Good evening and welcome to the KTWU Studios on the campus of Washburn University.

I'm Val VanDerSluis general manager for KTWU.

and I'm Bill Fiander, lecturer of political science for Washburn University.

KTWU and the Washburn University political science department are proud to bring this evening's primary debate forum to you.

It's our mission at KTWU to be a resource for education, knowledge and insight and provide you with the resources you need to exercise your rights as an informed voter.

The Washburn University Political Science Department has a long tradition of providing real world experience in the study of governments, public policies, and political behavior, using both humanistic and scientific perspectives and skills to examine the countries and regions of the world.

We take great pride in providing a neutral ground for open discussion on politics and policies, and conducting public issues forums like this one.

Now please stay tuned as we bring you the candidates running in the Republican primary for the second Congressional District of Kansas.

Hello, I'm Bob Beatty.

The Kansas second district is spread out north to south and eastern Kansas.

And looks like a jigsaw puzzle piece with the bottom including Coffeyville and Pittsburg, the middle Emporia and Topeka.

Then a jab into Kansas City, Kansas.

And the top featuring Leavenworth, Atchison and Sabetha.

Sounds like a old Glenn Miller song.

The current representative is Republican Jake LaTurner, but in April, he announced he wasn't running for reelection.

And so we now have a spirited Republican Party primary.

Joining us for the next hour are three of the five Republican primary candidates Jeff Kahrs Chad Young and Michael Ogle.

Two candidates, Derek Schmidt and Shawn Tiffany, were invited but declined to participate.

This forum is a partnership with the Political Science department at Washburn University, and they have selected the topics.

We'll also be taking questions from you on Facebook, so send those in.

Now, candidates, by the rules of this forum, you've been each given 90 sec for your opening statements and we start with Jeff Kahrs.

Thanks, Bob.

Good evening.

My name is Jeff Kahrs and I'm running to replace Jake LaTurner my old boss, as your next congressman.

As a fourth generation Kansan, my wife Felita and I raised our family right here in Topeka.

I'm running for Congress because our nation is in real trouble.

We were all reminded of that fact just last month in Butler, P.A..

I'm running because it's not too late to turn our nation around, but the time is short.

I'm running for Congress because our borders are wide open and our nation and communities are becoming less safe and more violent every day.

I will fight to secure the border using the military, if necessary, to build the wall and to deport every illegal alien.

I'm running for Congress because inflation is way out of control and everything, especially food, gas and housing feels like it cost twice as much today as it did just four years ago.

Before the Biden-Harris administration took over.

I will vote against earmarks and fight to limit the size of the federal government, because more government equals less freedom.

And I'm running for Congress because our families, our children, our culture, and our shared Kansas common values are under attack from the radical left.

I'm endorsed by Kansans for life, the Kansas State Rifle Association, CPAC, the Family Research Council, Governor Sam Brownback, Congressman Todd Tiahrt and a host of other conservatives because they realize I'm the only tested conservative in this race.

I'm running for Congress because I strongly support President Trump, my old boss, and his policies to help restore the American dream.

President Trump is going to need strong, consistent, and courageous conservatives like me to stand with him in his policies in Congress and to do the right thing and not the easy thing.

I'm Jeff Kahrs, and I'm asking for your vote on August 6th.

Thanks so much.

Now we hear from Chad Young.

I'm Chad Young.

I live in Lawrence and I've lived in places like Fort Scott, Pittsburg.

I've seen what's going on with our country through the smallest towns to the biggest cities.

I've seen a tyrannical movement in Washington like never seen before.

And it's time that we stand up against politicians.

These lifelong politicians have destroyed us, even as a nation and as a people.

They've taken our sovereignty and thrown it away.

We have to stand up and fight against that.

We have to put people in office that will stand against this tyrannical movement.

We must push as hard as we can.

As they pushed us.

We need to push back and push back today.

I tell you today, if we don't stand in unity against this, we are in.

We're in death and we call it death.

We're in huge trouble.

We need to stand together in unity so we can have justice for all and not have the slavery way of movement towards us.

My name is Chad Young and I'm asking for your vote.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Michael Ogle.

I'm Michael A. Ogle, and I'm asking for your vote on August 6th.

My political opponents have spent much time comparing themselves to Donald Trump.

They have not develop their own platforms and tied their name to namedrop their way to Congress.

The platform I have offered has been poorly imitated by all other candidates in the race, from both sides of the political aisle.

I have heard my opponents claim to be lockstep with Trump and say, send a warrior to Washington.

Well, I am the only warrior on the ballot.

Others have said veterans are the solution to our country's problems, and I am the only veteran on the ballot.

Some have claimed to be Trump's guy, and yet they are not Trump's guy.

And like Boss Hogg in the whitest cowboy hat I've ever seen, turn tail and call Trump's guy a steaming pile of Schmidt.

Frankly, I do not.

We do not need another lawyer going to Washington any way.

Lawyers got us into this mess, and it's going to take a warrior to get us out.

I'm Michael A. Ogle, I'm a retired infantry officer.

I work for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Kansas, helping veterans recover from service related trauma.

And I'm the only candidate in this race who has defined and put forward in America First platform.

We need congressional term limits, a secure border.

It's time American tax dollars worked for Americans and not spent in unnecessary foreign entanglement.

It's time to secure American exceptionalism for all on the back of American energy production.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Now we'll get to the question and answers the first part of this forum.

I will ask some questions.

And then the second part we will go to questions that the viewers have submitted via Facebook.

So each candidate will get a minute and a half to respond.

But it's possible.

I'll ask a follow up, in which case I'll have a minute and then I'll rotate who goes first.

