West Caudle

[{"question": "Ballotpedia survey responses", "answer_html": "<p>See also: <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a></p>\n<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-xs-10 col-md-6 col-xs-offset-1 col-md-offset-3\"><p><a href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\"><img align=\"middle\" alt=\"Candidate Connection\" src=\"https://cdn.ballotpedia.org/images/8/88/Candidate_Connection_Logo.png\" width=\"90%\"/></a></p></div></div>\n<p>West Caudle completed <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a> survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Caudle's responses.</p>\n<p><span class=\"expand-all\">Expand all</span> | <span class=\"collapse-all\">Collapse all</span></p>\n<div aria-multiselectable=\"true\" class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading-bio-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-bio-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWho are you? Tell us about yourself.\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-bio-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-bio-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tI am West Caudle, a life-long resident of Northwest North Carolina. My family goes back over six generations to the same family farm in Yadkin County, North Carolina. \r\n<p>With professional experience in local law enforcement, as a public school teacher, a small business owner, and in the public business sector in management and consulting roles; I bring a wide scope and vision for addressing the many issues that tear at the fabric of our society. \r\n</p><p>I have watched as politicians from both sides of the aisle have made promises and failed repeatedly to make good on them. In our rural communities farmers have been left by the wayside as land sits idle, input costs skyrocket, and returns dwindle. In our towns and cities communities are left behind as factories close and small businesses have to fight tooth and nail to survive. Kids graduate and move away. Access to retail and food stores are a haul. Local schools go underfunded, overcrowded, and in need of costly repairs.\r\n</p><p>In short not only do we deserve better but better is possible with leadership willing to fight for the communities we call home, answer to the people, and not only say what they mean but mean what they say.\r\n</p><p>We may not always agree, but I'll always listen and work to achieve the best outcomes for everyone. Ideology can separate us but on the details I've found that we often agree.\r\n</p>\nI love our home and I humbly ask that you support me in my mission to deliver for our area, our families, and our future.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading-key-message-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-key-message-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tPlease list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-key-message-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-key-message-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><ul><li>The cost of living is outrageous, out of touch, unnecessary, etc.\r\n<p>I will always put people over corporate profits and that is going to make me a lot of wealthy opposition.\r\n</p><p>I will work tirelessly to solve the affordability crisis gripping the nation.\r\n</p><p>We shouldn't be faced with the decision to put gas in the car to get to work or get groceries for the week. Kids shouldn't show up to school tired and hungry. Families should be able to afford quality child care.\r\n</p>\nThe list goes on but life is meant to be lived and we shouldn't have the joy of life squeezed out of us just to survive.</li><li>Healthcare should not be an economic system.\r\n\r\nIn the United States a medical issue should never bankrupt someone. Insurance companies should not profit billions of dollars off the hard working people simply trying to survive or have a say in what procedure or medication you can have.\r\n\r\nMost importantly, medical decisions are between the patient and the physician. Politicians have more than enough to worry about instead of attempting to legislate what someone can and cannot do with their body.</li><li>Education and opportunity. These two things can and will solve almost every ill we get hung up on.\r\n\r\nFully funded public education, affordable college/university education, skilled trade training and apprenticeships. Each of these leads to a top of the line work force, innovators and innovation, job creation, and a thriving economy.\r\n\r\nWhen people succeed, we succeed. Success keeps families together and crime decreases. When petty crime decreases as a way of survival, violence and addiction shrink.\r\n\r\nFully fund public education and watch us take off.</li></ul></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading1-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse1-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading1-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse1-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tPublic Education, Public Safety, Veterans and Military Affairs, Worker's Rights and Workforce Development, Agriculture, and Small Business Development.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse2-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading2-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse2-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse2-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading2-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse2-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tIntegrity, honesty, selflessness, compassion, willingness to listen, adaptability, accountability, empathy, and a servants heart.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse3-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading3-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse3-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse3-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading3-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse3-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tAs someone elected to represent the people, that responsibility applies in representing all constituents not just those that fall under a party affiliation.<br/><br/>\n<p>We must be out in the communities we represent for more than photo-ops and small group speeches. Hold regular regional office hours, be approachable, hold regular town halls across the district.<br/><br/>\n</p>\nMost importantly listen. To the good, bad, and ugly. We do not always view things from the same lens but when we get out of the weeds and get down to business we often agree far more than we disagree. It's time to have a little more humility from our elected officials.