standards (such as in-person consultation with a medical doctor) and require reporting to gather evidence on reactions and outcomes.
Strongly Agree
Abortifacients as all other forms of abortion should be illegal. If, however, they are legally allowed, the health of the mother should be medically monitored while her child is dying as a result of the drugs she has ingested with the intent of killing her child.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Governments are instituted among Men to secure their Rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness (Natural Rights). (US Dec of Ind) A government's refusal to defend the lives of children constitutes a refusal to comply with its mandate so negates the authority of that government and its use of the money it has confiscated from the people to kill children demolishes the foundations of its authority.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
"Aid in Dying" establishes a paradigm in the medical industry that acknowledges suicide as effective and perhaps desirable medical treatment and so constructs a profit incentive for the medical industry and the insurance industry and also for government to engage in killing people whom medicine was founded to treat facilitated by insurance and government was founded to protect.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
None.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Agree
Government has no authority to mandate anything of any individual or business except to secure the Natural Rights of each citizen. (Ie against theft or murder) No person has a right to the labor or to the private property of any individual or business. Government not only has no authority to mandate that a citizen or business serve anyone else in contravention of the citizen's "sincerely held beliefs;" it has no authority to issue such a mandate in contravention of the citizen's petty whims.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
I wrote a Threat Assessment for the Emerging Threats class in my National Security MA program. In it, I identified the CCP as the second most dangerous threat to US security, prosperity, and liberty. I named "citizen apathy" as the most dangerous threat. War is the use of any combination of the elements of power (Diplomacy/Politics, Information. Military/Kinetic, Economics) by any entity to compel any other entity to comply with its intent. The PRC has been at war with the US since 1949.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes. Israel's world-view, principle, and priorities align more closely with those of the US Founding than do those of any other nation in the Middle East. This is unsurprising considering the fact that the US was founded upon the three pillars of Western Civilization one of which is "the Judeo-Christian Ethic." This is not an assertion that either Israel or the US is always correct in all actions but that the US and Israel, when they each closely follows its own principles, will generally align.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
D
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
None.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
The philosophy of "pursuit of Happiness" in the US Declaration of Independence is founded upon the concept of the right to private property. It is critical to note here that a similar phrase "personal property" differs profoundly in meaning and intent from "private property." Private property is all that a person might legitimately own as a result of his investment of his time, effort, and capabilities. Personal property is a subset of private property including clothing, toiletries, etc.
What is your position on the minimum wage?
There should be no government-imposed minimum wage. Labor, like every other commodity should be priced by the market. It destroys opportunity for entry-level employees and deprives them of job experience that could lead to greater opportunities.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
No
The only criteria used to prioritize spending taxpayer funds are: 1. Does this program secure the Natural Rights of all citizens? 2. Is this the most effective method to secure the Natural Rights of all citizens? 3. Do we have the permission of the citizens to spend their money in this manner to secure their Natural Rights? 4. Do we have the money on-hand to execute this plan to secure the Natural Rights of citizens?
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
The only valid purpose for the existence of the US Government is to secure the Natural Rights of each citizen. As a retired combat-veteran US Army Infantry Officer, I can unequivocally assert the impossibility of securing the people within a geographic territory when the territory, itself, is not secured. The US Government must fail in its only assigned task - to secure the Natural Rights of each US citizen - if it fails to secure US territory.
EDUCATION
The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child through programs which protect parents' freedom to choose their child's school – public, private, or homeschool.
Strongly Agree
The WV Constitution requires WV Government to "provide... for a thorough and efficient system of free schools." Taxpayer funding would require a court decision (maybe a Constitutional Amendment) clarifying that the "thorough and efficient system of free schools" might include public, private and homeschool. At that point, homeschool as a part of the system falls under the supervision of the WV State BOE. Rectifying this situation requires an Amendment. I will lead this effort.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Strongly Disagree
Policing is a government imperative. Community is a societal program. Conflating societal with governmental roles, responsibilities, rights, and authorities results in failure of both.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
None.
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
Yes
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No.
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men..." According to the Founders, the general purpose of government is to secure the Natural Rights of each citizen.
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
When I meet someone who describes himself as "conservative," I ask him, "What are you trying to conserve?" I owe you an answer to that question. I am trying to conserve Constitutional Governance according to the principles espoused by the Founders for the purpose of securing the Natural Rights of each citizen. In so doing I am also working to "secure the blessings of Liberty (Preamble, US Constitution)" for my children. I employ these principles as the starting point for all policy decisions.
VALUES
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from abuse, including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Agree
The WV Government exists only for the purpose of securing the Natural Rights of each citizen especially those unable to defend themselves.
Parents should have the right to make decisions for their minor children.
Strongly Agree
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Strongly Disagree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Agree
I also think that government has no authority to define marriage at all.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a profoundly devout Christian.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
States should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact which makes the Electoral College irrelevant.
Strongly Disagree
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes, but no more or less of a threat than any other idea which serves as a justification for denying any citizen free exercise of his Natural Rights. Any denial by any person of any opportunity of any citizen to freely exercise his Natural Rights, except in the case that he does so to secure the Natural Rights of any citizen, constitutes an illicit infringement of the Natural Rights of the citizen so denied. The destruction of these protections for any will result in their destruction for all.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
I have six daughters. I will die on this hill.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Which comes closest to your view? (Select all that apply) A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost. C) Stricter environmental laws undermine U.S. energy independence and deter development of reliable electricity sources. D) Climate change is real and requires urgent policy action.
A, B, and C with the understanding outlined below. D is utterly false. Since "stricter" is not defined here, note that, in lieu of "stricter," I would say "more focused and effective." Corporate fines paid to government entities achieve nothing except as noted in A and C. Individuals responsible for business actions which injure citizens must be held individually accountable to include, compensation of the injured party and incarceration if warranted. Were this the intent, I could agree with B.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Natural Gas