So let's get right to a bread and butter issue, literally, because I'm talking about inflation, high prices.

The economy actually grew by almost 3% last quarter.

Unemployment is not doing so bad.

It's pretty low.

But inflation, even though it has slowed, it is still a problem and interest rates remain high.

So what specific plans would you pursue in Congress to keep the economy on track without causing more inflation, or possibly leading the country into a recession?

We'll start with Jeff Kahrs.

Thanks for that question.

But before I answer that question, I want to address the elephant in the room, which is where are the other two candidates?

I understand why Derek Schmidt's not here.

He's been dodging and skipping debates and forums for the last month.

I don't know when's the last time I saw Derek participate in the forum, and if I had his record, as I stated earlier, I'd be I'd be missing these debates as well.

I'm disappointed that Derek and both Shawn didn't show up tonight.

Shawn committed to come in.

I don't know why he's here.

I will just tell you this.

When I'm elected to be your congressman, I'm always going to be here.

I'm going to come home every weekend to my family.

I'm going to do town hall so I can hear from you.

And you don't have to hear from me.

It's expensive and inconvenient for you to have to go all the way to Washington, D.C., so I'll be here every weekend.

I'll be doing town halls, and I'm not going to skip out on debates or forums.

As far as the economy, it's very simple.

We need to elect President Trump and then President Trump needs to undo every economic policy that President Biden has put in place.

I don't think our economy's on track.

I think it's very shaky.

In fact, I think it's a 50-50 that we don't enter into a deep recession.

We have to stop spending money we don't have on programs and items that we do not need.

We have to look at every cabinet agency.

I support abolishing cabinet agencies that are no longer needed.

We don't need a Department of Education.

We don't need a Department of Commerce.

And there's other agencies that we need that we need to look at as well.

I don't support earmarks.

I don't support omnibus appropriations bills.

We have to stop spending the debt.

We're going to be at $50 trillion of debt by the end of this decade.

Top economists say that we could be in to have an economic debt crisis if we don't do something now.

All right.

Thank you.

Chad Young.

Well, I think we have to realize who we're fighting and how we're fighting it.

And I don't believe there's a congressman or a senator that is worried about that.

I don't believe they're even looking at that.

I think we need to look at who we're fighting.

And here's what we're looking at.

Big pharma, big corporations, those big guys are killing America's economy, clearly.

It's making inflation like epic inflation like never seen before.

It is time that we stand up against those issues.

When you spend $1 trillion a year with China, and you're bringing in that stuff from them and paying them at max rates, and you're paying all the taxes and the people are paying all the taxes, what happens?

Epic inflation.

We've got to stop that.

Make them pay a 2% tax to sell to us.

And hey, if they don't pay it, we build it here.

It's a checkmate.

We need to put America first and stop all the nonsense.

It's epic inflation like never seen before.

And it's not going to stop until they get to $50 trillion.

It's a plan from big corporation.

Look at who you're fighting.

And as a previous fighter, I know exactly who I'm fighting.

Thank you.

Michael Ogle.

With inflation you have to look at the pandemic of Covid.

we transition to a lot of the service industries have taken hits and those will come back.

with inflation, you also have to look at the subsidies that are given to what they call renewable or green energy, which is not renewable or green.

That is doubled under the Biden-Harris administration.

The cost of the barrel, the oil has doubled under the Biden-Harris administration.

We need to get our American oil prices down.

American oil, American energy, and building an economy that works for Americans with American jobs based on American energy production base.

That'll give us a lower cost at the pump, a lower cost to deliver goods and services to market, and a lower cost at the grocery store.

These things will benefit all Americans.

We have to get American energy independence now and stop buying it from China, which is lithium.

I'm going to call this a follow up.

I think, Chad, you alluded to this, and you'll actually start first on this one.

So it's a minute each.

It's a follow up.

And the question is about tariffs.

Donald Trump Joe Biden actually both have had tariffs on on the numerous imports.

The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, wrote that, quote, “empirical evidence indicates that new U.S. tariffs imposed in 2018 and 19 were almost entirely passed on.

The costs were entirely passed on to U.S. consumers, resulting in higher prices and reduced export growth”.

Unquote.

Do you do you agree with that statement, or do you support new or continued tariffs on foreign imports?

And we start with Chad.

Yeah.

I think it's new everything.

I think we have to back up and realize that everything we've done in the past isn't working.

It's not working because it's a big corporations making the situations and making the decisions for our politicians.

It's clear, it's clear.

Look in the back pockets of your politicians and you'll see the answer.

We have to get rid of that first.

Put somebody in office that will fight for tariffs for the America, and go back and look at the tax idea that I just came up with.

Obviously, something to that means to get it done, we have to start over on so many avenues.

Look, they're broke.

They're not working.

It's all a facade.

It's all fake.

We got to bring it and real life and real time.

And that time's now.

Thank you, Michael Ogle.

The question is on tariffs.

The issue with tariffs is is that we have to be competitive.

We have to either have U.S. goods competitive or we have to have foreign goods have a competitive price.

Now the American dollar is devalued for a reason.

You can go back to Upton Sinclairs “The Jungle”.

And we have working standards here, and we have standards that we need to meet to make, humane products and services and bring products to goods and services to market humanely overseas.

They don't have those things, so they devalue our dollars so we can trade with those countries that would not have those standards of work and standards of ethics, and to produce goods and services and we have to have a tariff on those to make those, products competitive.

We should be buying American.

Jeff Kahrs.

Thanks for that question.

I'm for a free economy.

I'm a capitalist.

I'm not a socialist.

But we have to have fair trade.

But we need free trade as well.

I'm not going to support any tariffs though.

That's going to harm the ag industry in this great state of Kansas.