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse4-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading4-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse4-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse4-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat legacy would you like to leave?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading4-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse4-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tWhen my time is done I would like to be remembered as someone who stood for not only what they believed in but for right. For my legacy to be centered on selflessness, honesty, and accountability. For even that those that might disagree with me to honestly say that they trusted my intention and my word.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse5-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading5-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse5-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse5-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading5-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse5-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tOur greatest challenge is bridging the economic gaps between the small group at the top and hardworking Americans. That separation is guarded by the manufactured partisan divides driven by corporate media with no guardrails on the truth.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse6-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading6-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse6-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse6-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat are your thoughts on term limits?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading6-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse6-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tExperience is important. But with 330 million Americans and our population growing leadership shouldn't be reserved to a select few hundred.<br/><br/>\n<p>I support a limit on consecutive terms. Say 4 terms in the House, a total of 8 years, you could then run for higher or lower office but not for US House again. After 2 terms, 4 years, you could be eligible again. This is just an example that could apply to other offices.<br/><br/>\n</p>\nThe goal is to eliminate the overwhelming advantage of incumbency. If you do a respectable job and the voters want to give you another round of holding office that opportunity exists but you have to do more to earn it than get elected and immediately start campaigning for the next election and neglect your elected duties.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse7-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading7-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse7-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse7-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tDo you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading7-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse7-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tCompromise and negotiation are the fundamentals upon which our government was created.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse8-359809-2025-11-22\" id=\"heading8-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse8-359809-2025-11-22\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse8-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat legislation would you enact related to election administration in the United States?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading8-359809-2025-11-22\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse8-359809-2025-11-22\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tI fully support automatic, compulsory voter registration using the Social Security identification system. Where when a Social Security number is issued with that person's date of birth, upon the 18th birthday that person is automatically registered to vote.<br/><br/>\n<p>States would then be left to maintain voter files according to Social Security records and voter registration should no longer be a weapon of suppression.<br/><br/>\r\nAs for the act of casting ballots there should be independent state boards responsible for redistricting and administering elections where votes are cast on paper and tabulated by electronic readers that will allow for hand, visual recount and audits.<br/><br/>\n</p>\nMail-in ballots have been safe and utilized especially by overseas military personnel for centuries and should not be a weapon of voter suppression.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div></div>\n<div class=\"small\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><p><i><b>Note:</b> Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.</i></p></div>\n<div><div style=\"margin-bottom:1.5rem\"><h4>Campaign website</h4><p>Caudle's campaign website stated the following:</p><div style=\"max-height:400px;overflow-y:auto;border:1px solid #ccc;padding:10px;margin:20px\"><blockquote style=\"margin:0px\"><h3><strong><em>Policy Focus:</em></strong></h3><p><br/></p><h3>Government Reform &amp; Anti-Corruption</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>End Citizens United and Dark Money:</strong></p><p>Pass a constitutional amendment to stop billionaires and corporations from buying elections and restore power to the people.</p><p>2. <strong>Full Transparency in Campaign Finance:</strong></p><p>Require real-time disclosure of every dollar spent to influence elections so voters know who is funding politicians.</p><p>3. <strong>Real Accountability for Elected Officials and Government Officers:</strong></p><p>Eliminate blanket immunity, enforce the rule of law equally, and ensure public office or appointments never come with protection from consequences.</p><p>4. <strong>Ban Corruption and Insider Enrichment:</strong></p><p>Prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks, require blind trusts, and end self-enrichment using insider knowledge.</p><p>5. <strong>Restore Elections to Reflect the Will of the People:</strong></p><p>Pass a constitutional amendment that enacts independent redistricting, enact legislation that empowers independent election enforcement, and make voter registration automatic.</p><p>6. <strong>Open Up Democracy, Break the Two-Party Grip:</strong></p><p>Enact open primaries across the country, implement ranked-choice voting, and remove barriers for independent candidates and new political parties.</p><p>7. <strong>End Career Politics and Incumbent Advantage:</strong></p><p>Impose term limits, end pensions and lifetime perks for Congress, stop public dollars for incumbent campaign benefit, and return politics to a public service focus.