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<h1 style="text-align: center;">There are no compromises for human rights.</h1><h4>Hello, I am Cole Epley, a 28-year-old Kansan born in Wichita and raised in Rose Hill. With a professional background in education and foster care social work, as well as 10 years and counting of service in the US Army Reserves, what gets me out of bed every day is getting the chance to advocate for people who need it most. I am a proud progressive who, amongst the vast number of political issues today, wants most to abolish ICE, create safer and easier means of legal immigration, and give undocumented Americans the ability to backlog citizenship without legal recourse. As a nation, we must implement universal healthcare, protect the Department of Education, and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and women’s reproductive autonomy to be enshrined as amendments in the Bill of Rights.</h4><h4>I want to raise the minimum wage, restore aggressive wealth taxes, and hold both political and financial elites accountable for the negligence and harm committed to everyday Americans. We need better subsidization programs for family farms to protect our rural communities from being cannibalized by profit-driven farming corporations. Finally, I strongly support, advocate, and aspire to one day see universal higher education, universal childcare, and even universal basic income as foundational privileges for citizens and laborers in “the wealthiest country in the world.”</h4><h4>From day one, my campaign has been 100% grassroots funded and I will never accept corporate PAC money, bad faith special interest money, or money tied to foreign influence. It would be my honor to be your advocate in D.C. and I will not stop working to earn your support as well as your vote.</h4>

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Each states' foster youth bill of rights. States listed alphabetically.

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<img src="https://run.imgix.net/defcf6d9-9e9c-4b47-be06-10c104d78699/ff0ed36e-efa5-4783-8571-cdef98265eea/ff0ed36e-efa5-4783-8571-cdef98265eea.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C164%2C1920%2C2410&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="A young Cole with his mother and father, Jennifer and Jeffrey Epley" align="right" alignwidth="40" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed">A young Cole with his mother and father, Jennifer and Jeffrey EpleyBorn to a US Army Infantryman and a Medicaid specialist, Cole Epley was instilled with the work ethic and moral drive needed to one day advocate for others. Living in Rose Hill, KS and getting his K-12 education within it's public school system, he understands the value and meaning of small communities.Cole's first true love in school was band. Quickly identifying his band directors as his life mentors and role models, he unknowingly set himself up for success by mirroring men who genuinely cared about the wellbeing of children and the communities around them. As the end of high school came about, what was important became clear: make his father proud and join the US Army, but also continue his passion for music by following in his mentors' footsteps. With endless hours of preparation, discipline, and practice, Cole passed his army music audition at 17-years-old and made the leap into army basic training less than a week after graduating high school.While humbly knowing his MOS (army specific role/job) was nothing like his father's, he is proud to have been sent to Fort Benning, GA to complete his Basic Combat Training like his father just 25 years prior, getting to share a special bond that he didn't expect would be so important to the both of them.<img src="https://run.imgix.net/defcf6d9-9e9c-4b47-be06-10c104d78699/ae4fbef7-bca8-4d7b-ba82-d5c8ca423d4f/ae4fbef7-bca8-4d7b-ba82-d5c8ca423d4f.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C62%2C720%2C651&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="Newly graduated Specialist Cole Epley and Major Jeffrey Epley." align="left" alignwidth="32" tiltdirection="right" variant="framed">Newly graduated Specialist Cole Epley and Major Jeffrey Epley.Upon completing the rest of his training at the Army School of Music, Cole returned to Wichita and attended Butler Community College for a semester before transferring to the University of Kansas to follow through with his second goal of becoming a band director and inspiring students the same way his mentors did. In college, to make an impact in his community, Cole became involved in political activism in Lawrence and Kansas City.<img src="https://run.imgix.net/defcf6d9-9e9c-4b47-be06-10c104d78699/a5005b94-97c0-4130-9a09-d0e7899169f6/a5005b94-97c0-4130-9a09-d0e7899169f6.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C540%2C455&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="Cole was a member of the KU Marching Band for four years, serving the last two as the mellophone section leader." align="right" alignwidth="40" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed">Cole was a member of the KU Marching Band for four years, serving the last two as the mellophone section leader.Despite academic setbacks due to the passing of his father, mental health issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Cole pushed through and completed his music education degree. Even with achieving this goal however, Cole had never felt less sure about his future and how he wanted to better his community.For the final time, Cole returned back to Wichita. Now unsure about music education, Cole followed the one true through line of all his previous goals–his love for advocating and caring for people–and took a leap of faith on a job opportunity in the field of foster care social work.Assuming the role of a case coordinator for five to seven teenage boys in a group home as their primary caretaker, Cole instantly found his professional calling. Cole continued in that role for two years before becoming a foster care case manager for young adults transitioning out of the foster care system.Recently, due to the financial and employment instability of social work, Cole currently finds alternate ways to help his community. He continues to serve in the US Army Reserves (10 years strong), takes care of the house, and puts his efforts towards this political campaign. Everyday he roots for his younger brother, a U.S. Marine in flight school, and his younger sister, a payroll specialist working alongside their mother. He could not be more thankful to his amazing <s>partner</s> fiancée Anna, an ICU nurse, for enabling and supporting him to take this leap of faith in order to advocate for everyone.<img src="https://run.imgix.net/defcf6d9-9e9c-4b47-be06-10c104d78699/d36eda24-7804-48f1-8701-e39b1047e293/d36eda24-7804-48f1-8701-e39b1047e293.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C1491%2C1598&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="Cole and his better half, Anna" align="left" alignwidth="40" tiltdirection="right" variant="framed">Cole and his better half, AnnaCole's background and life circumstances have prepared him to be an advocate, a helping hand, and a leader in his community. Receiving your support, whether through word-of-mouth, donations, or even volunteering, would help him in his campaign to represent Kansas Congressional District 4.