That's that harms the energy industry in this great state of Kansas are harms the aviation industry in this great state of Kansas.

But sometimes we have to look at tariffs when a country is trying to mess us over and take advantage of us, we can't allow that to happen.

So I think sometimes I think President Trump has been right, but by and large I'm a free trade guy and tariffs are usually not the way to go.

Thank you.

This is another, follow up because it's on the economy.

And we're going to want to say ask it or we'll start with Michael Ogle.

So he talked about tariffs a lot of Republicans, but some Democrats too talk about more tax cuts.

So do you favor more tax cuts at the federal level.

And if so why does that will not that not lead to actually more inflation, inflation with more money in the system.

Well, I think we create more opportunity.

The more we create we we cut taxes.

But the key is we got to quit spending.

As long as we we create those, as long as we're cutting taxes, we got to cut spending as well.

We can't continue to have deficit spending.

But the opportunity is is it will be will be created by by the American entrepreneur.

And they'll have more money to employ people that are that are not government, employees and will have more money, to create a good standing economy of American, American, industrialism with lower taxes, but to raise taxes and say, you know, we're going to subsidize everything in subsidized new things that has not worked for us.

In fact, that is the policies of Biden and Harris that have doubled the cost of energy in the last four years.

Jeff Kahrs one minute.

I absolutely support tax cuts.

We need more tax cuts.

We need less spending and more tax cuts.

So we have to get up to Congress.

And one of the hopefully one of the first votes I'll be able to make up there is to renew the Trump tax cuts so we can continue to build our economy.

One of the reasons that Derek Schmidt is not here tonight is when he was in the state Senate as the Senate majority leader, he voted for tax increase after a tax increase after tax increase, he voted for one of the largest tax increases in state history.

And he voted for increasing spending year after year after year.

I will never vote to raise your taxes.

I will always vote to cut spending.

I plan on caucusing with the House Freedom Caucus, Jim Jordan's groups, one of the most conservative groups up there.

We have to be serious about this matter.

Our country doesn't have a lot of time to turn our economy around.

And the debt crisis that is pending here any day now.

So if you send me up to Congress, I'm never going to vote to raise your taxes, and I'm always going to vote for the bill that cuts spending.

Joe, Chad Young?

we have to reach back and once again realize who we're fighting.

And let's go back to our forefathers, Washington and your, Samuel Adams.

We have to look at what they did on a 2.5% tax.

They went to war.

We're at 56% taxes.

You get your paycheck, and what happens?

You spend 56% by the time you have food in your house.

That's insanity.

We're at the point of no return.

We'll have no choice soon but to pick up arms.

And that's scary.

We need to stop taxation now before it gets out of control.

This is.

Oh.

He said he'll pick up arms.

That's going to happen.

If we don't stop the taxation, it's out of control.

It's stupid.

And the Patriots are tired of it.

And it's time we stand up and say no more.

That's what I say.

No more.

All right.

We'll go back to the regular questions.

Not a follow up.

So you'll have a up to a minute and a half.

And we're moving on to the abortion debate.

candidates, please tell the voters your personal views on abortion and whether, if you are in Congress, you would vote to ban it.

And also, how do your views fit with with the second district, keeping in mind that nearly 60% of voters in the second district in 2022 voted no on the on the abortion amendment.

And Jeff Kahrs You have the first answer.

Thank you, Bob, for that question.

I'm pro-life.

I'm a Christian.

And so it's a matter of conscience for me.

I believe that God is the giver of life, and we don't have the option of being able to, do that.

to unborn children.

So I'm vote I'm pro-life.

I will vote for pro-life legislation.

We have to continue to try to restrict abortion at the federal level.

In addition to the state level.

And so I'm a pro-life candidate.

I'm very proud to have the endorsement of Kansans for life.

and, you know, every abortion is a tragedy.

And so we need to do whatever we can to help women who get into that situation.

most a lot of times that they didn't want to find themselves in, and they find themselves and they're unable to keep the child.

And we I support, adoption tax credits.

I support helping these moms, innocent moms that find themselves in a situation where they're pregnant.

And for whatever reason, they can't keep the child.

We need to help find a way for them to keep the child, put it up for adoption, put that child up for adoption or whatever.

Derek Schmidt had a pro-choice voting record when he was in the state Senate.

He voted against restricting abortion clinics.

Derek Schmidt voted against a pro-life license plate.

He wouldn't even allow pro-lifers in the state to be able to reflect their views on pro-life, on the sanctity of life, on their license plate.

That's why I have been endorsed by Kansans for life.

All right, Chad Young, I'm pro-life and I won't come off of that.

God said it made it very clear in the Bible that if he if we harm his little ones, it's best for that we put a millstone around our neck and jump in the ocean than it is to hurt one of his little ones.

We need to understand what that word is about.

We need to stand on that.

These babies don't.

They do not need to die.

This is atrocious.

This is against everything God believes in.

And it's time we stand up against it as far as we can.

We need to push, push, push.

The forefathers would have had a fit.

Our God, our Jesus.

They're having a fit now.

And it's time that we stand up against that.

Stand up against all abortion, no matter what.

We cannot allow this to kill any more innocent babies.

Thank you very much, Michael Ogle.

I'm pro-life, but I recognize that the issue is very divisive and is not approached by the same way between people that are pro-life and people that are pro-choice.

My opinion on abortion is that people that are pro-life and people that are pro-choice need to have a serious conversation about the issues at hand, and they need to try to convince each other of their positions.

Honestly, at this time, I do not feel a law would be a good law in America.

A prohibitive law on abortion, I believe, would create more violence around the issue of abortion as black market abortion operations would spring up.

