John F. Hodgson
Republican | Kentucky
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
John F. Hodgson
Party
Republican
Election Year
2024
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 36
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
Texas Tech Univeristy, Lubbock, BS Industrial Engineering, 1984
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona, Master, Aeronautical Science, 2007
Liberty University, Lynchburg, Post-graduate studies in Public Policy, 2020
WORK & MILITARY
UPS Airlines, Division Manager, 1984-2016
Governor Matt Bevin Administration, Operations Director, 2015-2019
KY House of Representatives, State Representative, 2023 - current
AFFILIATIONS
Americans for Election Integrity, Policy Director, Louisville Arena Authority
Board Member, KY Capital Planning Advisory Board, Board Member (fmr)
KY PACE (Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easments) Corporation, Board Member (fmr), KY Environmental Education Council
Board Member, KY Legislative District 36 (Republican Party), Chairman (fmr)
Louisville Tea Party, President (fmr), Senior Care Experts, Inc
Chairman (fmr), Bethel Chrisitian Mission, Inc, Chairman (fmr)
Fisherville Area Neighborhood Association (FANA), Chairman (fmr)
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
State Representative, 2023-current
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Jefferson County Soil Conservation Officer (write-in), 2020
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (5)
National Rifle Association (NRA) PVF
Kentucky Right to Life Association (KRTL)
Freedoms Heritage Forum
Commonwealth Policy Center
Stand For Health Freedom
OTHER (2)
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (19)
State Republican Party Organizations (2024)
Aaron Reed (2023)
Daniel Cameron (2023)
Steven Doan (2022)
Andrew Cooperrider (2021)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (3)
Making a Sensible Shift in Elections (MASSIE PAC) (2022)
Mike Nemes (2021)
Savannah Maddox (2021)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Kentucky Justice Association (2022)
OTHER INFORMATION
Kentucky Family Foundation Scorecard
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
Medical emergency to save the life of the mother.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
History shows that "assistance" becomes "coercion" in a relatively short time.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
ECONOMY
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
No
What is your position on the minimum wage?
Minimum wages, while possibly well-intended, drive inflation and drive the youngest and least qualified out of the ability to compete in the job market. They harm those they are supposed to help.
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
This is one of the cornerstones of Western Civilization
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
Only in extreme emergencies when ALL places of public accommodation are closed in an area - floods, toxic spills, etc. Government cannot discriminate here, or decide whether or not church is "essential"
HEALTHCARE
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
Very few. Employer might legitimately require certain vaccinations before sending an employee on a business trip to foreign area with tropical diseases - that might be a condition of accepting the trip/assignment.
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.
Philosophically, "D", but realistically "C". Hundreds of millions have based their lifetime financial plans on Medicare at 65 for decades, and changing it would require decades of notice for alternate plans to be implemented. Raising the eligibility age slowing is absolutely necessary.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Israel has been our only reliable ally in the Middle East for 75 years. The other nations have always aligned themselves with our enemies in the world wars and the cold war. Also, Israel is the only nation that shares our American values (really the values of Western Civilization) - the other nations are from a completely different culture and set of values that is incompatible with democracy, freedom, rule of law, etc. as we understand it.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
A nation with open borders cannot remain a nation.
EDUCATION
I support a constitutional amendment that would allow Kentucky’s General Assembly to set up a school choice program to allow dollars to follow children to the school of their choice.
Strongly Agree
I have been working on this for years.
VALUES
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
And not identity as a plant or animal either!
Parental rights are a fundamental right, and parents should have the right to make decisions for their minor children.
Strongly Agree
As long as those parental rights do not involve abusing, mutilating, or killing the minor child.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from harm, including from gender ideology and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Agree
The state has a compelling interest under the Constitution to protect its citizens from harm (abusing, mutilating, killing) by others, even those with parental or legal authority over them.
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Evangelical, Biblical Christianity, non denominational
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
Another cornerstone of Western Civilization
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Only with a witnessed, sworn affidavit under penalties of perjury for cases where an ID is temporarily unavailable (lost, etc)
States should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact which makes the Electoral College irrelevant.
Strongly Disagree
Undermines the Constitution
EQUALITY
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 support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Strongly Disagree
DEI is a smokescreen for teaching race based discrimination, antithetical to what MLK taught us all in the 1960s, echoing the Declaration of Independence.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
This is, and has always been, an offshoot of Marxism/Communism, a tool to destabilize Western Civilization
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Fossil fuels and small modular nuclear. I have experimented with and used solar and wind energy for 45+ years. They are an augmentation at best, but would collapse modern society if we relied on them.
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", but with the caveat that we need to be protected from actual toxins and pollutants. CO2 is not a pollutant.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
Governments are instituted among men to secure their rights, and derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
no
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
I do not fit neatly into a single label. I am a liberty minded, Constitutional, Christian Conservative who embraces the Founding values of America enshrined in the Rule of Law tradition, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I believe in personal responsibility, not the Nanny State. I believe in small government. Not a Libertarian, but also don't like big coercive government from either the right or the left.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Strongly Disagree
More social intervention services are needed, but not at the expense of law enforcement.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
None on law abiding, mentally sound citizens. Restrictions for violent felons, and those adjudicated to be mentally unstable and hazard to themselves or others. Worth discussing whether illegal aliens should legally be allowed to posses a gun, since their first act in the US was breaking the law... but they have a natural right to self defense to consider also.
Faculty who are licensed to carry and have had ongoing training should be allowed to carry guns at school in order to respond to an active shooter situation.
Strongly Agree
High quality and recurrent training is essential
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Do you support the expansion of gambling in Kentucky?
No
We have plenty of opportunities for citizens to gamble if they choose: Horseracing, charitable gaming, lottery, "Racinos" that skirted the law, and now Sports Gaming. Government must regulate and tax what is in place. I voted against the proliferation of "grey machines" into every convenience store and gas station in the state because they are predatory and target those at the bottom end of the economic spectrum who are likely supported at least partially by the taxpayers.
