Kim Carver
Republican | Louisiana
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Kim Carver
Party
Republican
Election Year
2023
Election
General (Runoff)
Race
State Rep., Dist 89
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Bachelors of Science, Biological Engineering, 1998
University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Master of Business Administration, 2007
Graduate School of Banking at LSU, Baton Rouge, certificate/diploma, 2017
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Crossroads NOLA, Co-founder and board member, foster care recruitment, training, development, Family Promise of St. Tammany
Treasurer and board member, Northshore Business Council, Education Committee Chairman and board member
GNO, Inc., Finance Committee and Public Policy Committee Member, Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI)
Education & Worforce Council Chairman and board member, Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (early chidhood education), board member
Tulane Medical School's Early Childhood Policy Leadership Institute, Fellow, First Baptist Church Covington
Deacon, Bible Study Leader for 7th graders, Leadership St. Tammany, Class of 2018 and Alumnus of the Year for 2022
CABL Leadership Louisiana, Class of 2019
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Orleans Republican Parish Executive Committee, early 2000's
Delegate from Louisiana to Republican National Convention, 2008
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Republican State Central Committee, 2008
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (4)
Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Louisiana
Louisiana Manufacturers Political Action Committee (LAMP)
Louisiana Freedom Caucus PAC
OTHER (7)
SouthPAC/Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI)
Louisiana Hospital Association PAC (HOSPPAC)
Louisiana Motor Transport Association
GNOR PAC
Americans For Prosperity - Louisiana
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (10)
Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority
Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI) SOUTHPAC
Northshore Home Builders Association & Louisiana Homebuilders Association
Association of Builders & Contractors, Merit Shop
Americans for Prosperity, Louisiana Chapter
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (6)
John Neely Kennedy (2023)
Eye of the Tiger PAC (2022)
Hewitt PAC (2021)
Jeremy Stine (2021)
Luke J Letlow (2020)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (9)
Cameron Henry (2023)
For All of Louisiana (2023)
Kirk Talbot (2023)
LA Committee for a Conservative Majority PAC (2023)
Mark Wright (2023)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Stand for Children (2023)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
I believe the life of the mother is in jeopardy, an abortion exemption is warranted.
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
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
We need to simplify, lower, and broaden the income tax in Louisiana (personal and corporate). We are surrounded geographically by states with 0% income tax, all which happen to be among the fastest growing states in the nation. While we do not have to get to zero to be competitive with the remaining southern states who are all growing in jobs, population, wages & GDP - what we have currently is the worst of both worlds. We have a very middle of the road/average tax burden in national rankings by the American Tax Foundation, but you need an army of CPAs, tax specialists and attorneys to navigate all of the deductions, exemptions and credits. We appear expensive on paper, and we don't attract job creators, retirees and others to move to Louisiana because we aren't competing with neighbors who have zero, or much lower tax rates than ours. We also need to phase out the franchise tax - which is a deterrent to job growth in our state as well. Long term, we need to move to a model where Louisiana parishes, cities and municipalities keep more of their tax revenue locally to find their schools, protection and infrastructure needs. More accountability, closer to the people.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
With surplus dollars, we need to reduce the UAL pension debt to open up more flexibility for local governments to spend taxpayer monies on needs closer to home. With so many departments and programs protected in the constitution, the legislature has very little discretion on spending reductions outside of health and higher education. We need to move away from continuation budgeting and towards zero based budgeting, so we analyze budgets based on mission and service to the residents of the state, and not sole fund them based on what the received the year before, and before that, etc,
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
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?
We learned in the pandemic that the freedom to assemble was compromised by government officials. Waves of restrictions and arbitrary capacity restrictions dictated our schools, businesses and houses of faith. Our freedom to assemble, and to worship is fundamental from our founding, and must be protected. I am encouraged by the constitutional amendment authored by Sen. Beth Mizell and passed by the legislature in the last session - and believe Louisiana voters will agree that churches be allowed and free to operate, despite public health emergencies and edicts.
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.
C
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
The events of the last few years have caused many to question the traditional medical authorities, but after the COVID pandemic, we learned we must guarantee an environment where everyone can make the best decision for their family following their own education, consultation with their own healthcare providers, and system of beliefs - and I believe people need to maintain the freedom to make their own decisions regarding vaccinations.