<h2>Foster Youth Rights for Ensuring a Wholistic Childhood Act</h2>In 2014, Congress passed the "Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act" (H.R. 4980), legislation with bipartisan support that required state agencies to develop services for identifying, documenting, and supporting children who are victims of sex trafficking or at high risk of becoming a victim. One of the many sections requires states agencies to ensure children in foster care 14 years or older have the ability to participate in their case planning, which includes outlining their rights as a youth in foster care. This was the first time at the federal level foster youth rights, often compiled into a "foster care bill of rights", were acknowledged.A common situation that a foster youth might run into regarding their rights, is wanting to participate in extracurricular activities after school. Due to staffing shortages at a facility where this child resides, staff might tell them that they cannot participate as it would increase the difficulties of doing pick-up routes. Without a document outlining that child's right to participate in core childhood activities, they will continue to miss out on a lot of core developmental touchstones—decades of foster youth can attest. A foster youth bill of rights might read like a low-stakes document, but for the child in foster care, it can be a saving factor for having a wholistic childhood. These documents are tools that allow for children to advocate for themselves to their foster parents, facilities, social workers, and even lawyers and judges. These documents are not to be taken for granted.As of today, 49 of 50 states (yes, the missing state is Alabama...) have a foster youth bill of rights or a document outlining rights at that state's level. Some states, such as California and Florida, have amazing documents due to the expansive rights ensured in their policy, while also being comprehendible by children and young adults alike. In a unique case, Arkansas chose to have a youth bill of rights for all children, whether they are in foster care or not. A lot of states, such as Kansas, have decent "run of the mill" bill of rights where the rights listed might be comprehensive but not helpful to the children when needing to reference in crisis. Meanwhile, some states leave a lot to be desired (looking at you, Tennessee). To illustrate the point from the earlier example, only 31 of the 49 states' documents even mention extracurricular or school activities.While a first draft, my written proposal, the "Foster Youth Rights for Ensuring a Wholistic Childhood Act" makes sure that all states a.) develop an actual foster youth bill of rights if there is not already one in place, b.) creates better methods of disseminating these rights to foster youth, and c.) sets minimum guidelines and standards for what must be included in a state's foster youth bill of rights. Prior to this bill being formally submitted, I intend to work alongside The National Foster Care Youth &amp; Alumni Policy Council to make sure this legislation represents the voices of those it is effecting.Articles that show that a national level response for foster youth rights is warranted:<ul><li><a href="https://www.wvlt.tv/2026/03/11/tennessee-bill-could-place-foster-kids-juvenile-detention-without-charges-critics-say/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WVLT8 - Tennessee bill could place foster kids in juvenile detention without charges, critics say</a></li><li><a href="https://www.fosterfocusmag.com/articles/we-can-do-better-foster-care-bill-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Foster Focus - We Can Do Better Than This: The Foster Care Bill of Rights</a></li><li><a href="https://www.wkyt.com/2026/03/10/auditor-ball-chfs-is-failing-kentucky-foster-kids-with-nontraditional-placements-beshears-office-denounces-report-deceitful/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WKYT - Auditor Ball: CHFS is failing Kentucky foster kids with ‘nontraditional placements’; Beshear’s office denounces report as ‘deceitful’</a></li></ul>Sources:<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43757?hl=Preventing+Sex+Trafficking+and+Strengthening+Families+Act+of+2014+H.R.+4980&amp;s=2&amp;r=4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Congress.gov - Child Welfare and Child Support: The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (P.L. 113-183)</a>

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We simply cannot beat Ron Estes's corporation-backed multimillion dollar media blitz this fall. We will have to utilize the one resource his money can't buy: people who care. Our winning strategy will be boots-on-the-ground canvassing and phone banking to reach as much of the 750,000 person population our amazing congressional district contains.If you are willing to help be that winning resource, volunteering to be on our roster for canvassing, phone banking, and other means of connecting with our community will never be taken for granted.

