Luke Farley
Republican | North Carolina
Candidate Profile*
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Luke Farley
Party
Republican
Election Year
2024
Election
Primary
Race
Commissioner of Labor
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, B.A. w. Honors, 2007
Wake Forest University School of Law, Winston-Salem, NC, J.D., 2010
WORK & MILITARY
N/A
AFFILIATIONS
North Carolina Human Relations Commission (2014-2018), Member
Wake County GOP Legal Counsel & Executive Committee Member (2021-2023)
NCGOP 2022 State Convention Parliamentarian
Wake County GOP Precinct Chair (01-36)
Durham County Board of Elections (2018-2019), Chairman, Secretary
N.C. Bar Association - Construction Law Section, Legislative Affairs Committee
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
None
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
None
ENDORSEMENTS*
CONSERVATIVE (2)
Keith Kidwell; Cherie Berry
OTHER (1)
*North Carolina Grassroots Government PAC
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Cherie Berry - Former N.C. Labor Commissioner from 2001 to 2020
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (6)
Jefferson Griffin (2023); State Republican Party Organizations (2023); Curtis Hudson "Trey" Allen, III (2022); John Harris (2022); Dan Forest (2017)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
My faith teaches me that all life is sacred and that each person is made in the likeness and image of God. For this reason, I cannot support elective abortion under any circumstances.
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
These drugs should be illegal. But assuming they are legal, then they should adhere to the same strict standards as other medication.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Strongly Disagree
This issue calls to mind Paul's words in Romans 14:8: "[W]hether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Our lives are not our own; it's the Lord who makes the decision about when He calls us home. Life must be protected from conception to natural death. By contrast, in 2019, my opponent Rep. Jon Hardister was a primary sponsor of the End of Life Option Act (HB 879) which would have allowed doctor-assisted suicide in NC.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Not a single red cent of taxpayer money should ever go to paying to end the life of an unborn child.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
There is no legitimate reason for the government ever to close churches. The church closures during the early days of the COVID pandemic were a spiritual disaster for our country. There are many people who I would see regularly at church before the pandemic closures, but now I don't see them at all. The forced closures had untold negative effects on peoples' spiritual lives and their relationship with Our Lord. We can never allow this to happen again.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
The right of individuals to conduct their businesses according to their own conscience and religious beliefs must be protected. We cannot have a situation where those with a sincerely held religious belief must provide services which are contrary to those beliefs.
Should religious schools which accept state funds be allowed to only admit families and students who agree to adhere to their statement of faith?
Yes
If we're going to allow religious schools to accept state funds, then it doesn't make much sense to tell them they must admit anyone, regardless of whether that student agrees with their statement of faith. If you have a school full of students who don't share the faith of the school, it undermines the mission of the school, which is to pass on that faith to younger generations.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
I believe the CCP is the greatest long-term threat to peace and prosperity of our country. Our country must be ready to confront and counter China for decades to come. While the woke Left is focused on things like making sure men can play in women's sports, we're being distracted from the real and significant dangers presented by China.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes, this is a critically important relationship. Israel is one of our oldest friends and allies and God has ordained to bless the world through Israel. Indeed, "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22) and Israel deserves our support.
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.
Getting the government out of healthcare is the ideal position, but at this point I favor item C. We should not make any effort to reduce funding for Medicare and Medicaid until we've addressed all of the other inappropriate, discretionary federal spending.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
I am opposed to forced COVID vaccination by the government, schools, or employers. This vaccine is new and unproven with no study of its long-term effects. No one should be required to take it.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
Free enterprise and private property made this country great and gave us the highest standard of living the world has ever known. As Labor Commissioner, I will always stand up for free enterprise and private property and seek out free market solutions to our labor and employment problems.
What is your position on the minimum wage?
The minimum wage does more harm than good. Two things happen when you have a minimum wage: the costs of the higher wage are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices and/or jobs are cut because of the increased cost to the employer.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
No
Being a good steward of public money means obtaining the highest rate of return possible with the peoples' hard-earned money. Those investing public dollars should be focused on maximizing return for the taxpayers, not advancing a social agenda.
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 goal of public education is to make sure children are educated and can be productive members of society--not to prop up the public school system itself. Dollars should follow the child, always.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Strongly Disagree
You can take a look at any major American city today and see the terrible effects of trying to defund the police. Protecting lives and property is the quintessential function of government and law enforcement should be fully funded.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I support constitutional carry. No matter what gun laws we pass, criminals will always have access to guns--that's what makes them criminals, they break the law. The only thing that has ever stopped a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Infringing on the 2A rights of law abiding citizens does nothing to make us safer.
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
To protect lives and property and our other God-given rights.
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
My basic philosophy of government is best expressed in the following quote attributed to Henry David Thoreau: "That government is best which governs least." I believe in a small, constitutional government that exists to protect peoples' lives and property. But our republican form of government depends on the people having a moral compass. As John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
VALUES
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Strongly Agree
Not a single red cent should go toward this mutilation.
iVoterGuide Notes:
Staff note: After the voter guide was published, candidate notified iVoterGuide that the intended answer to this question should have been: STRONGLY DISAGREE.
No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent unless an emergency situation arises risking immediate death.
Strongly Agree
Parents have an absolute right to know and approve whatever medical treatment is being given to their children.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from abuse, including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Agree
Protection of our children, the next generations, is really the paramount duty of society as a whole. We must all be ready, willing, and able to stand up to the gender confusion we see today in order to protect future generations.
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
Marriage is an institution created and blessed by God. The government is powerless to redefine it.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I'm a Christian and have been basically my entire life. My family and I are weekly churchgoers and seldom miss church, even on vacation, because it is central to our lives. My values are traditional, Judeo-Christian values. Five things totally define me as a person--being a Christian, husband, father, conservative, and patriot. Those five things are the lens through which I see the world. Taken together, they mean I love God, I love my family, and I love our country.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
Voting absentee by mail ballot should be limited to those meeting at least one of the following criteria: 1) 65 years of age or older on Election Day, 2) sick or disabled, 3) expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day, or 4) confirmed to be absent from the county of registration during voting.
Strongly Agree
Our current system for absentee ballots is one of the main challenges to election integrity. We call them "absentee ballots", but they're really not. We currently have a system of "vote by mail on demand". Anyone can vote by mail for any reason right now. It would be a wise move to restrict mail-in voting to the four items listed above.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
No. Racism in no way threatens our domestic security. There are currently two main threats to domestic security. The first is our wide open southern border. Thousand of military age men are pouring across our border and we have no idea who they are. The second threat is crime wave we're seeing in most American cities. Crime has grown rampant because woke DA's refuse to enforce the law in the name of leftist ideology.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Reading our founding documents--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--it is clear that this country was founded on freedom and individual liberty, not racism and white supremacy.
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
This question reflects the truly sad state of our country today. Nothing shows how clearly we've turned away from God and toward depravity than the gender confusion we see today. Facilities where privacy is expected should be kept separate and limited to a single, biological gender. Biological males should not play in female sports. Making females compete against males is both unfair and unsafe.
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.
Items A and C reflect my views. The job of the N.C. Labor Commissioner is to enforce our labor and employment laws. As Labor Commissioner, I'll always stand for commonsense conservative regulation. Over-regulation kills jobs and hurts our prosperity.