NATIONAL SECURITY
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
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Immigrants who follow our laws and processes in order to better themselves and their families should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Agree
As Chairman of the Education & Workforce Council at the state's chamber of commerce and manufacturing association (LABI), I have helped lead the effort to expand choice in our state for parents and families of students to find the best fit for their child. I played an instrumental role in helping establish Louisiana Key Academy (Northshore Campus) here in St. Tammany to serve children diagnosed with dyslexia, and currently serve on their board. My 3 children attend public schools here.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
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
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a practicing Christian and have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who I acknowledge as my Lord and Savior. My wife and I were married in a covenant marriage in a Southern Baptist Church, as we both were raised Baptist. She is a professor of counseling at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and we both serve in our local church, First Baptist Covington. I am an ordained deacon, and have served as a deacon (and former Chairman of the deacons) at First Baptist New Orleans. I serve as a deacon at FBC Covington as well, though I am not on current active rotation. I also teach weekly Bible Study in our youth group - to 7th-8th grade boys and have joked on the campaign trail that this may be the toughest job in my life! I have sought to live out my faith in every facet of my life, believing that life changing relationships are available to us through Christ and the body of believers. God built our family through the gift of adoption and foster care, and in addition to that great blessing in our lives, He also gave us a meaningful and a good work. More than a dozen years ago we started a ministry out of our church to recruit, support and train high caliber, high quality foster families from our congregation. Today, that work - Crossroads NOLA is in over 60 churches on both sides of the lake, and has done work around the state to train foster families, DCFS caseworkers, judges, CASA volunteers, school teachers, counselors and physicians in a restorative trauma informed care model that helps bring healing to kids from hard places. I have tried to live out my faith of loving and serving others - in my community and in my state. On the board of Family Promise of St. Tammany, an organization that helps families (especially those with children) move from homeless to home ownership through the generosity and shelter provided by the faith-based community here in St. Tammany, I serve as Treasurer. Here in the community and in our state capitol (on child welfare, adoption, foster care, and education reform) I have tried to serve children and families on the underside of power - the forgotten, the marginalized and the downtrodden, because I believe it is the very heart and character of Almighty God. And I will continue that service in the legislature should I be elected. I want to be more like Him, and I think often about the Old Testament scripture in Deuteronomy 10: 17-18...in verse 17, the test describes God has the God of gods and the Lord of lords, set high above, great, mighty, awesome - not susceptible to bribes. This amazing, powerful description of the supreme God of the Universe. And then, in the very next verse - verse 18, it says He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. That's God's heart and character. When He is everything, and powerful enough to do anything, he chooses the fatherless, the widow, the poor, the refugee. This is my core belief and value - to be more like Christ every day.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
Strengthen Voter ID laws - states IDs should be issued for all citizens, and they must be produced in order to vote - make it easier to vote, harder to cheat!
EQUALITY
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
A breakdown in race relations and constant gaslighting in the media and by left wing establishment has generated more civil unrest and ...I wish we could return to a time when we were all Americans first. This type of division is un-Christian, it is un-American, and it is dangerous. We are better than this as a people and a society.
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.
Strongly Agree
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
As a conservative (fiscal and social conservative), I believe in limited government and the power of the individual to improve outcomes for themselves and the country. I believe federal powers under our democratic republic should be limited to the power of the states. I believe in free market solutions and capitalism - free trade, less regulations, lower spending, and the increased role of the private and nonprofit sectors to address and solve problems. The purpose stated in the Constitution's Preamble is to "establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." The government's purpose should be to protect its citizens, creating and enforcing the laws that govern our society, to engage in foreign affairs/diplomacy, and to provide the framework for economic freedom (legal and social framework, maintain competition in the marketplace, stabilizing actions, etc.).
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 op-ed and articles written by the Advocate on my pro-life beliefs and my work in foster care and on behalf of children in our community and state. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/guest-opinion-as-we-celebrate-roe-s-end-abortion-opponents-have-more-work-to-do/article_ad2019d2-f823-11ec-a1ee-4fe09ab0534c.html https://www.nola.com/louisiana_inspired/crossroads-trains-church-families-for-foster-care/article_cf219690-7be1-11ed-8d66-1f65bdcd586b.html https://www.nola.com/news/communities/st_tammany/hope-house-names-this-years-champions-for-children/article_3b2d7e96-d414-11ed-a743-2b27dbcda812.html?fbclid=IwAR0ooE4gec7wLFIQk9utdRNt7DK0GoNgKfPb1VU2-SuAVH5DVgMprSXLfUg
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?
I have worked in our community and in our state - in every facet of my life: faith, business, non-profit and community to improve outcomes for others. I am ready to go to work for my district on Day One because I have been doing the work for more than a decade from the outside. Louisiana is underperforming - we are losing jobs and population; our wages are down, and our GDP is contracting. Our cities are on fire with crime, and three cities in our state occupy the nation's most violent list. Crime is choking out the life of our state. We have an insurance crisis that is making it unaffordable to live here. Homeowners, commercial and automobile insurance rates are skyrocketing and if we do not address it on Day One, this will be a region killer for south Louisiana. Nearly half of our third graders are not reading on grade level - a hair on fire moment for our state - as kids who struggle to read, struggle to learn and are destined to live their lives in the margins. But this is not how our story has to end - I believe we can author a brighter future for our state - one that is teeming with the people we love, enjoying the rewards of opportunity and prosperity that come from a Baton Rouge that works - and one that is accountable to the people and businesses who pay for it. Decline is a choice. We have been witness to states that have changed their trajectories. Many states in the south have been saddled with similar challenges and problems over the decades, but through good policy, strong leadership, and bold innovative thinking have made their states competitive - destinations for job creators and those seeking brighter futures and success. We can choose a different path as well. It is not a zero-sum game - we can enjoy the wonderful attributes of our state - our food, culture, music, festivals, ports, energy resources, and our hard-working people AND have better outcomes in our economy, in education and in healthcare. We can author a turnaround story for Louisiana that is as good and noble as our people. This is not the beginning of my public service, but rather a continuation of service to those who pay too much in taxes, businesses who face too much regulation, kids who are trapped in failing schools and kids and families stuck in a broken child welfare system. I am the leader in my race who can do that work on the first day - not simply because I espouse the right beliefs and values - but because I have a long record of service - putting them into practice to improve outcomes here in St. Tammany Parish and in Baton Rouge.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Strongly Agree
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Strongly Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
The present laws regarding ownership by convicted felons should be maintained (felonies, and those convicted, not charged).
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Agree
iVoterGuide Notes:
After evaluations occurred, the candidate expressed that his preferred response to this question should be “Strongly Disagree“
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Gambling should be limited to existing forms and should not be de-regulated or expanded.
Strongly Agree
Children should be protected from sexualization on the internet, in public schools, and in the public libraries
Strongly Agree