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Righting the ship isn't enough. Simply being "anti-Trump" doesn't truly progress our country for the better. What is next for the betterment of the United States once this administration's issues are resolved? I believe that we must advocate and push for the next chapter of working class empowerment. Without championing aspirational policies, how can we aspire to be better?

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<h2>How to handle donations on your website</h2>Run does not process donations directly on our platform, as is standard with most political and advocacy sites.Campaigns are often required to comply with reporting requirements, donation limits, and other regulations, so using a donation processor that specializes in serving campaigns is generally a good idea. Sign up with a donation processor and then on your Pages sidebar, click the Link icon on the Donate page and add the link to your donation page. Some common options for donation processing include:<ul><li><a href="https://secure.actblue.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ActBlue</a></li><li><a href="https://www.campaigndeputy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Campaign Deputy</a> </li><li><a href="https://goodchange.app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GoodChange</a></li><li><a href="https://numero.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Numero</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ngpvan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NGP VAN</a></li></ul>

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While I support the true end goal of Universal Healthcare for all Americans, making some VA programs redundant, I know that aspiration is a process that will take time, both culturally and administratively. What we can do right now is work to reverse the cuts to the VA that the Trump administration and DOGE have done, like the layoffs of 40,000 employees in fiscal year 2025 of which 88 percent of those who left the Department were health care staff, including doctors, nurses, mental health clinicians, and other frontline employees.I've seen firsthand how the VA helped my grandfather, a drafted Vietnam army veteran, my father, an army infantryman turned logistics officer, and what it will eventually do for myself and my brother, a marine officer in flight school. We must protect the VA today and restaff it to work as well as it did prior to Trump's second term.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.veterans.senate.gov/2026/1/cuts-cover-ups-chaos-blumenthal-releases-report-exposing-harm-of-the-trump-administration-s-ongoing-assault-on-veterans" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs - Cuts, Cover-Ups, &amp; Chaos: Blumenthal Releases Report Exposing Harm of the Trump Administration's Ongoing Assault on Veterans</a>

Reviving the VA to Support Veterans

We need to empower all 14 of our territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and others, as well as the state of Hawaii, by reversing the unethical ownership of large swathes of crucial land currently owned by "mainland millionaires" and giving economic power back to their respective local governments. The Jones Act, an outdated policy of only allowing trade vessels of American origin to enter ports of U.S. territories, is significantly impacting residents' quality of life and skyrocketing their cost of living. The Jones Act must be repealed.With this empowerment, we must also offer territories the ability to separate and operate as sovereign national entities if they so choose. We can no longer justify the exploitation of innocent islands and people because of "strategic ownership".Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.cato.org/research-briefs-economic-policy/effect-jones-act-puerto-rico" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CATO Institute - The Effect of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico</a>

Empowering Our Territories

Driven by profits, megacorporations every year are sending more and more jobs overseas at the cost of this nation's ability to independently manufacture for it's population. They send these jobs to countries that our administration regularly antagonizes and threatens with military action. If conflict were to arise, we would be crippled in a matter of months due the corporate elite's dismantling of our stateside production. We must incentivize—and in some vital markets, require—large scale manufacturing to return to U.S. soil, reclaiming millions of meaningful jobs in the process.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZTGwcHQfLY&amp;t=2796s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SmarterEveryDay - I Tried To Make Something In America (The Smarter Scrubber Experiment) - Smarter Every Day 308</a>

Reclaiming Our Status as a Manufacturing Titan

Due to the recent actions and blatant disregard for human life, we must not accept anything less than the abolishment of ICE. This agency is well past the point of reform and their actions have proven that they are more of a danger to our communities than anything resembling help and safety. There is no reforming hate.To help and encourage the next generation of immigrant Americans, we must make immigration easier, safer, and cheaper. Additionally, we must right the wrongs of our previous xenophobic policies. I propose a program to allow undocumented Americans the ability to formally begin the immigration process without the threat of legal recourse or deportation.This program would not only empower disenfranchised and marginalized Americans, it would allow them to more formally contribute and participate in their communities through official employment and paying income tax. Shortly after the implementation of this program, we would be able to deduce that those individuals who are still undocumented are, in fact, here in bad faith. We could save money by having local and state law enforcement handle these rare fringe cases instead of a bloated, redundant, and costly ICE agency.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/01/21/nx-s1-5674887/ice-budget-funding-congress-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NPR - How ICE grew to be the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency</a>