</p><p>8. <strong>Restore the Fairness Doctrine and Extend It to All Media Platforms to Ensure Honesty and Accuracy, and Regulate Social Media:</strong></p><p>Restoring the Fairness Doctrine will limit propagandized media that divides our country, while ensuring more factual and accurate news coverage is given to matters of public importance. Regulating Social Media and placing strict age requirements for access will reduce polarization and negative impacts that far outweigh the positives on our children.</p><p>9. <strong>Take every step necessary to safe-guard our Republic from the threat of fascism and ignorance of the safe guards established by our Constitution from ever again gaining power in our country.</strong></p><p><br/></p><h3>Reassert the Constitutional Responsibilities of the Three Branches of Government</h3><p><br/></p><ol><li>Reform the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches to reflect their Constitutional mandate.</li><li>Ensure the system of checks and balances serves the nation as it was intended.</li><li>Lead Congress to serve as a deliberative, compromise body.</li><li>Congress actually meet its oversight responsibility.</li><li>Reassert Congress’ sole authority over declarations of military use and the power of the purse.</li></ol><p><br/></p><h3>Rebuild the Middle Class, Improve American Jobs, &amp; End the Rigged Economy</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Build a Bottom-Up Economy:</strong></p><p>Make economic growth start with worker’s wages and job security, not executive pay and shareholder profits.</p><p>2. <strong>Reward Work, Not Offshoring:</strong></p><p>Restructure corporate tax policy to reward companies that raise wages, provide benefits, and create jobs here at home; while penalizing shipping jobs overseas.</p><p>3. <strong>Free Workforce Training:</strong></p><p>Guarantee free retraining, apprenticeships, and trade certifications aligned with real labor needs through community colleges and employers.</p><p>4. <strong>Treat Skilled Trades as Essential Careers:</strong></p><p>Invest in trades as respected, high-skill professions that power local economies and upward mobility.</p><p>5. <strong>Restore Competition and Break Monopolies:</strong></p><p>Enforce antitrust laws to stop anti-competitive mergers, break up abusive monopolies, and protect farmers, workers, and small businesses.</p><p>6. <strong>Put Main Street First:</strong></p><p>Focus federal policy on strengthening local industry and small businesses instead of handing out corporate giveaways.</p><p>7. <strong>Expand Access to Capital and Credit:</strong></p><p>Protect affordable credit, simplify lending, and ensure small businesses have fair access to federal contracts.</p><p>8. <strong>Negotiate Trade that Protects Workers:</strong></p><p>Defend American manufacturing and middle-class jobs.</p><p>9. <strong>Protect Worker’s Rights and Safety:</strong></p><p>Defend the right to organize, enforce safe working conditions, and support fair wage standards without crushing small businesses.</p><p>10. <strong>Grow Communities, Not Just Corporate Profits:</strong></p><p>Invest in regional development so jobs, opportunity, and prosperity stay rooted in our communities.</p><p><br/></p><h3>Healthcare Reform, Affordability, &amp; Access</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Treat Healthcare as a Public Good:</strong></p><p>End profit-driven care and put patient’s health ahead of corporate margins.</p><p>2. <strong>Cap Costs for Working Families:</strong></p><p>Lower prescription drug prices and cap out-of-pocket cost so care is affordable.</p><p>3. <strong>Public Investment = Public Benefit:</strong></p><p>Require that federally funded medical research and development leads to lower consumer costs.</p><p>4. <strong>Universal Access to Basic Care:</strong></p><p>Guarantee low-cost preventative and primary care so problems are caught early.</p><p>5. <strong>Keep Decisions Between Patients and Doctors:</strong></p><p>Eliminate insurance and political interference in private medical decisions.</p><p>6. <strong>Break the Insurance Industry’s Grip:</strong></p><p>End practices that deny, delay, or override care for profit.</p><p>7. <strong>Defend and Strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA:</strong></p><p>Expand access, protect subsidies, and stabilize coverage; especially in rural and underserved communities.</p><p>8. <strong>Protect Rural Healthcare:</strong></p><p>Guarantee long-term funding for rural hospitals, clinics, and private medical practices.</p><p>9. <strong>Treat Mental Health and Addiction as Public Health Priorities:</strong></p><p>Expand access to care, establish expert treatment facilities, and support harm and risk reduction practices.</p><p>10. <strong>Hold Corporations Accountable for Addiction:</strong></p><p>Hold manufacturers accountable for deceptive practices and build public systems that support treatment, recovery, and families.</p><p><br/></p><h3>Public Education, Childcare, Family, &amp; Opportunity</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Public Education is the Bedrock of the Middle Class:</strong></p><p>A strong public education system is the most reliable engine of opportunity and upward mobility in America.</p><p>2. <strong>Education Creates Real Opportunity and Belief In That Opportunity:</strong></p><p>When students can see a future worth working toward, they commit to learning and believe their effort will pay off.</p><p>3. <strong>Education is the First Line of Crime Prevention:</strong></p><p>Strong schools reduce crime by equipping young people with skills, purpose, and pathways that make high-risk behavior less appealing.</p><p>4. <strong>Learning Builds Lifelong Economic and Personal Stability:</strong></p><p>A solid academic foundation leads to better jobs, innovation, higher earnings, and improved mental and emotional well-being.</p><p>5. <strong>Strong Schools Strengthen Communities:</strong></p><p>Public schools anchor communities, support local growth, and provide stability, identity, and shared purpose.</p><p>6. <strong>Childcare Should Not Be an Economic Barrier:</strong></p><p>Lack of safe, affordable childcare keeps parents out of the workforce and under financial strain.</p><p>7. <strong>Universal Pre-K and Community Childcare:</strong></p><p>Establish universal pre-school and affordable, community-based childcare so every child starts strong and every parent can work.</p><p>8. <strong>Support the Whole Child:</strong></p><p>Provide transportation, nutritious meals, and academic support in every public school so learning is not limited by zip code or income.</p><p>9. <strong>Education is Workforce Development:</strong></p><p>Schools should prepare students for real careers - college, trades, and skilled professions - aligned with local economic needs and global opportunity.</p><p>10. <strong>Invest Early, Pay Less Later:</strong></p><p>Every dollar invested in education and childcare reduces exponential future costs tied to crime, healthcare, and social welfare.