U.S. Senate candidates on the issues: Cost of living

Earlier this summer, the Post asked our readers what issues you wanted to hear candidates in contested races address leading up to the Aug. 4 primary election.

Based on that feedback, we developed a five-item questionnaire centering the issues most important to residents across Johnson County.

Each day this week, we’ll publish the candidates’ responses to one question.

Today, we’re publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:

Readers’ loudest concern is everyday costs — groceries, housing, the squeeze on what one reader calls the “true middle class” of service workers, young adults and retirees. Several readers tied economic worries directly to federal policy, including the Trump administration’s tariffs, which they blame for farm bankruptcies and rising prices. Others still see cause to blame Biden-era policies for the lingering malaise. What would you do in the Senate to bring costs down for Kansans? What is your position on Trump’s tariffs and their effect on Kansas farmers and consumers?

Below are the answers the Post received from candidates on the issue:

Christy Davis (Democratic)

The economic crisis we face today didn’t happen by accident. It is the result of short-sighted politics and leaders who put party agendas and personal ambition ahead of Kansas families while protecting corporate profits and Wall Street. Kansans have been left paying higher prices while investments in our communities have been delayed or cut.

Donald Trump’s tariff policies disrupted trade, raised costs for everyone, and failed to deliver the economic boom Roger Marshall promised. Trade wars and unpredictable price increases make it harder for businesses to invest, hire, and plan for the future.

We need a smarter approach. That means fair trade, strategic investment in American manufacturing, engineering, and technology, and strengthening our domestic supply of critical materials like steel, fertilizer, computer chips, and prescription drugs. I support targeted trade policies that protect American workers and Kansas manufacturers, but across-the-board tariffs hurt our own economy and invited retaliation without delivering lasting results.

As your Senator I know we can’t stop there though. I’ll fight to lower healthcare costs, expand affordable housing, protect Social Security, ensure COLA finally meets the needs of our seniors, and reform a credit system that punishes people for paying off debt instead of rewarding financial responsibility.

Fixing our economy also means bringing back consumer protections, prosecuting corruption, and confronting monopolies. This is not the time to focus on restoring decorum in Washington. It is time to restore accountability and build an economy that rewards work, supports families, and creates lasting opportunities for every Kansas community.

Adam Hamilton (Democratic)

The higher prices for gas, groceries, and health insurance are hurting people in Kansas, and the ones hit hardest have the least room to absorb it.

The first thing we have to do is stop the self-inflicted wounds. The tariffs and the war are raising the price of nearly everything Kansans buy. Tariffs work like a tax paid at the register, on track to cost families as much as $2,500 this year, and they raise the price of the steel, lumber, fertilizer, and equipment our builders, producers, and manufacturers depend on.

We should reverse these policies, and require congressional sign-off on any future emergency tariff, the same as any other tax. The White House should not have unchecked power to raise prices on Kansans.

One woman told me her health insurance runs nearly $2,500 a month, more than her house payment. We should restore the premium credits whose expiration raised the typical Kansan’s premium by more than half. And we should let Medicare negotiate prices on more drugs, and extend those savings to families on private insurance.

Families are stretched thin caring for their aging parents. We should prioritize home based care so seniors can stay in their own homes instead of costly facilities.

And we should create a tax credit for first-time home buyers, and for the teachers, police officers, and firefighters our communities depend on, so home ownership is within reach again.

Finally, we should keep data centers from passing along their power costs onto our bills. The richest companies on earth can pay for their own electricity.

We can and must do better.

Jason Hart (Democratic)

I agree with readers who observe the current administration has sacrificed our farmers, ranchers, and manufacturing sectors with ill-conceived tariffs and foreign conflicts. While some might blame Biden for a lingering malaise, none of that has been made better by the chaos of the current administration. Quite the opposite, this administration has made things worse by imposing illegal and regressive tariffs without any strategy or discrimination, by souring relationships with long-time trading partners, and by starting unjustified international conflicts. The chaos of this administration appears closely associated with episodes of Trump-Epstein-distraction. Irrespective of party affiliation, we have to stabilize and rehabilitate our economy. Stabilization starts with removing the chaos-makers in the Executive Branch – what I would call prosecuting for accountability. Stabilization starts with Congress revoking tariffs and executive tariff power, asserting control over the war in Iran, and stopping the misguided immigration enforcement policies that only serve to terrorize to our communities and frustrate local economies. Removing the chaos-makers stops the chaos we can control, and will then allow us to rehabilitate our economy through policy that fixes health care, breaks up vertically integrated markets, and provide some actual meaningful solutions instead of social media posts.