ICE and Immigration Reform

We need to get legacy politicians out of D.C.In turn, we cannot allow a new generation of legacy politicians to take their place.I am proud to have taken the U.S. Term Limits pledge to do my part to make sure the voices shaping our nation are of those that have recently lived and worked in our nation, not lived in the D.C.-echo-chamber.3 terms for the House. 2 terms for the Senate. That is the gold standard and I will fight for it.(This topic was added on 5/13/2026. Simply put: I missed this topic in my initial writing of this page back in February. It came to my attention I missed it once I took the U.S. Term Limits pledge.)

Enacting Term Limits for Congress

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Meet-and-Greet - White Crow Cider Company

It is simple: Elections should not be bought. They should be earned. The ability for PACs and other bad faith entities to pump unlimited amounts of money into campaigns must end. We must push for our elections to have a higher sense of integrity by ending Citizens United.Once elected, whether at the federal, state, or local levels, officials should not be holding or trading stock in any capacity. This goes for their families as well.We must expect a higher standard of accountability from our elected officials. I am here to meet that standard.

Ending Citizens United, Congressional Stock Trading, and Accountability

One of the core crises that Trump's Big "Beautiful" Bill created is that of the ever-increasing healthcare deserts that significantly affect our rural communities. Since July, over a trillion dollars of cuts to Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as an additional $120 billion in losses to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), have affected the people that rely on them the most to keep their families safe and fed.In our own district, Rock Regional Hospital in Derby closed just at the start of 2026. Now, Pratt Regional Medical Center, along with other rural cornerstone medical facilities across the nation, face the looming reality of closing their doors. People will die. Communities will suffer. Highly trained medical professionals will go without work. We must reverse these policies and create robust financial supports to keep these crucial medical facilities open and well-staffed, whether they are "profitable" or not.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-truth-about-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-cuts-to-medicaid-and-medicare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Center for American Progress - The Truth About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare</a><a href="https://www.kake.com/home/concern-grows-about-pratt-regional-medical-center-after-it-defaults-nearly-1-6m/article_aa95296b-b4ee-4a57-af89-38fb58486dec.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook_KAKE_News&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawP_N35leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeXBx92Inlg6MutXvg4oej1SKYmxid7wH_6qOeHfRr5MHWO-N1hl8SuZzBRA0_aem_oWfhyQQa-XOPCaW59y2cUA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KAKE News - Concern grows about Pratt Regional Medical Center after it defaults nearly $1.6M</a>

Healthcare Deserts and Hospital Stabilization Programs

Without question, the federal minimum wage must reflect the actual needs of Kansans while also restoring the American dream. The working class once had a capital power to choose to lead a life where a family of four could live comfortably on a single source of income; corporate profit margins have taken that from us. In 2025, working $7.25 an hour, 40 hours a week, for a year ($15,080/year) still leaves you around $500 shy of the individual/1-person family poverty line. The 2025 4-person family poverty line $32,150. Why do we allow our fellow Kansans to live so close to poverty when we have the ability to fix it. While various organizations will report different numbers, we know the new federal minimum wage must be at least $20 an hour.In the long run, the only true solution to combat wage theft and achieve true financial empowerment for American laborers is to introduce legislation that puts a pay-ratio cap into place (i.e. a CEO/owner can only make, at most, 50 times more than the lowest paid employee). Any other solution would simply decay due to runaway economic inflation.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-fpl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Healthcare.gov - Federal Poverty Level</a>

The Federal Minimum Wage

This Wednesday I am blessed to be the guest speaker for the Kansas Chapter's Progressive Democrats of America May Web Meeting over zoom. Along with sharing a bit of info about myself and my platform, I am excited to give insight into (the lack of) federal minimum guidelines regarding foster care youth rights (and how to fix it!) as well as have plenty of time to field questions from amazing people like yourself. Attendance is completely free and all you have to do is sign up below to receive the invite link. I hope to see you there! <a href="https://www.mobilize.us/progressivedemocratsofamerica/event/936252/">https://www.mobilize.us/progressivedemocratsofamerica/event/936252/</a>

