TJ Hawthorne
Libertarian | Minnesota
Candidate Profile*
Leans Conservative
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
TJ Hawthorne
Party
Libertarian
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 44B
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
North Senior High, North St. Paul, Diploma, 1998
WORK & MILITARY
US Navy, Petty Officer Second Class, 6
AFFILIATIONS
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
ENDORSEMENTS*
*These endorsements were received after the deadline and were not considered in the Panel Evaluations and are for additional educational purposes only.
OTHER (1)
*Libertarian Party Mises Caucus Pennsylvania
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (2)
Libertarian Party Mises Caucus
Mike ter Maat, Libertarian Party Presidential candidate
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE*
*Additional information was received after the evaluation was assigned and was not considered in the Panel Evaluations, therefore it is for additional educational purposes only.
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
When the woman's doctor believes it is proper. If the baby is viable, there should be no reason to terminate it.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
This kind of support can be funded privately.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Agree
The right to one's self is the most important right.
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
1. Stop taxing Social Security payments to Minnesota recipients. 2. All other taxes can be reduced. With the amount of surplus, year after year, along with wasteful spending, we can reduce the amount of taxes collected by a great percentage.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Education. More than half of our budget goes toward K-12 education and the industry is always asking for 'more money'. We need to stop investing in a failing solution. Allow parents more choices and the education 'market' will grow with many new innovations and ideas on how to educate our youth.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
See answer for item #2. The biggest problem with taxpayer-funded education, just like taxpayer-funded anything, is the end user does not associate with the payer. When that happens the output becomes further and further from what is desired.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Individuals should be able to chose the services they want to provide. Otherwise, it is literally a form of slavery when you force someone to do something against their will.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
NONE. Under NO circumstances can the government close ANYTHING not opened by the government.
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)Tax-payer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be de-funded.
D. Just like education, when the government gets involved and believes it can do something better than the free market, that's wrong. The state and federal governments have put too many restrictions on insurance companies and medical providers that they are stuck following along with the centralized decisions of a bureaucrat.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
NONE. Education on the vaccine should be available and citizens should be able to CHOOSE.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
There is NO threat of Islamic terrorism. These people are fighting back after the US has invaded THEIR land. The United States is bullying countries all over the world and we all sit in our safety, being misinformed every single day. There are radicalized individuals that have had family members blown up by unmanned drones, while walking down the road. Do you think you would HATE the country responsible for that, if that happened to you?
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.
Agree
I support the United States NOT getting into other countries' business.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Neutral
I do believe we should secure the border if we continue to have the welfare state that we do. If we operated on a purely free market of products, services and ideas, we wouldn't need to secure the border. We would actually need to bring more people in to sustain the growth of innovation.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Anyone, as long as they go through the proper process.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Agree
This is one of my major campaign platform ideas. Minnesota spends more than half of the budget on K-12 education and is still constantly asking for more funds. This is a failing system that is outdated and needs to be changed. School choice is the first step to purely free market education. With a purely free market in education, our teachers will be paid meritoriously so the better teachers will be paid accordingly.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Agree
I don't necessarily believe Judeo-Christian values are the ONLY values necessary to have good morals.
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
"Protected class" sounds very bad. I don't think we need ANY protected classes.
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition
Neutral
If that's what you believe, great! I think the state should have NO say in marriage. Why does the government care if you're married? TAXES, that's why. Taxation is theft and if being married is better/worse for someone's tax burden, then it is purely arbitrary. The need for those funds didn't change when this individual got married...
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
This is what is dividing us.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I believe in living an honest life and doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. I don't worship anything or anyone. My only religion is the Golden Rule.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
This seems like the easiest way to verify identity of the voter.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
To start, we have too many laws restricting candidates on the ballot. The two major parties have created laws that keep them in power. Then, I think a simple ID and registration to vote is all we need.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
No. The only threat of racism is within the media's mind. They use this to divide us. This isn't to say there aren't some individuals in the IS that are racist, but they are not a threat to domestic security.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
This is ridiculous and only presented to buy votes. No one alive today is responsible for something that happened to a group of people over a hundred years ago.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
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.
A.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Agree
If this is the most efficient and safe way to extract the oil, I think this is the way we should do it.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
To preserve the rights of its citizens.
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?
Lean Conservative
The meaning of liberal and conservative have changed in the last couple years. I am a libertarian. I believe in a much smaller role for government because I have seen the government is incapable of doing anything efficiently.
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
https://youtu.be/7o5wpfuL5SQ
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.
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
My priorities in the Minnesota legislature would be to roll back the regulations that inhibit businesses from innovating and growing. I do not like that the legislature allowed our governor to have enough executive power to shut down businesses at his own discretion.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Strongly Disagree
This only enables the officers to think they can get away with anything. I do believe we have more good officers, than bad, but I don't think they need any kind of immunity.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Neutral
These funds can come from voluntary sources.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
NONE.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
This makes no sense. Do we sue car manufacturers if someone kills another person with their car?