And I could not support that at this time.

And I think the states would have an ultimate role in deciding what their tolerance levels are for abortion.

Anyway, thank you, Thank you.

As I'm hearing your answers, I did think of a, a quick follow up.

And it really is just.

Were you surprised?

I certainly was.

And I'm allegedly supposed to know something about Kansas politics, but were you surprised by the 2022 abortion amendment vote in Kansas?

not only that, the voters in Kansas voted no to to send the issue to the legislature, but the margin was nearly 20%.

So it was a resounding, were you surprised by that?

So Chad Young.

I'm not I'm not surprised with humanity's way of choices and votes and this or that.

What I'm surprised is that some Christians would even think it's okay to kill a child.

That surprises me the most is if you're a Christian and you think it's okay, you need to go back and pray to your God because he didn't make that quote for no reason.

That is better for you to put a millstone around your neck and jump in the ocean for no reason.

There's a lot of people that are obviously going to be jumping in the ocean, and I'm not one of them.

I will never vote to kill a child.

That's not happening.

Not on my call.

Michael Ogle were you surprised by the vote?

No, I think I think that, there's a lot more women out there that need empathy and love around the issue than we do we know of, and that's really what we should be doing, is providing that empathy and love around the issue and not politicizing it.

Jeff, Kahrs, we you surprised?

oh, I may have been a little surprised by the margin, but I blame it on timing.

But really, I blame it on the language.

The language was confusing.

so I think it was a mix of that.

But we're a pro-life state.

Kansas is a pro-life state.

We'll continue to be a pro-life state.

And this fight will continue both at the state level and at the federal level.

And I don't believe that it's now a state issue just because row was overturned.

And praise God it was.

We still have a role.

The federal government still has a role Congress needs, is still a step up and try to further restrict abortion because it's wrong.

It's not healthy.

It's not what our society needs.

Thanks.

we're moving on to foreign policy.

Obviously, Congress has a very important role in American foreign policy currently there.

two of America's allies are fighting wars, Israel.

and Ukraine.

So simple.

Maybe a simple question, maybe not a simple answer.

But, the question is let's start with Israel.

Can you explain your views on the Israeli Hamas conflict and America's role, in that conflict?

We start with actually started Michael Ogle, because we had that follow up, Michael, what I believe we should be conducting is nuclear deterrence in Israel.

We should be conducting nuclear deterrence around the world.

We do not need to be funding Iran or in any way giving them money that filters in through to the to the, Hamas or any of the terrorist organizations.

We need to secure our trade in the Red sea around Yemen.

The trade that comes through there, that is Western civilization's trade.

But as far as putting boots on ground or offering Israel a whole lot of support, they are the big kid on the block.

They've won every time they fought anybody.

Let them be the big kid on the block.

Engage in nuclear deterrence, make sure that a nuclear war doesn't have it.

Don't fund both sides of the conflict like we have under the Biden-Harris administration.

Just do the nuclear deterrence.

Thank you.

Jeff Kahrs.

Of course, I'm a strong supporter of Israel.

Unwavering support.

Theyre our most important ally in the Mideast.

Obviously, I congratulate Benjamin Netanyahu on his successful taking out of an evil man who related to the Hamas organization.

That was brilliant.

Good for you.

Continue the fight.

We need to provide whatever support Israel needs to be able to protect them, protect their sovereignty, and to protect their borders.

We need to help them to eliminate Hamas.

And at some point, we're going to have to help Israel deal with Hezbollah and with Iran.

We cannot allow Iran to get a nuclear bomb because that country are run by Muslim fanatics, and it is their intent to take out Israel.

We have to we've got to we're going to have to help Israel in this regard.

So I fully support what we're doing to assist them.

Whatever they need, we need to provide that.

Ukraine, Ukraine's a completely different story.

I don't support any more support.

I don't I don't support, and I'm going to do that next.

But I didn't want to take for your time.

Oh, I'm going to ask about Ukraine.

But sorry to interrupt, but that's fine.

Well, I'll talk about Ukraine.

Yes, but what's going on in Israel and what's going on in Ukraine are apples and oranges.

Yeah, we'll get into it.

Thank you for that.

Yeah.

That's fine.

Chad Young, what's again on Israel and again.

That's right.

I can't I can't say it enough.

We have to realize who we're fighting.

We have to investigate.

Congress doesn't do it well.

They can't tell a proxy war from an actual war.

Israel has been under attack for many, many, many, many thousands of years.

That's not going to stop.

That's biblical.

The Ukraine war and any other war similar to that are proxy wars.

Taxpayers paying more money for a proxy war.

That's none of our business.

And actually, it's not even a real war.

If you look closely, you see where that money is going.

$1.2 trillion has just left to Ukraine and now are in the pockets of who?

Blackrock, Vanguard and Big Corporation.

Those are proxy wars that take the middle class taxpayers money all the way.

Open your eyes, do your studies.

Don't take my word on it, but you can go to my Facebook page and I'll walk you through it step by step.

Unlike congressmen, they're not walking you through it because the kickbacks are huge for that proxy war.

I think everybody on Capitol Hill got paid and it's time to stop that.

That's why I say no politicians, patriots only.

Put a Samuel Adams in office.

Thank you.

Okay, let's talk about Ukraine.

we just talked to, you just talked about Israel.

Is another war going over, going on with a of an American ally.

What's your view on America's role in the Ukraine Russia war?

Jeff, thank you very much.

I don't support any more funding of this war.

It is a proxy war.

It's a dangerous war that President Biden has us in.

Think about this.

We're in a proxy war with a nuclear entity.

This could easily stumble into World War three.

So I don't support any more aid.

