Michael Mosteller II
Democrat | West Virginia
Candidate Profile
Liberal
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Michael Mosteller II
Party
Democrat
Election Year
2024
Election
General
Race
House of Delegates, Dist. 21
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Candidate did not provide
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Alum Creek Volunteer Fire Dept, Firefighter
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
ENDORSEMENTS
LIBERAL (2)
Every Town For Gun Safety
Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic
OTHER (1)
West Virginia Can't Wait
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
WVEA, Planned Parenthood, WV Can’t Wait
OTHER INFORMATION
Michael Mosteller participated in the 2024 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
It is nobody’s business but the woman and the doctor. The government shouldn’t be regulating women’s uteruses and taking their right to bodily autonomy away.
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 Disagree
Mifepristone should be available upon request.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Disagree
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Choose not to answer
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
Government shouldn’t close churches - On the same token, religion shouldn’t be directing legislators when writing laws.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Disagree
Businesses shouldn’t be able to discriminate based on sex, race, religion, or social class.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes. The US dollar is backed by oil, and Israel is a surrogate fortress in the Middle East. However, we can’t just let Israel get away with war crimes or genocide either.
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.
B
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
We’ve required vaccinations for decades. The anti vaccination movement is bringing back diseases that were nearly eradicated through their pseudoscience messaging.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Agree
What is your position on the minimum wage?
The minimum wage should be raised.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
Yes
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Neutral
We need more asylum courts to process asylum seekers who have a constitutional right to seek asylum from within the United States and stay here for their hearing. More lawyers and interpreters must be hired as well, so they can go through these hearings well informed and with good representation.
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 Disagree
No public school funds should go to private schools. That is killing our education system. And without regulation, many private schools have been caught siphoning money to the top while not teaching at all.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Agree
We need more police training in de-escalation and the “warrior cop” mentality must stop. It trains police that during a normal interaction, someone is always going to shoot them. More common sense needs taught. There are so many mental distress calls that have ended with a person dead, and rapid response teams with mental health professionals will help stop that.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Remove judge discretion to knock a domestic violence charge back to non domestic battery. Raise the age to 21 to purchase a gun. Three day wait time from date of purchase. Red flag laws.
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
No
Teachers would have to be trained to the level of a HRT and would have to be proficient with a gun. Plus teachers would have to be mentally prepared to shoot one of their own students. And they CAN’T miss.
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?
To provide for the general welfare of the people, for the common defense, and to create conditions for citizens to freely have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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 Liberal
I’m fiscally conservative and socially progressive. I’m pro second amendment, and I mean every word of it, including well regulated. The framers didn’t mince words. Gun bans won’t work, I’m against those. But there are things we can do to stem the tide of mass shootings. I believe in freedom of religion and freedom from religion. Your religion may not allow you to do something but it doesn’t allow you to force others not to do it. I don’t pick and choose, I love ALL of the bill of rights.
VALUES
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from abuse, including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Disagree
Those things don’t happen to young children. We should protect our children’s lives from the #1 cause of death for children in this country: Gun violence.
Parents should have the right to make decisions for their minor children.
Agree
They can make decisions for their children, but they can’t force those decisions on other children.
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Agree
Gender affirming care has nuance, people believe it starts with hormone therapy and genital mutation but it doesn’t. It starts with psychologists meeting with the parents and the child and asking the child if they’re sure that’s what they want, and proceed with the consent of the parents. The number of teenage children who receive hormone therapy is less than 1% and much fewer get surgery. If we’re talking about a health plan that is taxpayer funded, then yes, this treatment should be covered.
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 Disagree
The church doesn’t own marriage. Marriage is a legal contract between people in the eyes of the government. If churches don’t want to provide marriage services to the LGBTQ community, then don’t. They can still be married by a judge.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I’m not religious, and my values are derived from how I would want others to treat me. I left religion because most Christians stopped following my favorite parts, the teachings of Jesus, beatitudes, love your neighbor as you love yourself, heal the sick, feed the poor, welcome the immigrant to your land, as you were once immigrants. They now use the Old Testament to justify their bigotry toward people. I was raised in church to love your enemy.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Agree
Photo ID requirements disproportionately affect minorities in inner cities.
States should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact which makes the Electoral College irrelevant.
Strongly Agree
The electoral college gives more voting power to states with smaller populations. Democrats have lost multiple elections but won the popular vote.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes. There are hate groups forming all over the country and their rhetoric and actions are violent.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Neutral
In the beginning they were fundamentally racist. We haven’t done enough to remove or revise old laws at the national, state and local level that are still racist.
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.
Neutral
This should not be something that government should regulate. Let each school or school district deal with each case accordingly, which is rare anyways.
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.
B. The cost we will pay if we keep putting off addressing climate change will be far greater than the cost of dealing with it now. Plus, the cost of a weak epa is rivers burning, like the Cuyagoga. Every regulation is written in the blood of those who died from conditions that these regulations would have prevented.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Solar and wind. It’s a national security issue. China is investing heavily in R&D and implementation of solar energy. We know coal and oil aren’t infinite. When the time comes that we’re out of resources, we don’t want China to have the upper hand.