</p><p>11. <strong>Paid Maternity &amp; Family Leave:</strong></p><p>Having and family and raising children is something every family should have the access to do. The first year is vital to the development of a child and both parents should have the opportunity to share in those treasured moments.</p><p><br/></p><h3>Housing &amp; Market Integrity</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Protect Homeownership as a Wealth Ladder:</strong></p><p>Promote policies that help families buy and build equity. So communities stabilize and generational wealth becomes possible again.</p><p>2. <strong>Fix Supply and Give Access to Appreciated Wealth:</strong></p><p>Work toward a policy that alleviates capital gains when selling to first-time homebuyers.</p><p>3. <strong>Require Verified Human Ownership of Single-family Homes:</strong></p><p>Limit single-family home purchases to individuals with verified identity, lawful presence, and full beneficial ownership disclosure. Ending the impacts of anonymous shell companies, institutional investors, and speculative buying. While also allowing for tracking and holding accountable a cap on investment property holdings. Mom and Pop owners can transfer to an LLC after purchase.</p><p>4. <strong>Establish Sustainable First-time Homebuyer Assistance Programs:</strong></p><p>Create state-run programs funded through flat, upfront fees tied to investment purchases. Established to fund first-time homebuyer assistance programs.</p><p>5. <strong>Buy Down Interest Rates for Working Families:</strong></p><p>Offer automatic down-payment assistance and targeted rate buydowns using newly created public assistance programs; because cutting rates can save hundreds monthly.</p><p>6. <strong>Create Local Zoning Reform:</strong></p><p>Tie federal support to incentivize reforms to accommodate the “missing middle” housing opportunities (duplexes, ADU’s, small multi-family) where antiquated single-family-only restrictions dominate residential land.</p><p>7. <strong>Reduce the Affordability Crisis in the Housing Market:</strong></p><p>Implement smart, mutually-beneficial trade policies to lower cost of building supplies. While coupling the importance of wage growth to impacts on affordability.</p><p><br/></p><h3>Keeping Our Promises to Our Veterans &amp; Aging Population</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Treat Veteran Support as a Lifelong Commitment:</strong></p><p>End symbolic gestures and deliver real, sustained support for those who served.</p><p>2. <strong>Hold Government Accountable:</strong></p><p>Enforce strict oversight to ensure veterans receive the benefits they were promised; without delay or excuse.</p><p>3. <strong>Fully Fund Veteran Healthcare:</strong></p><p>Guarantee comprehensive, military-specific healthcare that meets the physical and psychological needs of veterans through a state-of-the-art healthcare system and community health network.</p><p>4. <strong>End Veteran Healthcare Delays and Denials:</strong></p><p>Eliminate bureaucratic barriers that prevent veterans from receiving timely care and full-benefits. No more needing to contact a member of Congress’ office to get an appointment at the VA for your family member.</p><p>5. <strong>Stop Trying to Save Money at Veteran’s Expense:</strong></p><p>Pass the Major Richard Star Act. And adhere to the idea that if a veteran earned a benefit they get 100% of it.</p><p>6. <strong>Prioritize Veteran Employment and Job Training:</strong></p><p>Translate military skills into civilian credentials and fast-track veterans into good paying jobs.</p><p>7. <strong>Guarantee a Strong Transition to Civilian Life:</strong></p><p>Expand housing, education, and employment programs that help veterans successfully reintegrate into civilian society.</p><p>8. <strong>Strengthen Mental Health and Long-term Care:</strong></p><p>Expand access to mental health, trauma care, and long-term care and provide support for aging populations and aging and disabled veterans.</p><p>9. <strong>Support Families &amp; Caregivers:</strong></p><p>Provide resources and protections for the families who support veterans and aging loved ones everyday.</p><p>10. <strong>Protect and Defend Social Security:</strong></p><p>This lifeline built the middle-class, it is not a bargaining chip. I will oppose any efforts to cut benefits or raise the retirement age.</p><p>11. <strong>Secure Social Security for the Future:</strong></p><p>Lift the payroll tax cap so that high earners pay their fair share and modernize corporate contributions by basing Social Security taxes on total profits to ensure long-term solvency for generations to come.</p><p><br/></p><h3>Agriculture, Land, &amp; Environmental Stewardship</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Put Family Farms First:</strong></p><p>Guarantee fair pricing, strengthen antitrust enforcement, and expand access to low-interest credit so family farms can survive and compete.</p><p>2. <strong>End Agribusiness Monopolies:</strong></p><p>Break up consolidation that drives up seed, fertilizer, equipment, and other input costs while crushing farm profits.</p><p>3. <strong>Protect American Farmland from Foreign Ownership:</strong></p><p>Ban foreign governments and foreign-controlled entities from owning U.S. farmland and agribusiness assets.</p><p>4. <strong>Secure Domestic Food Supply:</strong></p><p>Strengthen regional processing, storage, and distribution chains to keep food affordable and resilient.</p><p>5. <strong>Support Direct-to-Consumer Farming:</strong></p><p>Expand farm to local, co-op, and regional market access so producers earn more while families get healthier options.</p><p>6. <strong>Promote Sustainable, Profitable Farming:</strong></p><p>Incentivize practices that protect soil and water without punishing farmers or reducing yields.</p><p>7. <strong>Support Crop Diversification and Innovation:</strong></p><p>Help producers transition to new crops that serve multiple industries, stabilize income, and expand local tax bases.</p><p>8. <strong>Protect Forests, Parks, and Working Land:</strong></p><p>Preserve public lands and forests for long-term use, conservation, recreation, and local economic benefit.</p><p>9. <strong>Keep Rural Economies Strong:</strong></p><p>Align agricultural policy with rural infrastructure, workforce development, and community needs to promote healthy, sustaining growth.</p><p>10. <strong>Legalize and Regulate Cannabis/Hemp Production:</strong></p><p>Establish clear, secure legalization and oversight with a fair tax framework to support farmers, fund restorative justice, and finally end the failed War of Drugs.</p><p><br/></p><h3>Energy Security &amp; Public Utilities</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Build a Modern New Deal Federal Public Works Workforce:</strong></p><p>Create good-paying public jobs to rebuild infrastructure and strengthen the middle class.