Kasie Whitener
Libertarian | South Carolina
Candidate Profile
Moderate
BIOGRAPHY
EDUCATION
Clemson University, Clemson, BA English, 1995-1999
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, MA English, 2002-2004
Capella University, Minneapolis, PhD Organization and Management, 2007-2014
WORK & MILITARY
University of South Carolina, Clinical Assistant Professor, 2017-2026
Clemson Road Creative, Founder, 2012-2026
AFFILIATIONS
South Carolina Libertarian Party, State Committee Chair, 2023-2025
South Carolina Writers Association, President, 2017-2024
1 Million Cups Columbia, Co-Organizer, 2017-2022
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
US Senate, 2026-
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
Chase Oliver (2024)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Neutral
I believe in the sanctity of human life. I distrust state measures to restrict women's healthcare.
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Neutral
I believe in the sanctity of human life. I distrust state means of evaluating family decisions.
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
That decision belongs to the woman, her family, and her doctor.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Neutral
Organizations that receive federal funding for providing healthcare should not be ineligible because of the services they provide.
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Strongly Disagree
The Comstock Act is bad legislation that restricts free commerce and reduces access to competitive markets in a variety of industries.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
People who can afford to pay more taxes should do so in order to provide relief for working families.
Disagree
Taxation should be used to fund our government, not to manipulate our behavior. If it's done fairly, everyone pays based on a shared commitment to providing public goods. We have a punitive tax code built to manipulate voters and their behavior.
The government should cut spending in order to reduce the national debt.
Strongly Agree
There are three ways to fix the debt: cut spending, raise taxes, and grow the economy. The most important thing Congress can do is cut spending.
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
Congressional oversight of every department and an enforcement of a 5% cut across all agencies. Proactive reform of Social Security and Medicare to slow the growth of those programs and the debt they incur. A balanced budget amendment and the discontinuation of continuing resolutions. Audits and analysis of redundancy across agencies.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Disagree
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
The state will not make laws that restrict the free practice of religion. The state will not make laws that favor some religions over others or provide advantages for certain faith traditions.
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.
Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded - in a slow draw down of dependency with appropriate options made available over time. When government enters a marketplace, it distorts the natural forces of that market. Government subsidies help companies, not people. Health insurance is not health care. Health care is skilled labor and should be paid for by the people who receive the service.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Strongly Disagree
Get government out of the healthcare market.
NATIONAL SECURITY
With regard to America's foreign policy, which view most closely resembles yours: A) The United States should intervene whenever freedom is threatened. B) The United States should selectively help countries trying to grow democracy and fight tyranny. C) The United States has become too involved in others' policies and should remain focused on issues regarding our own sovereignty unless in imminent danger. D) The United States should stay out of foreign conflicts completely.
The United States has become too involved in others' policies and should remain focused on issues regarding our own sovereignty unless in imminent danger - within reason. The scale governing "imminent danger" has been manipulated to allow companies to use government to achieve their own goals. We must be wary of the incentives for military intervention and reject corporate interventions that enrich certain segments at the expense of our military and our international credibility.
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Agree
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes, Israel is an ally to the Unites States.
Islamic terrorism is a threat to the United States' national security.
Agree
IMMIGRATION
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Our immigration policy should serve our national interests. We should have laws that are specific to volume and flexible to meet our workforce and economic needs. We should be clear about how we expect immigrants to integrate into our social and community fabric.
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Neutral
I support a city's sovereignty to govern itself as it sees fit. A federal immigration policy that is fair, humane, and in our nation's best interests, should be upheld. If we made obtaining documentation easier, simplified the process of becoming a legal resident, a recognized contributor; and if we ended the practice of hunting and targeting suspected immigrants, ignoring due process, then the cities wouldn't need to be at odds with federal guidelines. Bad laws lead to bad enforcement.
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
National standards have been co-opted by corporate interests.
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Disagree
Educational institutions have a right to find funding wherever they can. The government should not facilitate or regulate those arrangements. That said, institutions should be wary of the exchange they are making when they accept foreign investment, and students (customers) should have visibility to the funding institutions receive.
VALUES
Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.
Neutral
That decision is between the child, the parents, and the pediatrician.
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
Marriage is a legal contract that provides benefits under the law. As such, it should not be exclusive of any consenting adults.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a member of Washington Street United Methodist Church in Columbia, S.C. I believe in the abiding, accessible, and infinite love of God as it is offered to all beings.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Disagree
Photo ID is required for other basic activities like purchasing alcohol, and getting on a plane. It is not a burden to provide proof of identity to exercise one's right to vote.
EQUALITY
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
Sports leagues, sororities, and other organizations that occupy gender-specific spaces should make that determination for themselves. I support trans individuals' right to live the life they feel best suits them. I also expect them to accept the limitations induced by that choice. Spaces with gender distinction should not be bullied into accepting anyone, they should be allowed to maintain their own standards. Government has no role here.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Nuclear energy and the innovations therein provides the best opportunity for future electricity needs.
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.
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?
Choose not to answer
These tags are useless.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.
Neutral
Parents have a responsibility to protect their children. Government has the means to restrict access and punish platforms and individuals, but its efforts have been imperfect at best. Companies and individuals that use online access to target children should be prosecuted.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Existing restrictions are sufficient. Laws only apply to law abiding citizens.