I believe that once President Trump is elected, and I firmly believe he will be elected in November, he'll be sworn in office in January.

He will help bring this war to an end.

I don't know what that will look like, but I'll support his efforts to do that.

We have our own war going on in America.

It's at the southern border.

We're being invaded every day by thousands of illegal aliens, and many of them are terrorist military combatants, sex traffickers and drug traffickers.

We need to finish the wall We need to secure the border.

And we need to take care of our own war that we have on the southern border.

And that's exactly what we all plan on doing.

I will support that legislation in Congress.

My opponents that chose not to be here tonight have a weak, weak, record on when it comes to illegal immigration.

And I hope that we're going to have more time to talk about that later on.

My position has been clear from the get go.

We close the border.

We use the military to secure it.

We finish building the wall and we begin deportation.

Chad, Young, Ukraine Well, it's obvious I said it earlier.

Proxy wars, more and more proxy wars for middle class taxpayers have to pay for them.

Not the rich, the poor don't have any money because middle class are paying for them.

We are fighting proxy wars with every dime we have.

And have you seen the America cup?

The American cup is empty.

We can't give anything else away.

I love Israel, but we can't give what we don't have.

We are giving our great grandchildren's money away.

I said that not our grandchildren, our great grandchildren.

And as Mr. Kahrs says, the border is the threat.

He's.

He's right.

The man's right.

I've been there.

I've seen the border.

I lived across the border running a company.

I understand what's over there.

You watch them just coming through left and right.

Went down there with some militia members of several states, and they're doing the same thing, fighting to stop that border, because our government won't.

Yet.

Yet our government has a proxy war.

And what did it do?

It shut the Ukrainian border, but it can't shut ours.

That's big corporation telling them not to shut the border because of why.

I'll tell you why.

It's revenue.

And a lot of it.

We have to stop this today.

Thank you.

Michael Ogle Let's look at Ukraine.

We have to first look at Afghanistan.

We did a 20 year war there.

We didn't get out of Afghanistan for any good reason.

We got out to let China in to mine lithium.

Now, the Biden-Harris administration had to keep the money to the defense contractors going.

What we spend in Ukraine, we could buy we could buy a whole entire United States division, military division a month what we spend in Ukraine.

To allow us to get the green energy and to subsidize the defense contractors and the heat, their Iron Mountain being built, we are selling our nation's future away.

If we are to go to war, we need to go to war strong and hard and win immediately and not absolutely not, build iron mountains of logistics.

They cost the American taxpayers their future.

All right.

Thanks very much.

Now it's time to go to questions from you, that we're receiving.

So send those questions in on Facebook.

And the first one I received and we'll start with Chad Young is the question that came in and said while campaigning for Congress, what have you learned from voters that changed your point of view?

So I think the point of that question is what did you learn?

Or that might have been different, that you didn't know from campaigning and talking to people and maybe even changed your mind?

Start with Chad Young You know, the main thing that I've learned that that most people want unity.

They want to come together and, and, and it is time to come together with the understanding that we have to use the Constitution, the Bill of rights and the Bible to come together as a Christian nation like it was like it started.

And that's a lot of the tears and a lot of the yelling and a lot of the crying.

That's what I learned, that the unity is not there.

We're being divided on every front and we've got to stop that.

I hear a lot of politicians arguing back and forth.

It's just not worth it.

Hey, you have your your idea, I have mine.

Let's see if we can't find a way.

As long as it's under the Constitution, the Bill of rights and our God fearing that we have in our hearts, our souls and our minds, I think it's time that we do stand together.

And the and that perspective, as I've been told a million times.

Thank you.

Michael Ogle.

Well, campaigning, I've learned that the American spirit is still strong.

What you see on TV and what you see on the news, that's not reality.

We're not downtrodden.

If you drive around Kansas and you talk to people, yeah, we've got issues and yeah, we've got things we want and things we'd like to see.

But by gosh, we're still all proud to be an American.

We're still proud to be Americans.

we that American spirit is alive and well.

And I'm happy to have been on this campaign, especially, driving around with my new, fiancé, Nicole, too.

I mean, I've got to tell you, it's been an all American experience.

And I've absolutely loved meeting the great citizens of the state of Kansas and hearing from Kansans about what they want.

Thanks, Jeff Kahrs.

Thanks for that question.

I've had a blast.

This is day 100 for me.

I was the first, individual to announce my candidacy.

I was the first person to file.

For the last three years, I've been working for Jake La Turner.

A great boss and a good man.

I've been heading up his constituent services throughout the 26 counties.

He's got one of the best, if not the best constituent services.

it of all the delegation.

And I will continue.

I will keep his constituent service team because it's so important, the work that we're doing for individuals that need help with federal agencies.

And I'll keep the team and I'll keep the process he has in place.

But my wife was in the audience and I have enjoyed this.

It's been a family affair.

And, I've realized that there's great concern out there on various issues with some of that we've already talked about.

Immigration is a big one, but this has been a blast.

we kind of turned our two boys summer upside down.

but we've had a fun time.

We've been in all 26 counties.

We're going to run this to the end, which is next Tuesday.

And I'm glad I had the opportunity to answer that question.

Okay.

We've we've heard, this several times already in this, forum, and it's about the border.

So we have a question, about the border and immigration and would you what would you support policy wise in Congress that would also would survive this interesting question, a Senate filibuster or or not be vetoed if there's a Democratic president.

So I think the point of that question is, if I may, that it's easy to say, oh, we're going to do this at the border.

But we saw last congressional session, that, even compromise bills, didn't make it through.

So what would you support or be in terms of the border crisis that actually might be able to, get accomplished?

beyond just the president issuing an executive, executive orders?

