Josh Powell
Republican | Michigan
Candidate Profile*
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Josh Powell
Party
Republican
Election Year
2024
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 25
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Information Technology, 2008
Purdue University Global, West Lafayette, Criminal Justice, 2021
WORK & MILITARY
Army National Guard, Specialist, 6
JLP Computer Solutions, Owner, 10
Mckesson Pharmacy Systems, Technical Analyst, 8
Niterra, Master Data, 1
AFFILIATIONS
American Legion, Member, Great Lakes Gun Rights
Member, Firearms Policy Coalition, Member
Michigan Republican Party, Precinct Delegate
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Precinct Delegate, 2
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Westland City Council, 2021, 2023
ENDORSEMENTS*
CONSERVATIVE (4)
*Citizens for Traditional Values-Michigan
Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners
Michigan Trump Republicans (Michigan Conservative Coalition)
Great Lakes Gun Rights (GLGR)
OTHER (2)
Michigan Health Choice Alliance
Michigan House Freedom Caucus
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (6)
Westland Community News
Move Westland Forward
Great Lakes Gun Rights
Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners
Westland City Councilwoman Emily Bauman
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (3)
Jamie Thompson (2024)
Local, County, and District Republican Organizations (2024)
Emily Bauman (2022)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (33)
Alexandria J. Taylor (2024)
Angela Rigas (2024)
Christian Charette (2024)
Daley Majority Fund (2024)
Dan Lauwers (2024)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
The voters in Michigan decided on the abortion issue when they voted on prop 3 last election. My mother got pregnant with me at 15 and ignored advice to abort me and I am glad she did, as is she. She went on to graduate valedictorian from her High School and become a highly successful nurse in a specialized field. Personally I believe all life is a precious gift from God and should not be disregarded out of convenience, a belief instilled in me by my mother.
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
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer 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
With the rapid advancements in medical technology, there is no realistic reason to ever commit suicide. There is always a treatment, therapy or drug that can be tried and used to improve and extend quality of life. Governments should not be killing people to save money as we have seen in Canada and elsewhere.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
What is your position on the minimum wage?
The market always sets the minimum wage, even if there is a government mandated one. The real minimum wage is always $0 and the more expensive we make it to hire people, the more people will make nothing at all.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
No
The will of the people should be the one and only consideration.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
None, ever.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
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.
I think we should do a form of "B", with government vouchers for those under a certain income who do not have access to employee subsidized coverage that could be used to buy a private health plan that fits the needs of the individual.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
The government and schools should never be allowed to require vaccinations. If an employer does then it cannot require its existing employees to comply if it did not have that policy when they were hired and cannot retaliate against those who refuse.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
The Chinese communist party is actively trying to destroy western civilization and bring down the United States in order to improve it's own standing in the world. China has been guilty of currency manipulation for decades, is involved in the slave trade, is actively engaged in cyber warfare against the USA and should be considered a clear and present danger to the United States and our people and allies.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes, Israel is not perfect by any means but it is the one and only representative Democracies in the region. It's history goes back thousands of years and they have been a steadfast and irreplaceable ally in the war on terror and the war against Islamic extremism which is a danger to all of us. If Israel were to fall, it would only embolden Islamic fundamentalists around the world and allow them to focus their attacks on us with renewed motivation and support.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
The border should be closed except for legal ports of entry. No exceptions.
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
If we are going to fund education on a per child basis as we do, then the money should always go to educate the child no matter how their parents choose to educate them. If a school charges more than what is allocated to a child then the parents should be responsible for the remainder but every child should have the same access to education funding regardless of the school choice.
VALUES
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from abuse, including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Agree
Parents should have the right to make decisions for their minor children.
Agree
I agree but not if it could negatively impact the child's future permanently and they are unable to legally give informed consent.
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Strongly Disagree
This is an elective procedure and taxpayer healthcare funds should never be used for elective procedures.
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
I believe the government should have no involvement at all in marriage. I believe in a flat tax that marriage would have no effect on and a simple power of attorney or will would satisfy any estate planning issues and are far cheaper and easier to do than marriage. It would then be an issue for individual religions and churches to decide on their own.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a born again Christian who was raised as a Southern Baptist. My grandfather Cletis Powell on my father’s side was a preacher and my grandmother Gail Colter on my mother’s side was a Sunday School Teacher. They instilled a strong sense of right and wrong, religious conviction and a rigid moral compass that guides me to this day.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
If you need an ID to buy alcohol, get into a baseball game or go into a bar, you can show an ID to vote.
States should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact which makes the Electoral College irrelevant.
Strongly Disagree
The electoral college is a fundamental part of our constitutional republic which ensures that every citizens has a minimum amount of representation at the national level. The proposed interstate compact would disenfranchise voters and be blatantly unconstitutional I believe. States are given the constitutional right to run their elections how they see fit within their own borders and without interference from other states and a vote in one state is completely irrelevant to every other state.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
No, a certain amount of racism exists in every society but it is a tiny minority of the population today that has any racist motivations or feelings in the United States, especially when compared to nearly every other country on earth.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
This is just blatantly and obviously not true by any measure.
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
Women only spaces and sports are very important. Biological differences between males and females are drastic. As a veteran of the Army and someone who enjoys amateur weightlifting the stark differences in physical abilities and capabilities are evident to anyone that has ever lived, worked and trained beside the opposite sex. The military even recognizes these differences by having different physical standards for females. It is a safety and fairness issue.
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.
A and C are the obvious answers. China, India, Pakistan and Russia alone are opening hundreds of coal fired power plants a year with absolutely no environmental safeguards or concerns. Power plants that would not pass 1970's level US environmental regulations. We should be using all domestic energy resources we have available to us and harness our technological advantages to make those methods cleaner, cheaper and more reliable.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Nuclear is the obvious best, cheapest and safest option going forward, there has never been any deaths from the US civilian nuclear power program because we always build our reactors to the safest possible standards.
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
The keep citizens and their property safe from all threats, foreign and domestic.
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?
Conservative
I believe that political ideology is a compass not a line, I don't like extremes. on any side and would consider myself a populist conservative, libertarian leaning Republican. I believe every politician should be a populist because our entire job is to do the will of the people.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Strongly Disagree
Community programs should be led and funded by the community. Churches and non-profits do a great job and can react and help much faster than any government agency. Police funding community programs just makes them extensions of the police and adds a level of bureaucracy that would make them slow and ineffective.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Only the restrictions that have a text, history and tradition of being in place at the time of the writing of the bill of rights have any validity. This is exactly what the supreme court said in the recent Bruen decision.
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
Yes
If a teacher wants to protect themselves and their students from violence they should be supported by the school administration.