Kansas Chapter Progressive Democrats of America May Meeting

In my time as a foster care social worker, I've provided care for and even specialized in case management for children and teenagers who either had a history of trafficking, or were at high-risk of being trafficked again. This battle is personal for me.I know what it means to work alongside lawyers and judges to keep children safe and hold adults accountable. People will tell you that I don't have experience in the court room. They're right. Instead, I have experience doing boots-on-the-ground, 24/7 care for children to do my part in keeping them safe. Traffickers and pedophiles don't run on a schedule and neither do I. I've gotten children out of dangerous situations, I've documented run-in's with possible traffickers, I've helped children's judges gather evidence, and I intend to continue doing that in Washington D.C. to help put every pedophile in power behind bars.(This topic was last updated on 5/13/2026 to better reflect my professional experience.)

The Epstein Files and Putting Pedophiles Behind Bars

Our social security program is silently in it's death throws. With the current trajectory set in place by DOGE, some expert say that our social security program could be completely insolvent as early as 2032.We currently live in a nation that over-prioritizes the DoD and DHS budgets while simultaneously sending over $40 billion to foreign countries like Argentina. That is your money, and it could be used to actually help Americans. We have the ability to fix looming threats like the social security crisis, but our current administration and representatives instead choose negligence, or worse, privatization. We have to invest more of our current federal budget into social security to: 1) stabilize the balance, and 2) increase cost-of-living adjustments in order to better align with reality.Regarding the links below, I value their analysis but not their solutions. There are bad faith experts amongst the social security conversation that want to involve trust funds or other privatized "solutions." Let's be clear: they aren't solutions, they are methods of kicking the can down the road and indebting our country to financial elites even more than we already are.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v70n3/v70n3p111.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Social Security Administration - The Future Financial Status of the Social Security Program</a><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-real-issues-facing-the-social-security-program-arent-inefficiency-or-fraud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brookings - The Real Issues Facing the Social Security Program Aren’t Inefficiency or Fraud</a><a href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/social-security-turns-90-its-racing-towards-insolvency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget - As Social Security Turns 90, It's Racing Towards Insolvency</a>

The State of Social Security

Disregard for the wellbeing of Native Americans has become the norm for centuries at this point in the U.S. We do nothing to support reservations and allow corporations to regularly get away with desecrating their lands, a further insult to injury. We need a better way to represent Native Americans by giving reservation and tribal community leaders a voice in federal policy. While a final vision would take a lot of refinement and collaboration with Native American communities, meaningful solutions could manifest as an advisory board or even additional tribe-elected representatives being added to the House. Studies show that we need more representatives due to our population size. Why not give representative power to those of communities and tribes here long before the United States was established?Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/funding-and-programs-meant-help-tribes-may-not-be-reaching-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Government Accountability Office - Funding and Programs Meant to Help Tribes May Not Be Reaching Them</a><a href="https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpose/initiative/enlarging-house-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">American Academy of Arts and Science - Enlarging the House</a>

Elevating Native American Voices

Come visit Coffee Daze, grab a coffee, and let me know what is important to you this election cycle! RSVP is free and simply lets us know that we should expect you!

Meet-and-Greet - Coffee Daze

Come visit Coffee Daze, grab a coffee, and let me know what is important to you this election cycle!

Meet-and-Greet - Coffee Daze

Politicians and candidates love talking about affordability... yet never actually give any meaningful, long-term solutions to the issue. It is a lot of empty talk.The truth is that affordability cannot be discussed in isolation of any other topic—it is the end result of dozens of other topics and policies that shape our communities. It is a final score, not a single issue.All of all the policies and positions I support positively effect affordability. I encourage you to read them by continuing through this page. If you have any other questions or notice any omissions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our campaign at the "contact" tab above.