And I think we start with Chad Young.

I would support a bill that... Actually, I'm wrong about that.

Oh, it's Michael Ogle.

go ahead.

sorry.

I apologize for the president engaging in direct action raids to cut the head off the snake that bring and fentanyl, other drugs and and human trafficking up through, our border, where our rangers and our military, Marine Raiders can handle this problem very easily.

Mexico has not been able to do it successfully.

And I think that we, can help them out and help them do that, to, to get rid of that kind of criminality.

I would support maybe even sending U.S. special forces to, to, provide for an internal defense to help Mexico provide, to help Mexico provide, support so that they can resist that type of criminality in Mexico.

The cities in Mexico can resist that type of criminality and really, if you talk about a wall, there's a whole lot of things you can do with area denial.

And I think it'd be a lot cheaper, maybe even to look at how we could do it with sound, but that's a whole nother animal.

but we could surveil with Gray Eagle assets, and I'd be for the States, putting the National Guard on the border.

Yeah.

Jeff Carr, thank you.

My position has been clear on immigration and what's going on in the southern border.

We have to use the military to secure the border.

We have to finish the wall, and then we have to begin deportation efforts of all the illegals that are in this country.

And we'll start with all the military combatants, the terrorist, the sex traffickers and the drug traffickers that President Biden has led in in these last four years.

We could be up to 25 million illegal aliens in this country.

And if we don't do that, someday they may all become legal aliens.

And our entitlement programs are tax to the end.

Right now, we can't afford to put 25 million more individuals on these entitlement programs.

So this is an issue that really distinguishes me the most from my two opponents.

The other two opponents on here, Derek and Shawn they both have a weak record.

Derek, a very weak pro, illegal immigration voting record in the state Senate.

And Shawn when he was an industry leader, very weak on illegal immigration.

All right, Chad, Young I can't say it enough.

And I take a big breath every time I hear all this stuff.

And it makes no sense because we have the greatest country on the planet that's ever been seen.

But Congress' Republican Party who has controlled Congress for a while, can get nothing done.

You know why?

Money being put in their pockets.

You can't stop it at the border with whatever you want to send there, unless you control your Congress who is being paid off.

This isn't some conspiracy theory, it's a fact.

How many of them take the money?

All of them.

And we've got to pass a bill that stops that.

So we can the people can get control of the border again.

Look closely at my Facebook.

I explain step by step how this is happening.

Look, you're being deceived.

Stop believing the lies.

Congress can do nothing for you until you replace them or abolish them.

Thank you.

The next question is about, sadly, mass shootings.

I think I read there was, over 600, mass shootings avera ge in the US per year.

is that just something?

we accept, or is there something can actually be done in any avenue, whether it's the gun side or the mental health side, the law side, to possibly stem the tide of of these mass shootings?

Jeff Kahrs you're first.

Well, it's a mental health challenge and crisis, to be sure, and we need to put more resources behind that.

But it's also an illegal immigration an issue as well.

We're familiar with some of the murders that have taken place because of the illegals that are coming into this country.

And so I distinguish myself greatly from Derek and Shawn on that issue.

When Derek was in the state Senate, he voted against E-Verify five times.

He voted to give benefits to illegal aliens.

And Shawn, when he was an industry leader that relies heavily on illegal immigration, he endorsed Democrats who were weak on the border.

Shawn endorsed the Liberal Democrat that was running against Kris Kobach, because Kobach has a strong position on the southern border.

So that's something we have to take a look at.

I have it's not a gun issue.

I have the endorsement of the Kansas State Rifle Association.

I will not support any laws to put any more restrictions on gun ownership and on the Second Amendment.

Chad Young.

You know, the question that you ask me, clearly, you know, the first thing you had asked, you said that 600 or 700, you know, shootings have happened.

You know, again, media does nothing but lie to you.

That's not actually the percentage even close.

And anything they can do to take your Second Amendment, they're going to.

Now, what we have to do is back up and teach our children how.

I ran a nonprofit for troubled, young people and, and women and men.

And I actually took them to some special forces people that taught them how to use the weapon.

And, Aaron ___ truly an amazing marine, actually got shot over in Afghanistan.

Had taught these young people how to use a weapon, respect a weapon, an honor, a weapon.

That's what we need to do to stop this wreck.

But remember, manipulation from media is a number 2 or 3 problem we have in America, and we need to stop that.

Keep our second amendment.

Thank you, Michael Ogle.

Well, the first thing we need to do is address mental health.

I'm, talked to just about every sheriff, in district two, and they've all said they want mental health resources for their, deputies, for their officers, and for the people that they are arresting.

Mental health is a big thing.

we cannot do anything to further restrict gun rights.

I, I'm, I'm actually a very avid proponent of gun rights.

And I think that if we do anything at all, we should get rid of some of the gun laws and start looking at how we regulate militia, which is actually what the Second Amendment is talking about.

But we need to educate our children about what rights are, how to exercise rights, how to use our how to use your rights.

We need to get to more civics over social studies.

And unfortunately, I think there's an issue of Ritalin going around in our schools.

And a lot of the kids get on these psychotropic drugs while it's paid for by the state while they are juveniles, and then when they come off of the psychotropic drugs, because it's not paid for any longer and they don't have health insurance, they come up with some real problems, in their mind.

So those are some things we need to look at as we look at how we're going to reduce mass shootings.

There's things that we can look at as far as denying access to schools and other things as well.

But but the reality is it's mental health.

It's it's making sure there's continuity of care from juveniles to adults when they come off the psych psychotropic drugs.

And it's education about what our rights are and how to execute them.

Thank you.

Well, we always get questions about marijuana.

