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The General Election is scheduled for Nov. 8, and in an effort to help inform the public, the Enterprise sent out a questionnaire designed to help the public know more about each candidate. Every reasonable attempt was made to reach all candidates, however many did not respond. Every candidate who responded will be included here. The answers have been edited for spelling and punctuation only.

Each candidate was sent the following questions in the same order:

1. Tell us about your background

2. Why are you the best candidate for this office?

3. What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

4. How would you address this issue in your elected office?

United States Senate

Charles Booker (D)

1. I’m a proud native of Louisville’s West End and a proud husband and father. I grew up in poverty and understand what it means to live with this insecurity. I have had to ration my insulin in order to provide food for my family, and I am a former State Rep. for District 43 in Louisville.

2. I’m the best candidate for this office because I want to bring real change to the lives of Kentuckians. While my opponent is focused on keeping things the same, or making us even more hyper-individualized, I understand that we are a community that depends on each other for our livelihoods and that our policies should reflect that. From healthcare to social security to poverty reduction; these are all issues of justice that could be better. It will be my focus to address the immediate needs of the people of Kentucky, not just to sit back and let things play out as they always have.

3. The right to privacy. Rand Paul believes the government should force a pregnant person’s body to become state property. He believes even if a child is raped, they must give birth. He claims this topic should be left up to the states to decide, yet he introduced The Life at Conception Act.

4. I support codifying Roe v Wade in Congress. The right to privacy that the case for Roe v Wade was built upon is essential to many other rights and freedoms we enjoy in the United States today. With the codification of Roe, Kentuckians and women across the country will be ensured equitable access to necessary reproductive healthcare. I will not support legislation that makes women and those who can become pregnant state property.

Rand Paul (R)

1. My family and I live in Bowling Green, where I owned my ophthalmology practice and performed eye surgery for 18 years before being elected to the Senate in 2010. As a dedicated physician–not a career politician– I was sent to Washington to shake things up and make a difference for all Kentuckians.

2. Since being elected to the U.S. Senate, I’ve been a consistent advocate for Kentuckians by standing for fiscal responsibility and supporting local law enforcement. I will continue to fight back against reckless spending, the Defund the Police movement, and any radical liberal attempt to tear down our country and your way of life. I will always advocate for your constitutional liberties, protect your tax dollars, and fight against Big Government. I would be honored to have your support this November.

3. Reckless spending by the Biden Administration and both parties in Congress has caused record-high inflation and price increases for all Kentuckians. Everything costs more, and I fear it will only get worse with continued out-of-control spending.

4. I’ve never voted for an unbalanced budget and have always fought to protect your tax dollars from going towards wasteful spending that has caused record-high inflation and price increases. As your Senator, I’ve returned over $5.7 million to the Treasury Department from my office budget. I’ve kept my promise to Kentuckians that I would stand for smaller, more efficient government, balanced budgets, and spending restraint. We can’t continue down the path of reckless spending that aims to destroy our dollar, takes more money from you the taxpayers, and risks ruining our country.

State Representative 87th District

Adam Bowling (R)

1. I am a lifelong and 8th-generation Eastern Kentuckian. My wife, Becky, and I live in Middlesboro with our two sons, Harrison(8) and William(4). We are small business owners, having opened our first business in 2010. I have served the past four years as State Representative for the 87th District.

2. Experience and a proven track record of getting things done. I have authored 10 pieces of legislation in 4 years that have been signed into law. Including legislation that helps our local governments & communities better address our substance abuse problem and legislation that created an economic development fund aimed at getting state investment to rural districts like our own. My fellow legislators agreed to appropriate $100 million of state investment into the fund this past session. I serve as a member of the House Majority Caucus and have a seat at the table when the decisions are made.

3. There are several infrastructure improvements & investments, but the drug epidemic that is ripping apart families and communities. However, currently, inflation is by far the most pressing issue affecting our mountain families and communities.

4. The ultimate fix is to rein in the out-of-control spending in Washington, DC.  When spending bills are passed, and the funding for those bills comes from printing new money to pay the tab, we get inflation.  On the state level, we have addressed keeping money in our hardworking families’ pockets by reducing the income tax. Once 6%, we have lowered the income tax to 5%. It will drop to 4.5% in January and 4% in January of 2024. The bill we passed will continue to lower the income tax over the next 8-10 years until completely eliminated. This is good for working families and good for Kentucky.