Analyzing Affordability

We have a representation issue. Right now, each representative in the House speaks on the behalf of nearly 800,000 Americans. It is no wonder Americans feel like their representatives are out of touch—they simply have no ability to talk to that many people.Up until 1920, the U.S. House of Representatives was expanding regularly to make sure people were represented in good faith. Year by year for over a century now, our voices continue to get increasingly diluted, representatives feel more removed from their constituents, and the democratic process breaks down as more and more Americans become disenfranchised and stop voting.Here is my proposed plan to help increase representation in our country:1) Immediately work to restore the Voting Rights Act and protect policy that promotes democratic equity.2) Immediately work to use federal legislation to reverse all recent, partisan-fueled congressional map re-drawings. We cannot allow the new norm of states redrawing their maps on a "whim". Representative maps need to be redrawn in unison as a nation.2) Use the "cube root" approach for expanding the house in preparation for the 2030 election cycle. Using the 2020 census's population of 331,449,281 and taking the cube root, we should have 692 representatives. 257 more than we currently have. There should be consideration for the base number of representatives for each state being increased from 1 to 4, leaving 107 representatives to be doled out using standard apportionment methods. While it would take extra efforts, I would also like to find a way for some representatives to represent Native American reservations and tribes.3) Using the cube root formula for the 2030 census, have the maps updated for use in the 2032 election cycle. This approach can then be used decade after decade.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGkkXpVZxA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mr. Beat - The problem with 435 representatives in the U.S. House</a><a href="https://protectdemocracy.org/work/expanding-the-house-of-representatives-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Protect Democracy - Expanding the House of Representatives, explained</a>

Uncapping the House & True Representation

While America has made genuine progress with wind turbines and solar farms, the third pillar for a surplus-producing, 100% clean power grid is nuclear energy. We need to increase our pace in nuclear power investments and not allow corruption from the oil and coal industries to sway our current or future administrations.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/us-sets-targets-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Department of Energy - U.S. Sets Targets to Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity by 2050</a>

Achieving a Green Power Grid

Lets do some conceptual math. If nearly 31% of all wealth in America is held by the 1%, and the 1% consistently obfuscates and manipulates their income through stocks and other means to evade income tax, and we've historically allowed megacorporations to get away with sidestepping most, if not all, taxes year after year... our local, state, and federal budgets are operating far from full capacity. By holding the financial elite accountable for stealing the value of hundreds of millions of Americans' labor, as well as creating laws that account for the ways they receive their "income", we could increase the federal budget significantly without touching a single penny in your paycheck. Expensive policies like Universal Higher Education, Universal Childcare, and even Universal Basic Income, would instantly transform from grand aspirations into trivial lay-ups.For Kansas Congressional District 4, this would not affect any tax-paying citizen that calls this area home. Well... except for Charles Koch.Relative Sources:<a href="https://inequality.org/article/billionaire-wealth-concentration-is-even-worse-than-you-imagine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inequality.org - Billionaire Wealth Concentration Is Even Worse than You Imagine</a><a href="https://thefachttps//thefactcoalition.org/oecd-side-by-side-agreement/tcoalition.org/oecd-side-by-side-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Fact Coalition - Under U.S. Pressure, OECD Agrees to Deal Allowing Continued Tax Abuse by Big U.S. Corporations</a><a href="https://americansfortaxfairness.org/gop-senate-votes-enable-trumps-massive-new-loopholes-wealthy-corporations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Americans for Tax Fairness - GOP Senate Votes to Enable Trump’s Massive New Loopholes for Wealthy Corporations to Evade Paying Their Fair Share</a>

Billionaire Wealth Tax, Income Accountability, and Universal Supports for Working Americans

Year after year, politicians on both sides of the aisle throw more money at the Department of Defense for less and less results. Since the first independent financial audit in 2018, the pentagon has never passed an audit. Where is that money going? I can tell you first hand it is not being used for meaningful wage increases, enlisted housing programs, dining facility upkeep and food quality, or facility maintenance. It is going into the pockets of defense contractors for bogus, over-costed projects and services that could be done in-house for a fraction of the cost.We can have today's Department of Defense with the today's operational tempo for $167.5 billion cheaper (or even more) by simply cutting out contractors. We need our military budget to be dictated by the military, not private investors.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.pogo.org/analyses/dod-contractors-cost-nearly-3-times-more-than-dod-civilians" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Project on Government Oversight - DoD Contractors Cost Nearly 3 Times More than DoD Civilians</a>

Optimizing the Defense Budget

Bad faith actors cannot be allowed to consistently use the rights of others as bargaining chips and distractions to seize more financial gains and power in D.C. We must protect trans rights and gay marriage permanently by enshrining them as amendments in the Bill of Rights. We must also create federal standards and safeguards so individual states can't marginalize and disenfranchise the transgender community with draconic policies involving birth certificates and state-issued IDs—issues that current Kansans are facing.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/kansas-v-harper" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ACLU - Cases - Kansas v. Harper</a>

LGBTQ+ and Trans Advocacy

Come visit Moxie Community Pub, grab a drink, and let me know what is important to you this election cycle!

