Keith Kennedy
Republican | Wyoming
Candidate Profile
Conservative (Conditional)
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Keith Kennedy
Party
Republican
Election Year
2024
Election
Republican Primary
Race
State Senator, Dist. 10
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Northeastern Junior College, Sterling, Colorado, A.A., 1979
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, B.S., 2002
Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, Master of Agribusiness, 2005
WORK & MILITARY
Volunteer Firefighter and EMT, Firefighter up to Chief, 1982-1999
Certified Crop Advisor, Certified, 2000-current
AFFILIATIONS
St Paul's Newman Center, Finance Council, North American Certified Crop Advisor Board of Directors
Board member, Albany County Planning and Zoning Commission, Board member, vice-chairman
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (1)
Wyoming Right to Life
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (2)
Glenn Moniz, past State Senator 2017-2020 District 10; past State Representative 2009-2016, District 46
Jack Settlemire
OTHER INFORMATION
WY Campaign Finance documents.
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
Never, my religious beliefs compel me to defend life from conception to natural death.
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
As stated earlier, I will defend life from conception to natural death.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
The use of eminent domain by any private entity should be strictly limited.
What is your position on the minimum wage?
It should be just that, minimum or entry level. We have recently seen that on large fast food employer in California has cut 10,000 jobs within the last month due to a minimum wage of $20 per hour.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
No
This issue is one of fiduciary duty.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
None. "...shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" Amendment 1, U.S. Constitution; "The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference shall be forever guaranteed in this state..." Wyoming Constitution, Article 1, Section 18
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.
C, and Medicare in Wyoming should not be expanded.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
A school ought to be allowed to require a vaccination for an infection that is endemic, i.e. regularly occurring within an area. Under NO circumstance should an experimental vaccination, be mandated; this is a direct violation of the Nuremburg Code.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
We fail to realize how deeply the CCP has already penetrated our infrastructure via computer chips made there. It is likely that they have a great deal of the proprietary information we have stored electronically.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes, it is important. It has been the United States most reliable ally in the Middle East for over 75 years.
IMMIGRATION
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Only those who apply at a Foreign Service office outside the U.S., and after a thorough security screening. There should be preference for those who are politically persecuted in their home country, and those with skills needed in the U.S., subject to consistent and thorough security screening.
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
I believe that the use of Education Savings Accounts would further this end. Many in rural areas would initially be skeptical of this idea, but it would give them a much higher degree of control over the curriculum taught, even in public schools.
VALUES
Children have the right to be protected from sexually explicit materials in publicly funded libraries, including school libraries.
Strongly Agree
Parents should be required to opt in for their children to view any such materials.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from harm, including from gender ideology and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Agree
Parents should have the right to make decisions for their minor children.
Strongly Agree
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
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 convert to Catholicism, after being raised in a Calvinist, and spending my early adulthood in a Pentecostal church. I believe that we are under an obligation to assist the "orphan and widow" as a private individual and church. I have become an admirer of St. Thomas Aquinas since my conversion, and will often refer to his writings to clarify my thinking on a given subject. The end of the Mass sums things up well "Go in Peace, glorifying God by your life."
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
States should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact which makes the Electoral College irrelevant.
Strongly Disagree
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes, it seems to be fomented by those seeking radical change.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
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
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.
C) and secondarily A) The climate has always been changing, and likely most changed by events in nature; example, the summer that never was in 1816, stemming from the eruption of Mount Tambora, an event which let to widespread crop failures and famine, along with migration.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
I believe that nuclear power is nearly the ideal source for electricity; until those supplies are assured, baseload generation from hydrocarbons should be encouraged in order to prevent brownouts and blackouts.
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 secure the rights of its citizens to life, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness, as enumerated in the United States and Wyoming Constitutions and natural law (natural law is: the rule of conduct which is prescribed to us by the Creator in the constitution of the nature with which He has endowed us).
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
Regarding economic issues, I have long been a fan of 'Road to Serfdom'. Every day that passes reinforces John Adam's statement that this government is "only fit for a moral and religious people". Our federal government seems to have adopted 'secular humanism' as a state religion, and in many, if not all, respects, this belief is diametrically opposed to the Judeo-Christian viewpoint of life and governance.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Disagree
While supporting policing, I am opposed to the militarization of law enforcement. While law enforcement should coordinate across state lines, it seems that federal law enforcement now overstepping constitutional constraints.
2ND AMENDMENT
Please express your views on the 2nd Amendment.
Is absolute, but brandishing (waving or displaying in a threatening manner) is not covered by the 2nd Amendment. There are justifiable reasons for someone to lose this right, such as conviction of a felony. I would be open to some time period following serving a sentence for after which a non-violent felon could regain these rights.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Disagree
As seen in areas that have adopted this scheme, there has also been an increase in homelessness and general disorder.