</p><p>2. <strong>Make Infrastructure a National Priority:</strong></p><p>Treat roads, bridges, water systems, energy, and broadband as essential public goods.</p><p>3. <strong>Modernize the National Energy Grid:</strong></p><p>Invest in resilient, secure grid infrastructure that can withstand storms, cyber threats, and rising demand.</p><p>4. <strong>Treat Electricity as an Affordable Public Utility:</strong></p><p>Enforce strict oversight of regulated utilities and end monopoly abuse and price gouging.</p><p>5. <strong>Support a Well-Regulated American Fossil Fuel Industry:</strong></p><p>Maintain responsible domestic oil and gas production that protects workers, land, and water while strengthening energy independence.</p><p>6. <strong>Invest in Clean, Next-Generation Energy Sources:</strong></p><p>Accelerate renewable, storage, and grid technologies alongside domestic technology development and production.</p><p>7. <strong>Lower Energy Costs and Strengthen National Security:</strong></p><p>Use smart energy policy to reduce household bills and cut reliance on foreign energy sources.</p><p>8. <strong>Repair and Expand Transportation Networks:</strong></p><p>Repair and expand highways and bridges, while also expanding rail and bus systems to bolster public transit and regional mobility.</p><p>9. <strong>Improve Flood Control and Water Infrastructure:</strong></p><p>Upgrade dams, levees, and drainage systems to protect communities and farmland.</p><p>10. <strong>Rehabilitate Public Parks and Lands:</strong></p><p>Restore public lands and parks for conservation, tourism, and community benefit.</p><p><br/></p><h3>Immigration Reform, Fairness, &amp; Public Safety</h3><p><br/></p><p>1. <strong>Create Clear, Earned Pathways to Citizenship:</strong></p><p>Establish legal, affordable, structured pathways to citizenship for long-term, law-abiding immigrants who work, pay taxes, and contribute to their communities.</p><p>2. <strong>Secure the Border &amp; Fix the Legal System at the Same Time:</strong></p><p>Invest in border security, technology, and staffing while expanding lawful visas tied to real workforce needs and background checks.</p><p>3. <strong>End Exploitation of Immigrant Labor:</strong></p><p>Enforce wage, safety, and labor laws so employers cannot use immigration status to underpay or abuse workers. Penalize employers who use undocumented labor to drive down wages.</p><p>4. <strong>Require Fair Tax Contribution from All Workers:</strong></p><p>Ensure all workers are registered, documented, and paying payroll and income taxes so no one is working off the books. Modernize employment verification to ensure legal hiring while preventing discrimination and abuse.</p><p>5. <strong>Focus Law Enforcement on Real Threats:</strong></p><p>Prioritize the investigation and prosecution of violent crime, trafficking, smuggling, and exploitation. Not families and workers.</p><p>6. <strong>Support Legal Status for Essential Workers:</strong></p><p>Provide expedited legal status for workers in critical sectors like agriculture, construction, healthcare, education, and manufacturing.</p><p>7. <strong>Speed Up Immigration Courts and Processing:</strong></p><p>Clear backlogs with more judges and streamlined procedures so cases are resolved fairly and efficiently. While respecting the rights of those who follow the system and report as required.</p><p>8. <strong>Restore Order with Humanity and the Rule of Law:</strong></p><p>Uphold Constitutional protections for everyone. Replace chaos and political theater with an immigration system that is firm, fair, easily navigated, affordable, and consistent.</p></blockquote><div style=\"text-align: right; font-size: 0.9em; color: #555; margin-top: 0.5em;\"><p style=\"font-size:0.9em;color:#555\">— West Caudle's <a href=\"https://www.westcaudleforcongress.com/issues\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">campaign website</a> (February 12, 2026)</p></div></div></div><div style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0.5em;\"><i>Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.</i></div></div>", "answer_text": "See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection\n\nWest Caudle completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Caudle's responses.\nExpand all | Collapse all\nWho are you? Tell us about yourself. I am West Caudle, a life-long resident of Northwest North Carolina. My family goes back over six generations to the same family farm in Yadkin County, North Carolina. With professional experience in local law enforcement, as a public school teacher, a small business owner, and in the public business sector in management and consulting roles; I bring a wide scope and vision for addressing the many issues that tear at the fabric of our society. I have watched as politicians from both sides of the aisle have made promises and failed repeatedly to make good on them. In our rural communities farmers have been left by the wayside as land sits idle, input costs skyrocket, and returns dwindle. In our towns and cities communities are left behind as factories close and small businesses have to fight tooth and nail to survive. Kids graduate and move away. Access to retail and food stores are a haul. Local schools go underfunded, overcrowded, and in need of costly repairs. In short not only do we deserve better but better is possible with leadership willing to fight for the communities we call home, answer to the people, and not only say what they mean but mean what they say. We may not always agree, but I'll always listen and work to achieve the best outcomes for everyone. Ideology can separate us but on the details I've found that we often agree. I love our home and I humbly ask that you support me in my mission to deliver for our area, our families, and our future. Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? The cost of living is outrageous, out of touch, unnecessary, etc. I will always put people over corporate profits and that is going to make me a lot of wealthy opposition. I will work tirelessly to solve the affordability crisis gripping the nation. We shouldn't be faced with the decision to put gas in the car to get to work or get groceries for the week. Kids shouldn't show up to school tired and hungry. Families should be able to afford quality child care. The list goes on but life is meant to be lived and we shouldn't have the joy of life squeezed out of us just to survive. Healthcare should not be an economic system.\r\n\r\nIn the United States a medical issue should never bankrupt someone. Insurance companies should not profit billions of dollars off the hard working people simply trying to survive or have a say in what procedure or medication you can have.