Meet-and-Greet - Moxie Community Pub

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No American should have to wait for their state government to come around on the recreational use of low-risk drugs. Marijuana needs to be legalized at the federal level to lower the amount of racially fueled and pointless incarcerations across the country. For the good of our most vulnerable populations, we must decriminalize the possession and use (not sale) of "hard drugs". Instead of throwing endless amounts of money away to privatized prisons, we could instead spend as much as 88% less by sending those with arrested for drug use to rehabilitation programs.Relative Sources:<a href="https://csgjusticecenter.org/2021/02/25/prioritizing-prison-over-substance-use-treatment-costs-kansans-safety-and-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Council of State Governments Justice Center - Prioritizing Prison over Substance Use Treatment Costs Kansans Safety and Money</a>

The Decriminalization of Drug Use

There are no compromises for human rights.Our ally, Israel, has shown they are willing to use the weaponry provided by the U.S. to launch aggressive and unprovoked attacks on innocent Palestinians, Syrians, and even more recently, dragging us into a war with Iran.We cannot turn back the clock on the atrocities that have taken place, but we have the power to prevent it from continuing. We need to do everything possible to protect and advocate for Palestinians to have a truly equal platform to speak their truths to the United Nation and other international authorities. We must demand that Palestinians are assured, at minimum, a 50/50 split of land and coastline to operate as an independent Palestine. The current maps cannot be allowed to stand and they must be redrawn with Palestinian economic independence, dignity, and rebuilding in mind. As the United States, we will then need to provide them with aid to help rebuild—it is only right.We don't have to pit ourselves against Israel, but we must hold ourselves and our allies accountable for atrocities and genocide committed against innocent people. We must stop providing and selling military equipment to Israel. We must condition aid and force them to stop being hostile in the region. If we claim to be the infallible international leader we are, we must prove it with our actions rather than our thoughts and prayers.(This topic was updated on 5/13/2026 to more clearly state my stance on a 50/50 two independent-nation resolution, as well as updating a pre-March 1st statement regarding Israel's strikes on Iran to now reflect Israel's involvement in the U.S.-Iran War.)Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">United Nations - Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds</a><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Israel-Iran-conflict" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Britannica - Israel-Iran Conflict</a>

The Genocide in Gaza

The "free market" recently has found a new way to weaponize and profit off of addiction: digital sports betting and even worse, "prediction market" gambling. We must put massive regulations on these industries to combat the predatory practices that take advantage of everyday Americans.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/sports-betting-apps-public-health-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">STAT News - The rise of sports betting is a growing public health crisis</a>

The New Gambling Epidemic

We must support those being wrongfully invaded.This isn't about the geopolitical positioning of NATO or "holding Russia back", this is about fighting for and supporting the innocent families that call Ukraine their home and want to represent themselves with their own government. As soon as it didn't fit Donald Trump's narrative, he cast this crisis aside and told Ukraine to fend for themselves. Formalizing consistent and regular aid to Ukraine via the House of Representatives and the Senate is what must be done to protect the innocent.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/why-the-pentagons-pause-on-weapons-to-ukraine-backfired/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atlantic Council - Why the Pentagon’s ‘pause’ on weapons to Ukraine backfired</a>

Holding the Line in Ukraine

Just recently, NASA faced a nearly 40% budget cut from the Trump administration. Thankfully, congress rejected these assaults on science and his overall crusade on "intellectualism" by choosing to keep the budget the same (although, it is technically 1.6% less than last year).Currently, we are wasting money on an Artemis program that is not mission oriented. It has been designed solely to line Elon Musk's pockets. He wants to send up to 28 rockets to orbitally refuel an egregiously oversized landing craft on the taxpayer's dime to perform a single, short-stay moon landing. What is worse? SpaceX is years behind schedule and, due to the slow and systemic gutting of NASA's various departments throughout the decades, the only realistic alternative to getting the Artemis program back on track is Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. We must keep the sanctity of space science and space travel in the hands of the people, not in the hands of billionaires.NASA is our leading organization in the tracking of earth science and climate change. We need to be providing NASA with more funding so America's brightest can lead our charge into space as well as give us the data needed to save our environment, all with public interest at the forefront.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2026/1/ves-existential-threat-from-trump-budget-as-senate-rejects-gutting-nasa-nsf-nist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation - Science Survives Existential Threat From Trump Budget as Senate Rejects Gutting NASA, NSF, &amp; NIST</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoJsPvmFixU&amp;t=3719s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SmarterEveryDay - I Was SCARED To Say This To NASA... (But I said it anyway) - Smarter Every Day 293</a> - 28:50 for math involving refueling launches for Artemis III

