Tanner Hesterberg
Republican | Kentucky
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Tanner Hesterberg
Party
Republican
Election Year
2026
Election
Republican Primary
Race
State Rep., Dist. 95
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
University of Cincinnati College of Law, Cincinnati, OH, Juris Doctor, 2018-2021
Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, Bachelor of Arts, 2008-2012
WORK & MILITARY
Hesterberg Law Firm, Owner/Attorney
WYMT / WKYT TV, Reporter & Anchor
AFFILIATIONS
Destination Community Church (Prestonsburg, KY), Speaking & Tech Teams
Young Life ministry, Board Member
Floyd County Homeless Shelter, Fundraiser
God's Pantry Food Bank, Emcee of Annual Fundraiser
Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival, Emcee
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (1)
Freedoms Heritage Forum
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Strongly Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
As a staunch pro-life advocate, I believe that every human life is sacred from the moment of conception. Our laws must protect the most vulnerable among us. I support Kentucky's strong pro-life laws presently in effect and do not favor changing them to add exceptions for elective abortions. We should focus on supporting women through comprehensive resources like crisis pregnancy centers, adoption services, and family support programs that affirm life and provide real choices.
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Agree
An embryo is a human life that has already been conceived through fertilization. From the first moment of its existence, this life deserves legal protection. I do not support the purposeful destruction of human embryos. At the same time, we must craft smart, common-sense policies that keep IVF providers in Kentucky so families struggling with infertility continue to have access to ethical, affordable care. We do not want to drive clinics away, raise costs, or make the process more difficult.
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Strongly Agree
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Government may never force anyone to believe a certain way and must never interfere with, censor, or punish the free exercise of religion in public life. I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution when I became an attorney. I will always fight to protect the First Amendment rights of Kentuckians to freely exercise their religion.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
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 United States’ relationship with Israel is important and must remain one of our strongest alliances. Israel is our strategic partner in the most dangerous region on earth. Israel shares more actionable intelligence with the United States than any other nation. Israel is on the front lines against Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and radical Islamic terrorism that also threatens Kentucky families.
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 believe healthcare works best when driven by free-market competition, innovation, and personal responsibility, not by endless government mandates that drive up costs and limit choices. We must protect Medicaid for Kentucky's most vulnerable families and Medicare for our hardworking seniors who’ve earned it.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Strongly Disagree
Government has no right to track citizens’ private medical conditions. This is dangerous overreach that leads to rationing and loss of liberty.
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?
Raising the minimum wage would drive up costs for small businesses, lead to fewer entry-level jobs & higher prices, especially in rural communities like Floyd & Pike County. I trust the free market more than bureaucrats to set wages based on skills.
I support using taxpayer funds to lobby the state legislature.
Strongly Disagree
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
We must make Medicaid more efficient for those who rely on it. We must strengthen oversight, reduce fraud, & protect Medicaid for the Kentuckians who genuinely need it, not those who are ineligible or double-enrolled in other states. We also must slash wasteful executive-branch spending by cutting excessive travel, advertising, & non-essential contracts. By attacking waste head-on, we can lower government spending, protect essential services, & continue to cut income taxes to the goal of zero.
IMMIGRATION
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Strongly Disagree
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Strongly Agree
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
What should be the goal of the criminal justice system?
To deter criminal conduct, to get justice for victims, to protect our communities by removing dangerous individuals from society, and to rehabilitate offenders into productive, law-abiding members of society.
Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.
Strongly Agree
The government should use automated-enforcement cameras to track speeding and criminal activity.
Strongly Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
No additional restrictions on law-abiding Kentucky citizens are needed. As someone who swore an oath to support the Constitution, I take the Second Amendment seriously. I believe the only restrictions that pass constitutional muster are the narrow, long-standing ones already upheld by the courts. Public safety is not achieved by disarming law-abiding people. It is achieved by enforcing existing laws and allowing Kentuckians to defend themselves and their families.
ABOUT YOU
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
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.
VALUES
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, saved by grace through faith alone in His death, burial, and resurrection.
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 support the expansion of gambling in my state.
Strongly Disagree
Government should recognize and support the fundamental right and essential duty of parents to direct their child's upbringing, including their religious, health, and educational well-being.
Strongly Agree
Attempts to transition or encourage a child to transition to the opposite sex constitutes child abuse.
Strongly Agree
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
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
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Coal is the most reliable energy source to meet America’s and Kentucky’s growing electricity demand. When it comes to proven, 24/7 baseload power that never depends on the weather and powers Kentucky reliably, coal stands alone.
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Strongly Disagree