\r\n\r\nMost importantly, medical decisions are between the patient and the physician. Politicians have more than enough to worry about instead of attempting to legislate what someone can and cannot do with their body. Education and opportunity. These two things can and will solve almost every ill we get hung up on.\r\n\r\nFully funded public education, affordable college/university education, skilled trade training and apprenticeships. Each of these leads to a top of the line work force, innovators and innovation, job creation, and a thriving economy.\r\n\r\nWhen people succeed, we succeed. Success keeps families together and crime decreases. When petty crime decreases as a way of survival, violence and addiction shrink.\r\n\r\nFully fund public education and watch us take off. What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Public Education, Public Safety, Veterans and Military Affairs, Worker's Rights and Workforce Development, Agriculture, and Small Business Development. What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official? Integrity, honesty, selflessness, compassion, willingness to listen, adaptability, accountability, empathy, and a servants heart. What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office? As someone elected to represent the people, that responsibility applies in representing all constituents not just those that fall under a party affiliation. We must be out in the communities we represent for more than photo-ops and small group speeches. Hold regular regional office hours, be approachable, hold regular town halls across the district. Most importantly listen. To the good, bad, and ugly. We do not always view things from the same lens but when we get out of the weeds and get down to business we often agree far more than we disagree. It's time to have a little more humility from our elected officials. What legacy would you like to leave? When my time is done I would like to be remembered as someone who stood for not only what they believed in but for right. For my legacy to be centered on selflessness, honesty, and accountability. For even that those that might disagree with me to honestly say that they trusted my intention and my word. What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade? Our greatest challenge is bridging the economic gaps between the small group at the top and hardworking Americans. That separation is guarded by the manufactured partisan divides driven by corporate media with no guardrails on the truth. What are your thoughts on term limits? Experience is important. But with 330 million Americans and our population growing leadership shouldn't be reserved to a select few hundred. I support a limit on consecutive terms. Say 4 terms in the House, a total of 8 years, you could then run for higher or lower office but not for US House again. After 2 terms, 4 years, you could be eligible again. This is just an example that could apply to other offices. The goal is to eliminate the overwhelming advantage of incumbency. If you do a respectable job and the voters want to give you another round of holding office that opportunity exists but you have to do more to earn it than get elected and immediately start campaigning for the next election and neglect your elected duties. Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking? Compromise and negotiation are the fundamentals upon which our government was created. What legislation would you enact related to election administration in the United States? I fully support automatic, compulsory voter registration using the Social Security identification system. Where when a Social Security number is issued with that person's date of birth, upon the 18th birthday that person is automatically registered to vote. States would then be left to maintain voter files according to Social Security records and voter registration should no longer be a weapon of suppression. As for the act of casting ballots there should be independent state boards responsible for redistricting and administering elections where votes are cast on paper and tabulated by electronic readers that will allow for hand, visual recount and audits. Mail-in ballots have been safe and utilized especially by overseas military personnel for centuries and should not be a weapon of voter suppression.\nNote: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.\nCampaign website Caudle's campaign website stated the following: Policy Focus: Government Reform & Anti-Corruption 1. End Citizens United and Dark Money: Pass a constitutional amendment to stop billionaires and corporations from buying elections and restore power to the people. 2. Full Transparency in Campaign Finance: Require real-time disclosure of every dollar spent to influence elections so voters know who is funding politicians. 3. Real Accountability for Elected Officials and Government Officers: Eliminate blanket immunity, enforce the rule of law equally, and ensure public office or appointments never come with protection from consequences. 4. Ban Corruption and Insider Enrichment: Prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks, require blind trusts, and end self-enrichment using insider knowledge. 5. Restore Elections to Reflect the Will of the People: Pass a constitutional amendment that enacts independent redistricting, enact legislation that empowers independent election enforcement, and make voter registration automatic. 6. Open Up Democracy, Break the Two-Party Grip: Enact open primaries across the country, implement ranked-choice voting, and remove barriers for independent candidates and new political parties. 7. End Career Politics and Incumbent Advantage: Impose term limits, end pensions and lifetime perks for Congress, stop public dollars for incumbent campaign benefit, and return politics to a public service focus. 8. Restore the Fairness Doctrine and Extend It to All Media Platforms to Ensure Honesty and Accuracy, and Regulate Social Media: Restoring the Fairness Doctrine will limit propagandized media that divides our country, while ensuring more factual and accurate news coverage is given to matters of public importance. Regulating Social Media and placing strict age requirements for access will reduce polarization and negative impacts that far outweigh the positives on our children. 9. Take every step necessary to safe-guard our Republic from the threat of fascism and ignorance of the safe guards established by our Constitution from ever again gaining power in our country. Reassert the Constitutional Responsibilities of the Three Branches of Government Reform the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches to reflect their Constitutional mandate. Ensure the system of checks and balances serves the nation as it was intended. Lead Congress to serve as a deliberative, compromise body. Congress actually meet its oversight responsibility. Reassert Congress’ sole authority over declarations of military use and the power of the purse. Rebuild the Middle Class, Improve American Jobs, & End the Rigged Economy 1. Build a Bottom-Up Economy: Make economic growth start with worker’s wages and job security, not executive pay and shareholder profits. 