Sam Palmer
Republican | Oregon
Candidate Profile
Conservative (Conditional)
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Sam Palmer
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
Primary
Race
U.S. Senator
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Blue Mountain Community College, Pendleton, Oregon, ADN, 1986
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Grant County search and rescue, Usher in our church
Sleep in heavenly peace, Build beds for children in need
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Grant County Commissioner, 3
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Grant County public forest commission, 1
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (5)
State Senator Lynn Findley, district 30
State Representative Mark Owens, district 60
Restore Oregon Now
Sherman County sheriff Brad Lohery
County commissioners; Bill Harvey, Todd Nash, Jim Hamsher, Paul Andres, Pete Runnels, Patty Dorothy, Kristen Sherman,Mark Albertson, James Williams, Tony Debone, Lyle Mordhorst, and David Yamamoto
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Abortion should be allowed to save the life of the mother, from incest or rape. Otherwise only if a woman’s body naturally rejects the pregnancy.
ECONOMY
Redistribution of income is needed to lessen the gap between the wealthy and working classes.
Strongly Disagree
Redistribution of wealth goes against the basis this country was founded on. A dollar earned should be a dollar kept, a dollar distributed should be done solely at the discretion of the giver.
The government should cut spending in order to reduce the national debt.
Strongly Agree
Absolutely, our national debt is nearly 30 trillion dollars. A billion dollars a month in interest alone. We need to decrease spending, de-regulate, and increase domestic jobs, quit raising the debt ceiling and pay our national debt off.
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
Our tax code is extremely hard to navigate and cumbersome to work through. I would entertain the people of Oregons input on a flat or fair tax system. We need to come up with a solution that is fair to the tax payer and holds the government accountable on how those dollars are spent. The tax payer has to have input on this process.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
This nation was founded on religious liberty, we have seen a continuous moral decline and assault on our religious freedoms especially during the pandemic. We need religious liberty now more than ever to bring morality back to our state and our nation.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
A personal business should be able to choose the services they provide, and if it goes against their beliefs the government has no right to force them to provide such services. This is a basic freedom each and every business should hold without threat of retaliation.
What should be the relationship between the church and the state?
The separation of church and state is set forth that the state cannot dictate which religion you choose or practice. The state has no business choosing anything related to religion other than upholding one’s right to worship freely.
HEALTHCARE
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
Vaccination is a personal choice between parents, children, and their health care provider. Government should not be in the business of dictating what you put in your body.
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)Tax-payer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be de-funded.
I believe we should open health insurance across the nation, not just a state wide program. competition decreases prices. I also believe their should be options for personal needs. Men don’t need obstetrical care and seniors don’t need pediatric care. We should have the freedom to choose a plan that fits our needs and the options would be priced accordingly. Public assistance will always be an option,but should regulated to prevent some of the abuses we see in health care today.
NATIONAL SECURITY
With regard to America's foreign policy, which view most closely resembles yours: A) The United States should intervene whenever freedom is threatened. B) The United States should selectively help countries trying to grow democracy and fight tyranny. C) The United States has become too involved in others' policies and should remain focused on issues regarding our own sovereignty unless in imminent danger. D) The United States should stay out of foreign conflicts completely.
At this point we need to secure our national security issues on our southern border. We should intervene with our allies depending on the severity of the threat, and the type of help needed. Boots on the ground should never be the first option and if you lead through strength we can avert many of these very issues and prevent potential conflict.
I support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, allow full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Strongly Disagree
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
The Chinese have released a virus that has had global financial and health impacts, they continually threaten our national security, they are buying land in America to send food out of our country, and the amount of fentanyl coming across our southern border is criminal. We are already at war with china. We have seen millions die worldwide from coronavirus and fentanyl overdoses directly tied to china and they haven’t even fired a single shot.
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
Identify the terrorist groups, and use whatever option we need to eradicate it including sanctioning countries that support these groups.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
Drug cartels are ruling our southern border. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, worker trafficking, and sex trafficking is at an all time high under this administration and it is a threat to our national security. The crime and inhumane treatment is abhorrent. Our border should have already been secure.
State and federal funds shall be denied to any public or private entity, such as a sanctuary city, that is not in compliance with immigration laws.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Immigration should be allowed to those that follow the process of immigration, can contribute to the betterment of our society, and strengthen and contribute to our nation as a whole.
VALUES
Sexual orientation and gender identity should be protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
As a born again Christian I hold those values very close. I stand boldly on biblical principles and the belief our very nation was founded on these principles.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Every citizen has a form of picture identification and it should be presented to vote.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
I would like to see in person, validated with picture identification, on paper voting with audits for accuracy.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
The greatest reparations has already been paid by living in the freest nation on earth.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes it is. The race card and division it creates pits Americans against Americans, this in turn leads to a break down of our core values and our constitutional freedom af all people created equally.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Agree
Which comes closest to your view? A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.
We need to use the resources we have available until such a time other affordable sources can be developed. We need to deregulate many of the environmental laws we have now and stop creating new ones.
ABOUT YOU
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
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
I have worked on local, state and federal issues as a county commissioner. I brought forth our counties coordination policy, and second amendment preservation ordinance. I worked on stopping senate bill 192( River democracy act), I sit on the Blues intergovernmental council and cochair the forest health subcommittee in doing so helped rewrite the forest plan for the malheur, umatilla, and wallow a Whitman national forest.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No, never
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
Oregon has had a Democratic supermajority that has affected all of us. Our current Senator has championed every abortion bill, he is for open borders( even personally bringing an illegal here), we are seeing catastrophic fires that are burning entire towns and killing people, his environmental policy is self serving, and when he took office our national debt was under 1 trillion dollars it now sits at 30 trillion, he has never held a private sector job yet is worth several million dollars. It is time for a change in leadership that puts local government and citizens first.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Agree
I do believe it should still be investigated as a check and balance.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Strongly Disagree
These are 2 separate entities and should be funded as such.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
The second amendment doesn’t allow for restrictions, that being said people deemed mentally ill, a history of violent crime, and a history of gun violence should be restricted.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