That's just the way that it happens.

So I'm going to sum up, some of the questions, that we always, get and add something, my own information.

The question is, would you support passing a federal law to legalize, actually medical marijuana.

So I might add, recreational as well.

And I'd like to add that in Kansas at the 2023 Fort Hays State poll, of all Kansans showed that 66% supported the legalization of medical marijuana, including 60% of, Republicans.

So that's a little context.

to the question.

And as you of course all know, marijuana is illegal at the federal level, but numerous states have have, legalize it.

So let's go to Chad Young to start on that one.

Well, it's simple, you know, Reagan, a wonderful president had a dare program that was amazing.

And I was one of the children that went under that Dare program, and I and I seen what he wanted on how he had, how he had to show each drug and what it did.

And he showed us program.

His program showed us step by step, marijuana is a gateway drug, is a gateway drug.

And we have to realize that.

And when when our governments in control of anything know this, that big Pharma is right behind it, knocking on the door, they're going to put ad additives in each one of these marijuana packages to make you addicted.

Anybody that's ever smoked weed understands that there's not an addiction there unless something's added to it and they'll be sure they do that because they want to sell more and more and more.

And that's ridiculous.

We need to stand against Big Pharma ineverything we do.

There, destroying our country, our children and our old people.

We need to stand against them.

Thank you.

Michael Ogle.

George Washington said make the most of the Indian hemp seed.

And sow it everywhere.

And I stand with President Washington.

The reality is, is that, the states that have legalized marijuana are predicting in 2024 an $80 billion tax revenue due to the legalization and from the legalization of marijuana tax, and sold.

And our Social Security is $41 billion behind on their commitments in 2023.

And I think federally, Uncle Sam ought to get it's cut and that money ought to go to solve some of this problem we have with Social Security.

The idea of it being a gateway drug is false.

Any time you have illicit behavior or you make something illicit, you are inviting an illicit community to illicit activity.

You want to get the mob out of Las Vegas.

You have the bank put a swimming pool by the casino.

You want to get the violence out of beer and alcohol distribution.

You have Anheuser-Busch and Coors do it instead of Al Capone.

The reality is we can get rid of the violence.

We can take the money and we can make Social Security solvent with it.

And the citizens are speaking up and saying they want it so that's what they should get.

As George Washington said.

sow it everywhere.

Jeff Hahrs.

I don't support the legalization of marijuana at the federal level at all.

Before I worked for Jake La Turner I had the privilege of working for President Trump.

He appointed me in his administration to oversee health and human services for the Midwest.

I oversaw Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa, and I learned very early on in that job as I would drive around the four states and meet with health care providers and clinics, that we have a serious drug problem in this country.

And marijuana is a gateway drug to fentanyl.

We have a serious fentanyl problem, and we're seeing more and more, marijuana is now being laced with fentanyl.

And so kids that think that they're smoking marijuana are actually smoking fentanyl laced marijuana and are dying from it.

This is why the border issue is perhaps the number one issue in this race.

And I have the strongest position on the border.

I've never voted to allow illegals to take jobs in America or to give them taxpayer funded benefits.

And I've never endorsed Democrats that supported candidates that supported a weak border.

I'm going to do moderator's, privilege and 20s because I, I think the viewer wanted to really know about medical marijuana.

do you support the legalization of medical marijuana?

20s.

I can't remember where we are.

We'll just start with Chad and go.

Absolutely not.

It's government controlled.

It's clearly they're going to put additives in that stuff.

Arkansas is one of the states that's that's happened to.

And they're fighting against it now because some people are addicted to it because something was added it.

Big Pharma will always put an additive.

That's how you make money is to Band-Aid and not fix the problem, but Band-Aid it.

We need to stop it now.

Michael Ogle.

I'm for, medical marijuana as well.

And as far as it being cut with stuff, Walmart doesn't want you to die because of a product they sold you.

So making it legal actually makes it safer.

They're not going to cut it with Walmart.

And I'm going to cut your marijuana with fentanyl.

Jeff Kahrs.

experts will tell you that medical marijuana, so-called medical marijuana, is a really a misnomer.

I mean, I think everybody understands what medical marijuana is about.

Medical marijuana is the first step to recreational marijuana.

Our kids in this country have enough challenges as it is.

Why on earth would we want to legalize a drug that's addictive, that demotivate you, that's going to lead you to probably dropping out of school and come on our welfare rolls?

It's the wrong approach.

It's wrongheaded, and I don't support it.

Okay, we have time for one more question before closing statements.

We got a question in.

So I'm going to, say about 45 seconds, please.

timekeepers.

And the question that came in is, is about how do you feel about term limits for Supreme Court justices, I would add, and or an ethics code, because I, frankly, was surprised to hear that Supreme Court justices can receive all these free goodies that you would not be able to get if you were in Congress.

So do you support either term limits and or, an ethics code?

for Supreme Court Justices?

Michael Ogle, 45 seconds, please.

No, I, I wouldn't support term limits for Supreme Court justices.

Those appointments have consequences.

What I would like to talk about is the the Pact act doesn't do enough for veterans.

Veterans.

they have the Burn Pit Recognition Act that enumerated every toxin that we were exposed to in the burn pits.

It was in 2021 that was not passed by Congress.

The Pact act, which is Biden's accomplishment, puts veterans on a registry in 20 to 30 years from now.

They're going to tell us how we died.

What we really need is the toxins to be enumerated so we can get them studied, so we can get veterans the compensation and care that they deserve.

I, a veterans that I served with in the come into my office.

They are yellow because their liver and kidneys have been destroyed by the toxins that they were exposed to in service.

All right.

Jeff, Kahrs.