Kevin Latz (Democratic)

The American dream of getting married, having a family, buying a house, perhaps sending your kids to college, taking the occasional vacation and retiring is no longer a realistic option for most Americans. The concept that I grew up with of hard work alone opening the door to opportunity (s) is not realistic. In short, we have experienced a significant decline in upward mobility for our citizens. We need to make life more affordable by implementing universal healthcare and childcare and by modifying the tax system that currently benefits the wealthy.

The middle class that developed after WW 2 arose for a number of reasons including free education for soldiers returning from the war and labor union. To restore the working class today our government must be similarly intentional.

Finally, while there is a very limited role for tariffs, the tariffs instituted by Mr Trump have not been targeted or well thought out and have hurt American consumers.. In addition the response to the tariffs have closed some foreign markets thus hurting Kansas Farmers.

Erik Murray (Democratic)

First and foremost, tariffs are a tax on American businesses and consumers and must be eliminated. Further, the haphazard and chaotic manner in which they were applied injected even more uncertainty and economic harm on Kansas farmers, small business owners, and ultimately families. After eliminating the tariff tax, there are a number of policy decisions we can make to bring down costs for Kansas families. A few of my top priorities would be, one, ending the war in Iran and the wasteful, billion-dollar-a-day spending that is increasing gas and commodity prices while wasting tax payer dollars—a double whammy. Two, we should end all of the military voyeurism that this administration has unconstitutionally waged without Congressional approval. Three, getting to Medicare For All would not only improve the health and quality of life of Kansans, but would also dramatically and immediately reduce one of the largest costs and medical debt related bankruptcy risks for Kansas families. Four, another primary complaint we hear across Kansas is the rising cost of property taxes. While most folks don’t associate that with federal policy, we must acknowledge that in the absence of the state legislature providing property tax relief and our current U.S. Senator not advocating for bringing federal infrastructure dollars back to Kansas, these burdens fall on local governments and get passed through to Kansans. I will advocate to bring federal dollars back to our state to reduce that burden. There are a number of additional cost burdens that are constantly being placed on families as our current political class prioritizes corporate welfare and billionaire tax breaks and subsidies over solving the affordability crisis for working class Kansans. When I am in the U.S. Senate I will put people first with real solutions.

Anne Parelkar (Democratic)

Lowering costs for Kansans is a cornerstone of my campaign.

Most Kansans don’t care which “side” is more to blame for how we got where we are. Most of us just want public servants who will serve the People and fight for them.

I’ve met a lot of young working people on this journey, and I’ve come to realize that the reason they aren’t coming out to vote is because we don’t give them anything to vote for. Costs are rising, farm bankruptcies are through the roof, and the “American dream” of home ownership and a middle-class lifestyle feels out of reach for so many.

One of my priorities as Senator will be rolling back blanket tariffs and re-establishing trade partners for American farm products. I will work to bring real tax relief to 95+% of Kansans while ensuring the corporate elites and billionaire class pay their fair share into the tax base.

We must enforce our antitrust laws, give power back to the people, empower our unions, and require living wages be paid to workers. We need to end corporate welfare and ensure that this government is here to serve only We the People who consent to be governed. As a mother, I need America, the one I inherited from my ancestors who served in the revolution, to be the America I was raised to believe in – the same one that drew my immigrant husband here over 25 years ago, the same one that drew my ancestors here over 250 years ago.

Noah Taylor (Democratic)

Kansans are scared. Everyday costs like groceries, utilities, and health care are out of control. Far too often, you can’t even afford to see a doctor when something is wrong. A hard day’s work used to be enough, but for many it’s not anymore. The American Dream feels farther out of reach each year.

It’s time to make life more affordable for families. That means a tax cut for the middle class and closing loopholes that let the rich cheat the system. We must make it illegal for corporate CEOs to price-gouge consumers at the grocery store.

While targeted, limited tariffs can sometimes be needed to protect certain industries, America’s recent trade policy has hurt our economy. For the past twenty years, market conditions have made it extremely difficult for many small farmers to compete, and tariffs are making that even harder now. It’s time to end these reckless tariffs that are decimating livelihoods and increasing costs on Kansas families.