NASA, Artemis, Earth Science, and the Privatization of Space

We must defend and rebuild the Department of Education to ensure the enforcement and protection of core policies like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). At the federal level, we must create safeguards and guidelines that require a higher level of equity between school districts' funding at the state level to protect marginalized districts. As well, we should always be striving for the next milestone of empowering the next generation: universal higher education and student loan forgiveness.Relative Sources:<a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/how-money-matters-factsheet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learning Policy Institute - How Money Matters: Education Funding and Student Outcomes</a>

Public Education

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Trump's tariffs have wreaked havoc on our local farming communities. With backed up supply chains, artificial and circumstantial international competition, and this administration bailing out MAGA-aligned foreign entities such as Argentina via beef imports, our farmers are suffering. We must end Trump's tariffs and reinforce economic incentives to use logical, local supply chains with our farmers' wellbeing at the center.Relative Sources: <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-argentina-beef-imports-executive-order/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CBS News - Trump signs executive order quadrupling beef imports from Argentina</a>

Tariffs and American Farming

Let's be clear: I want better laws around guns to stop school and public shootings. However, this is far from the time to enact these policies. We have ICE terrorizing innocent Americans and an administration that threatens to send in the national guard every other month to quell protesters. Imagine how much worse and oppressive these state-sponsored actions would be if they didn't have to worry about citizens owning weapons?For an immediate solution to school shootings, I want to work to put standards in place that require states to more aggressively fund youth-focused mental health and staff a larger number of school counselors in schools. I intend to work with experts in the field of education and child psychology to devise the best solution possible.(This topic was added on 5/13/2026 following a meaningful conversation on social media.)

Gun Control Policy &amp; Standing Up to State-Sponsored Violence

Kansas has always been a state where women's rights are championed. I was proud to have seen us be the first individual state to vote 59-41 to maintain the right of reproductive autonomy. Despite this landmark 2022 victory, opposition at every level is still dead-set to overrule the will of the people time and time again. We must end this discussion for good and enshrine women's reproductive autonomy as an amendment in the Bill of Rights.Relative Sources:<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2025-01-15/kansas-republicans-again-propose-near-total-abortion-bans-despite-constitutional-protections" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KCUR - Kansas Republicans again propose near-total abortion bans, despite constitutional protections</a>

Women's Reproductive Autonomy

Kansans are suffering and Healthcare executives are thriving. The profit incentive of the healthcare industry is inherently designed to harm Americans. There is a reason your treatment is always denied: they want your money without actually helping you. To boot: every year they pay off legislators to try to pass bills to hold insurance companies less and less accountable for denying your right to medical care.In a United States with universal healthcare, not only would your medical needs never get denied, but the overall system would be 13% cheaper than what we are currently paying as a nation now.Politicians that are lining their pockets with healthcare PAC money try to scare you telling you that it would raise your taxes. It would. But, it would also significantly raise your paycheck from your employer since you no longer need a company healthcare plan. You also wouldn't need to pay premiums or deductibles. Not only does universal healthcare optimizes our paychecks by saving us up to 13%, it also helps the lives of every American.Relative Sources:<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8572548/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Center for Biotechnology Information - National Library of Medicine - Improving the Prognosis of Healthcare in the United States</a>

The Desperate Need for Universal Healthcare

We are seeing, now more than ever, a corrupt and partisan supreme court that has shielded this administration from accountability for actions that simply and blatantly violate the constitution.We must end lifetime appoints to the supreme court and begin enforcing term limits. New appointments should not be made by a president, but by vote alongside our normal election cycle so that the highest court in the land is for and by the people.Relative Sources:<a href="https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-re-introduces-supreme-court-justice-term-limit-measure-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hank Johnson Government Webpage - Rep. Johnson Re-Introduces Supreme Court Justice Term Limit Measure to Restore Balance, Legitimacy for SCOTUS</a><a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-must-explain-why-it-keeps-ruling-trumps-favor" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brennan Center for Justice - Supreme Court Must Explain Why It Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor</a>

Ending Life Time Appointments for the Supreme Court

Come say hello, grab some food, and listen to panels of candidates from local elections all the way up to the gubernational race. Thank you so much to the Pratty County Democratic Party for inviting me to be a part of the KS-04 congressional race panel.

PCDP May Day Community Dinner

Congress has to clamp down on Trump's ability to lead international discussions on the United State's behalf. We need to leave Greenland alone, stop holding Venezuela as a hostage nation for oil, and formally end our outdated disdain and trade embargo with Cuba. We cannot allow ourselves to act as the enemy against those in our own backyard.Also in regards to foreign affairs, finding more neutral ground with Russia and China to minimize future conflict should be a priority of the U.S. government.

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