2. Reward Work, Not Offshoring: Restructure corporate tax policy to reward companies that raise wages, provide benefits, and create jobs here at home; while penalizing shipping jobs overseas. 3. Free Workforce Training: Guarantee free retraining, apprenticeships, and trade certifications aligned with real labor needs through community colleges and employers. 4. Treat Skilled Trades as Essential Careers: Invest in trades as respected, high-skill professions that power local economies and upward mobility. 5. Restore Competition and Break Monopolies: Enforce antitrust laws to stop anti-competitive mergers, break up abusive monopolies, and protect farmers, workers, and small businesses. 6. Put Main Street First: Focus federal policy on strengthening local industry and small businesses instead of handing out corporate giveaways. 7. Expand Access to Capital and Credit: Protect affordable credit, simplify lending, and ensure small businesses have fair access to federal contracts. 8. Negotiate Trade that Protects Workers: Defend American manufacturing and middle-class jobs. 9. Protect Worker’s Rights and Safety: Defend the right to organize, enforce safe working conditions, and support fair wage standards without crushing small businesses. 10. Grow Communities, Not Just Corporate Profits: Invest in regional development so jobs, opportunity, and prosperity stay rooted in our communities. Healthcare Reform, Affordability, & Access 1. Treat Healthcare as a Public Good: End profit-driven care and put patient’s health ahead of corporate margins. 2. Cap Costs for Working Families: Lower prescription drug prices and cap out-of-pocket cost so care is affordable. 3. Public Investment = Public Benefit: Require that federally funded medical research and development leads to lower consumer costs. 4. Universal Access to Basic Care: Guarantee low-cost preventative and primary care so problems are caught early. 5. Keep Decisions Between Patients and Doctors: Eliminate insurance and political interference in private medical decisions. 6. Break the Insurance Industry’s Grip: End practices that deny, delay, or override care for profit. 7. Defend and Strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA: Expand access, protect subsidies, and stabilize coverage; especially in rural and underserved communities. 8. Protect Rural Healthcare: Guarantee long-term funding for rural hospitals, clinics, and private medical practices. 9. Treat Mental Health and Addiction as Public Health Priorities: Expand access to care, establish expert treatment facilities, and support harm and risk reduction practices. 10. Hold Corporations Accountable for Addiction: Hold manufacturers accountable for deceptive practices and build public systems that support treatment, recovery, and families. Public Education, Childcare, Family, & Opportunity 1. Public Education is the Bedrock of the Middle Class: A strong public education system is the most reliable engine of opportunity and upward mobility in America. 2. Education Creates Real Opportunity and Belief In That Opportunity: When students can see a future worth working toward, they commit to learning and believe their effort will pay off. 3. Education is the First Line of Crime Prevention: Strong schools reduce crime by equipping young people with skills, purpose, and pathways that make high-risk behavior less appealing. 4. Learning Builds Lifelong Economic and Personal Stability: A solid academic foundation leads to better jobs, innovation, higher earnings, and improved mental and emotional well-being. 5. Strong Schools Strengthen Communities: Public schools anchor communities, support local growth, and provide stability, identity, and shared purpose. 6. Childcare Should Not Be an Economic Barrier: Lack of safe, affordable childcare keeps parents out of the workforce and under financial strain. 7. Universal Pre-K and Community Childcare: Establish universal pre-school and affordable, community-based childcare so every child starts strong and every parent can work. 8. Support the Whole Child: Provide transportation, nutritious meals, and academic support in every public school so learning is not limited by zip code or income. 9. Education is Workforce Development: Schools should prepare students for real careers - college, trades, and skilled professions - aligned with local economic needs and global opportunity. 10. Invest Early, Pay Less Later: Every dollar invested in education and childcare reduces exponential future costs tied to crime, healthcare, and social welfare. 11. Paid Maternity & Family Leave: Having and family and raising children is something every family should have the access to do. The first year is vital to the development of a child and both parents should have the opportunity to share in those treasured moments. Housing & Market Integrity 1. Protect Homeownership as a Wealth Ladder: Promote policies that help families buy and build equity. So communities stabilize and generational wealth becomes possible again. 2. Fix Supply and Give Access to Appreciated Wealth: Work toward a policy that alleviates capital gains when selling to first-time homebuyers. 3. Require Verified Human Ownership of Single-family Homes: Limit single-family home purchases to individuals with verified identity, lawful presence, and full beneficial ownership disclosure. Ending the impacts of anonymous shell companies, institutional investors, and speculative buying. While also allowing for tracking and holding accountable a cap on investment property holdings. Mom and Pop owners can transfer to an LLC after purchase. 4. Establish Sustainable First-time Homebuyer Assistance Programs: Create state-run programs funded through flat, upfront fees tied to investment purchases. Established to fund first-time homebuyer assistance programs. 5. Buy Down Interest Rates for Working Families: Offer automatic down-payment assistance and targeted rate buydowns using newly created public assistance programs; because cutting rates can save hundreds monthly. 6. Create Local Zoning Reform: Tie federal support to incentivize reforms to accommodate the “missing middle” housing opportunities (duplexes, ADU’s, small multi-family) where antiquated single-family-only restrictions dominate residential land. 7. Reduce the Affordability Crisis in the Housing Market: Implement smart, mutually-beneficial trade policies to lower cost of building supplies. While coupling the importance of wage growth to impacts on affordability. Keeping Our Promises to Our Veterans & Aging Population 1. Treat Veteran Support as a Lifelong Commitment: End symbolic gestures and deliver real, sustained support for those who served. 