Your choice: 14th U.S. House

Gaston County will have two different people representing it in the U.S. House, with about 75% of the county falling into the new 14th U.S. House District, which will also include a large part of Charlotte.

Mecklenburg County residents will include about two-thirds of the new district, making it Democratic leaning and increasing the chances a Democrat will represent Gaston County in U.S. House for the first time in decades.

Those wanting to represent the district are 35-year-old Republican Pat Harrigan, a West Point graduate and former Green Beret who started a gun manufacturing business after his military service. Democrats have nominated 40-year-old Jeff Jackson, a former prosecutor, state senator since 2014 and a major in the Army National Guard.

The Gazette sent both candidates a set of questions and here are their responses.

Questions and Answers

Question: Assuming your victory, what would be your top priority in the coming term?

Harrigan: We have to fix this economy and get inflation down or it will destroy the middle class. We will accomplish this by returning to fiscal conservatism and balancing a budget.

Jackson: Gaston has specific needs, from water and sewer to housing and transportation. I’ve already spoken with a number of county leaders to develop a game plan for how to best help. This isn’t partisan − it’s about knowing what would make a real difference and working together to get itdone.

Question: Do you believe Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election, and why?

Jackson: Yes. Dozens of court cases were brought alleging electoral fraud. They were reviewed in detail, often by Republican judges, and were overwhelmingly dismissed for lacking evidence. As a former prosecutor in Gaston County, I take evidence − and its lack − very seriously.

Harrigan: Yes, President Biden won the election.

Question: What is the biggest national security threat to the U.S., and what is your plan to deal with that threat?

Harrigan: China is the biggest existential threat America and the free world have faced in generations. We need to become energy dominant and reinvigorate American manufacturing of critical supplies, which will allow us to make independent decisions about our foreign policy actions.

Jackson: China is our biggest foreign threat and we should all be encouraged by recent action by the administration to block them from developing a semiconductor industry to rival ours. This was the most aggressive and effective countermeasure we’ve deployed against China in manyyears.

Question: How should the U.S. address immigration issues on its southern border?

Jackson: Twice in the last two decades the U.S. Senate has passed comprehensive immigration reform that would have significantly addressed the border and both times it was blocked by deeply conservative House Republicans who want to campaign on the issue rather than solve it. That was a mistake. Let’s solve it.

Harrigan: We must finish the wall, and simultaneously reinvent our immigration process to promote swift legal immigration. This is the only way we will overcome supply chain and labor issues, and reinvigorate American manufacturing.

5. What should the government do to reduce inflation and high gas prices?

Harrigan: Stop spending money like a drunken sailor, and fully support a vision of energy dominance in this country so that we never for one second think that we have to satisfy our energy needs through our foreign adversaries.

Jackson: Positive steps already taken:

• Expanding port capacity and throughput

• Increasing support for domestic trucking

• Ramping up domestic manufacturing (CHIPS Act)

Additional steps needed:

• Senate should pass the bill on gas price gouging that already passed the House

• Increase near-term oil production with SPR repurchasing

6. What federal legislation would you support on abortion?

Jackson: I support a federal law that implements the core provisions of Roe, which provided for a minimum set of rights that all 50 states had to respect. Now with Roe gone, we have candidates in North Carolina campaigning to outlaw abortion with no exceptions. That’s extreme and unreasonable.

Harrigan: The federal government belongs out of our individual lives and personal medical decisions. That power has now been returned to the individual people of each state, which is exactly where it belongs.

Question: What changes, if any, would you favor in regard to federal gun laws?

Harrigan: When a tragedy occurs in this country, we must do everything that we can to prevent its occurrence without wholesale carving up and compromising the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Jackson: My opponent is an assault weapons manufacturer, so I don’t expect him to support anything in this space. As a former prosecutor, I support red flag laws that include due process protections and expanded background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

Question: What should Congress be investigating, if anything?

Jackson: I have helped guide criminal investigations in Gaston County. My experience has been thatinvestigations must be based on a genuine belief that a law has been broken - not to dragpeople through the mud. Uphold the law, nothing more

Harrigan: All of Afghanistan, not just the withdrawal. If Congress only investigates the withdrawal from Afghanistan, it will be seen as a partisan attack. Congress owes the American people a solid deliverable on the good, the bad, and the things we should never do again when prosecuting a foreign war.

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-201-7016 or email him at Kellis@gastongazette.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here.

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Name: Jeff JacksonAge: 40Occupation: State Senator; Major, Army National Guard; Former ProsecutorPast political experience: NC State Senator since 2014

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Charlotte men want to represent Gaston County in U.S. House