Following an election forum earlier this month, the News Tribune posed additional reader-submitted questions to the candidates running to represent Missouri's 3rd Congressional District.
Republican incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer, a St. Elizabeth native who was first elected to Congress in 2009, faces Democratic challenger Bethany Mann, a Brentwood mother and agricultural scientist, in the Nov. 8 midterm election.
Readers submitted questions to the newspaper and they were forwarded to both campaigns.
Luetkemeyer, who was not present for the forum, did not respond to multiple attempts asking for a response to the questions. Information about his stances on the topics was collected from public statements, campaign websites and other media interviews.
Q. Would you vote to codify Roe v. Wade? Explain the reason for your vote.
Mann: "I would pass the Women's Health Protection Act to codify Roe v. Wade and expand access to medical care. The extreme trigger ban on abortion in Missouri or a federal ban allows for a disturbing level of government overreach, designed by politicians and lobbyists interested in denying basic medical care in favor of more corporate-preferred profit models of restricting care and driving up healthcare costs for working families. Ultimately, Americans deserve the freedom and economic security of living healthy and full lives without the government dictating private medical decisions or creating unnecessary geographic or financial barriers to obtain medical care."
Luetkemeyer voted against the Women's Health Protection Act when the bill was before the U.S. House. He said in a statement the day the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the nearly 50-year precedent established by Roe v. Wade was "a great day, not just for pro-life Americans, but for everyone who believes in the rights of the innocent, the protection of the vulnerable and the miracle of life."
"The Supreme Court is charged with interpreting the law, not writing it," the statement said. "However, in Roe v. Wade, the court inappropriately established law in the United States making abortion legal. In the decades that followed, that misguided decision took the lives of millions of innocent babies. This morning's decision restores the constitutional rights of our citizens and the legislative process. More importantly, it will protect millions of children from having their lives ended before they can live the life God intended."
Q. Do you acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and is our duly elected president? What sort of election reforms, if any, would you support?
Luetkemeyer was one of five Missouri Republicans in the House who voted to overturn election results Jan. 6, 2021, after an angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, leaving several people dead or injured and disrupting the proceedings for hours. He objected to the certification of votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania and was one of 126 Republican lawmakers to support a Texas lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the election. Luetkemeyer doesn't have an election reform policy page on his congressional or campaign websites. In September, he voted against the Presidential Election Reform Act, which is aimed at clearing up some of the ambiguities in the presidential election certification process that "former President Donald Trump and his allies tried to exploit in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election," according to NPR.
Mann: "President Joe Biden won the popular vote by over 7 million votes, and the electoral vote 306-232. Congressional leaders, including Blaine Luetkemeyer, deliberately misled the electorate and wasted taxpayer money in attempts to disenfranchise voters in other states by signing the Texas amicus brief challenging the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Elected officials should make it easier, not harder to vote. I support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, restoring local control to elections, and expanding voting options, including same-day voter registration, mail-in ballots, and secure ballot drop-boxes. Every vote should be counted and every voter's voice should be heard."
Q. How would you assess the work of the commission investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection?
Mann: "Overall, I appreciate the committee's bipartisan approach to investigating what happened during and leading up to the attack on our nation's Capital. Providing video testimony under oath to the public on TV, the internet or the radio gives everyone the chance to listen and form their own opinion without restricting access to information. Their witnesses include a variety of people who served in the previous administration, many still in good standing with the former president. I would like to see more public hearings, particularly broadening the scope to include other officials who knew what had been planned but who failed to act."
Luetkemeyer did not vote for the creation of the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Q. Will you support House Minority Leader McCarthy's pledge to use the debt ceiling limit to force cuts in Social Security, Medicare and support for Ukraine?
Luetkemeyer is a member of the Republican Study Committee and supports House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's Commitment to America plan, a roadmap for Republicans in the event they win control of the House after November's election that pledges to "save and strengthen" Medicare and Social Security. He's been an outspoken critic of the federal government's debt and spending that adds to it, and supports a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 2022 fiscal year budget proposed by the Republican Study Committee said Social Security and federal health care programs are primary drivers of the county's "bleak fiscal outlook."
Mann: "No. I will not play political games with Medicare/Social Security, particularly as families struggle with the impacts of inflation. These programs should be defended against politicians who threaten to cut or privatize programs, and allow corporations to profit off of vulnerable citizens during hard times. I refuse to do the bidding of the Russian government by proxy through American domestic or foreign policy. America should not capitulate to Russian demands to cut off funding or military support to Ukraine. If Russia wants the war to end, they should leave Ukraine and Crimea, and stop using American politicians as propagandists."
Q. Two bills have been filed that require Medicare to be reauthorized every year or every five years. Will you vote yes on this bill? Explain your answer.
Mann: "I would vote no on this bill. I believe that Medicare should be strengthened and expanded, so that everyone gets healthcare without being tied to an employer, spouse, wealth or education. I strongly support Medicare for All, using the Affordable Care Act exchanges to transition everyone from almost exclusively private or no insurance to publicly funded healthcare. We can practically pay for this by taxing large corporations who make over $100 million annually that pay little to nothing in taxes. When people can access healthcare without financial barriers, they have less expensive healthcare outcomes, happier lives and improved productivity at work."
Luetkemeyer's congressional website states Congress should work to improve access to health care for vulnerable populations, particularly rural communities and seniors. "I support protecting Medicare for today's seniors and future generations and reforming Medicaid to focus on our nation's most vulnerable patients," it states. His position on the bills in question could not be found in public statements.
Q. What do you bring to the table for Mid-Missourians as a member of Congress that your opponent wouldn't?
Luetkemeyer's campaign website states he's "a lifelong resident of the district and knows what it takes to improve the economy and create jobs from his more than 30 years of experience as a small businessman." Working on his 160-acre family farm has given him experience in the agricultural arena as well, according to his website. More than a decade in Congress has made him the ranking Republican member on two committees and numerous distinctions.
Mann: "I bring the perspective of a scientist, working mom and political outsider unbeholden to Wall Street, large corporate donors or political party leaders. I know firsthand what it takes to grow up without a whole lot of money, fight for an education, raise a family and use my resources to solve very big, complex problems in ways that make sense to everyone. My experiences of working in agriculture, energy, water infrastructure and manufacturing make me uniquely qualified to work with government agencies, large corporations and small businesses to find ways that foster prosperity and innovation, while lifting up American workers."
------
Luetkemeyer and Mann are competing for one of Missouri's eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives -- six of which are currently represented by Republicans while Democrats represent the St. Louis and Kansas City areas.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. U.S. representatives serve two-year terms with an annual salary of approximately $174,000.
Bethany Mann 
Blaine Luetkemeyer