2. Hold Government Accountable: Enforce strict oversight to ensure veterans receive the benefits they were promised; without delay or excuse. 3. Fully Fund Veteran Healthcare: Guarantee comprehensive, military-specific healthcare that meets the physical and psychological needs of veterans through a state-of-the-art healthcare system and community health network. 4. End Veteran Healthcare Delays and Denials: Eliminate bureaucratic barriers that prevent veterans from receiving timely care and full-benefits. No more needing to contact a member of Congress’ office to get an appointment at the VA for your family member. 5. Stop Trying to Save Money at Veteran’s Expense: Pass the Major Richard Star Act. And adhere to the idea that if a veteran earned a benefit they get 100% of it. 6. Prioritize Veteran Employment and Job Training: Translate military skills into civilian credentials and fast-track veterans into good paying jobs. 7. Guarantee a Strong Transition to Civilian Life: Expand housing, education, and employment programs that help veterans successfully reintegrate into civilian society. 8. Strengthen Mental Health and Long-term Care: Expand access to mental health, trauma care, and long-term care and provide support for aging populations and aging and disabled veterans. 9. Support Families & Caregivers: Provide resources and protections for the families who support veterans and aging loved ones everyday. 10. Protect and Defend Social Security: This lifeline built the middle-class, it is not a bargaining chip. I will oppose any efforts to cut benefits or raise the retirement age. 11. Secure Social Security for the Future: Lift the payroll tax cap so that high earners pay their fair share and modernize corporate contributions by basing Social Security taxes on total profits to ensure long-term solvency for generations to come. Agriculture, Land, & Environmental Stewardship 1. Put Family Farms First: Guarantee fair pricing, strengthen antitrust enforcement, and expand access to low-interest credit so family farms can survive and compete. 2. End Agribusiness Monopolies: Break up consolidation that drives up seed, fertilizer, equipment, and other input costs while crushing farm profits. 3. Protect American Farmland from Foreign Ownership: Ban foreign governments and foreign-controlled entities from owning U.S. farmland and agribusiness assets. 4. Secure Domestic Food Supply: Strengthen regional processing, storage, and distribution chains to keep food affordable and resilient. 5. Support Direct-to-Consumer Farming: Expand farm to local, co-op, and regional market access so producers earn more while families get healthier options. 6. Promote Sustainable, Profitable Farming: Incentivize practices that protect soil and water without punishing farmers or reducing yields. 7. Support Crop Diversification and Innovation: Help producers transition to new crops that serve multiple industries, stabilize income, and expand local tax bases. 8. Protect Forests, Parks, and Working Land: Preserve public lands and forests for long-term use, conservation, recreation, and local economic benefit. 9. Keep Rural Economies Strong: Align agricultural policy with rural infrastructure, workforce development, and community needs to promote healthy, sustaining growth. 10. Legalize and Regulate Cannabis/Hemp Production: Establish clear, secure legalization and oversight with a fair tax framework to support farmers, fund restorative justice, and finally end the failed War of Drugs. Energy Security & Public Utilities 1. Build a Modern New Deal Federal Public Works Workforce: Create good-paying public jobs to rebuild infrastructure and strengthen the middle class. 2. Make Infrastructure a National Priority: Treat roads, bridges, water systems, energy, and broadband as essential public goods. 3. Modernize the National Energy Grid: Invest in resilient, secure grid infrastructure that can withstand storms, cyber threats, and rising demand. 4. Treat Electricity as an Affordable Public Utility: Enforce strict oversight of regulated utilities and end monopoly abuse and price gouging. 5. Support a Well-Regulated American Fossil Fuel Industry: Maintain responsible domestic oil and gas production that protects workers, land, and water while strengthening energy independence. 6. Invest in Clean, Next-Generation Energy Sources: Accelerate renewable, storage, and grid technologies alongside domestic technology development and production. 7. Lower Energy Costs and Strengthen National Security: Use smart energy policy to reduce household bills and cut reliance on foreign energy sources. 8. Repair and Expand Transportation Networks: Repair and expand highways and bridges, while also expanding rail and bus systems to bolster public transit and regional mobility. 9. Improve Flood Control and Water Infrastructure: Upgrade dams, levees, and drainage systems to protect communities and farmland. 10. Rehabilitate Public Parks and Lands: Restore public lands and parks for conservation, tourism, and community benefit. Immigration Reform, Fairness, & Public Safety 1. Create Clear, Earned Pathways to Citizenship: Establish legal, affordable, structured pathways to citizenship for long-term, law-abiding immigrants who work, pay taxes, and contribute to their communities. 2. Secure the Border & Fix the Legal System at the Same Time: Invest in border security, technology, and staffing while expanding lawful visas tied to real workforce needs and background checks. 3. End Exploitation of Immigrant Labor: Enforce wage, safety, and labor laws so employers cannot use immigration status to underpay or abuse workers. Penalize employers who use undocumented labor to drive down wages. 4. Require Fair Tax Contribution from All Workers: Ensure all workers are registered, documented, and paying payroll and income taxes so no one is working off the books. Modernize employment verification to ensure legal hiring while preventing discrimination and abuse. 5. Focus Law Enforcement on Real Threats: Prioritize the investigation and prosecution of violent crime, trafficking, smuggling, and exploitation. Not families and workers. 6. Support Legal Status for Essential Workers: Provide expedited legal status for workers in critical sectors like agriculture, construction, healthcare, education, and manufacturing. 7. Speed Up Immigration Courts and Processing: Clear backlogs with more judges and streamlined procedures so cases are resolved fairly and efficiently. While respecting the rights of those who follow the system and report as required. 8. Restore Order with Humanity and the Rule of Law: Uphold Constitutional protections for everyone. Replace chaos and political theater with an immigration system that is firm, fair, easily navigated, affordable, and consistent. — West Caudle's campaign website (February 12, 2026) Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source."}]