Well, first of all, I agree with Mike.

We can't do enough for our veterans.

We're we're we have to do everything we can to help our veterans that are willing to take a bullet to keep our life free in America.

As far as term limits, I've signed the term limit pledge.

I support term limits for members of Congress, not for members of the Supreme Court.

We have to have term limits in Congress.

I've signed the term limit pledge.

I'll support and vote for legislation that comes to the to the floor for term limits.

It's something that needs to be done.

I've signed also a tax pledge that I will never vote for any tax increase as well.

Chad Young.

, you term limits need to happen across the board.

The Supreme Court, if you're in there for 30 years, you're most likely going to turn bad.

We know this from history.

Look at America's Congress, the Senate, look at half the presidents.

They've done nothing but rip off the people.

Of course, the longer you spend in there, the more you're going to take in your back pocket.

Their their wallets are filled stock markets.

They're for your Congress, your Supreme Court, your Senate.

It's true.

All right.

Well, we have wrapped up the question and answer phase of this conversation.

and it's time for our closing statements.

each candidate will have a minute and 30s to give their final appeal to you, the voter.

And we're going to start with Chad Young.

You've got 90s again.

I'm Chad Young, I'm a constitutionalist.

If it's waved upon, I do not like it.

It is time that we abolish a lot of the arms of government.

Shrink it as small as it's ever been, and let the people take back their freedom and their sovereign nation.

It hasn't been free and in a very long time, and it's not going to be free unless we do that.

But first of all, we need to bring God as the foundation of America, of America's governments, bring him back and he'll give back to us.

He has turned his head away from us.

His shoulders are there, and he's crying out to you.

Come back to me, old America.

Come back to me, and I will free your lands.

But we're not doing that.

Today's the day.

If you go to Romans ten nine and ten, you'll see exactly what you have to do.

Confess and believe and you shall be saved.

That's what we need is a foundation that is stronger than ever.

with Jesus Christ.

Thank you, thank you Jeff Kahrs.

Well, thanks to PBS and especially to you viewers for being here and watching this tonight.

This is what it's about, being engaged with this process.

And I encourage you to get out and vote.

My name is Jeff Kahrs and I just want to thank you for watching tonight's debate.

For the last 30 years, I've been fighting in the trenches for conservative policies and principles.

But now I'm fighting to represent you and are who represent you and our shared conservative values in Congress.

But I need your vote.

I need your neighbors vote to win next Tuesday.

Listen, our nation is in real trouble, and President Trump is going to need a strong, consistent and courageous conservative like me to help implement his agenda to restore the American Dream.

Unlike my opponent, Derek Schmidt, I'm both proud of my record, and I'm willing to face the voters.

Derek has been ducking forums and debates for most of this campaign, and frankly, I don't blame him.

Derek voted against regulating abortion clinics.

He voted to allow illegal aliens to take our jobs.

He voted to provide them with taxpayer funded benefits, just like Joe Biden has done.

He also voted for one of the largest tax increases in state history and increased government spending year after year after year.

This is why he lost the governor's race to liberal Laura Kelly.

Shawn Tiffany, who also should be here tonight, is in an industry candidate that is brand new to the fight to save America.

He comes from an industry that thrives on illegal workers.

And when he led this industry, he endorsed Democrats who were weak on a strong border.

He even endorsed the liberal Democrat opposing Kris Kobach because of Kobach's strong position on our border.

Listen, the hour is simply too late to send an untested candidate to fight against the swamp in DC.

I'm the only strong, consistent, and courageous conservative in this race.

That's why every grassroots organization and leader has endorsed my campaign.

I'm Jeff Kahrs I'm asking for your vote next week.

Thank you and God bless you.

Thank you, Michael Ogle.

I'm Michael A. Ogle, and I'm asking for your vote on August 6th.

I'm a proud member of the Brotherhood of the Blue Cord, American infantry soldiers otherwise known as grunts.

In times of trouble, God sends a grunt.

God sends a grunt.

Because the grunt not only practices the impossible, but we also get it done.

As the nation's national debt looms at 35 trillion Social Security looks to be unsolvable and the promise of our founders looks to be destroyed by the politics of division.

Here I am, Kansas... send me.

The history of America has been the long struggle for liberty.

Great divisions have been created by our nation's elite to gain power.

It has been American exceptionalism that has been cast aside.

Here I am, a ragtag warrior financing my own campaign, going toe to toe with those who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from backers that now own them.

I am an American warrior with the campaign color of General Washington's infantry blue, fighting to secure the blessings of liberty for us and our posterity.

In my life, there has never been a time when I have not been prepared to provide my life, fortune, and sacred honor to the benefit of our nation's established goals of liberty and justice for all.

My name is Michael A. Ogle.

I am asking for your vote on August 6th.

I am for Liberty.

I am for domestic tranquility.

And I am for the more perfect union.

God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

Well, you've been watching the candidates asking for your vote for the Kansas second Congressional District Republican primary.

I want to personally thank you and, for coming under this forum and taking your time and talking to the viewers of the district.

As a reminder, the, this this forum will be shown all up and down that jigsaw puzzle.

and I think a lot of viewers will appreciate you talking to them personally.

So on behalf of our debate partners, the political science department at Washburn University, and from all the production crew and volunteers here at the studios of KTWU I'm Bob Beatty and thanks for watching.

Remember to vote on August 6th if you haven't already.

Reminder that actually unaffiliated voters can vote.

If you're willing to change your affiliation at the, the polling place, you would have to then, you know, change your affiliation to, in this case, Republican or Democrat, and then you can vote in the primary.

And so, again, thank you so much for watching.

I'm Bob Beatty.

Goodbye.