2 challengers hope to unseat Young in senate race
Democrat Tom McDermott and Libertarian James Sceniak are looking to unseat incumbent Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, in this year’s race for the U.S. Senate.
While Indiana hasn’t been a battleground state in recent years, two polls during the past two months indicate Young’s path to reelection isn’t assured.
James Sceniak
The third candidate in the race, Sceniak, is running for office for the first time. A behavioral therapist who works with autistic children, he’s running because he believes Washington politicians are “out of touch” with the needs of average people.
One of his biggest priorities if elected would be his Veterans Personal Care Account proposal.
The Libertarian candidate compared the idea to a health savings account – it would send some Veterans Affairs funds to those accounts, allowing veterans to choose what health care services to spend the money on.
“I believe I can get Democrats and Republicans on board with this specific bill,” Sceniak said.
Sceniak also focuses on “fiscal sanity” – balancing the budget and reducing spending at the federal level. He said, though, that those cuts wouldn’t come from things “everyday Hoosiers” would be affected by like Medicare and Medicaid.
“Right now, with the way Washington is spending our money and the way the country is going, we just keep kicking the can down,” he said. “The next generations are going to have to pay for that.”
Sceniak said he wants to address inflation by stopping the federal reserve from printing more money “so our money actually does have value.”
Regarding marijuana, Sceniak believes the government should de-schedule the drug, allowing it to be used medicinally across the country. He also believes basic drug possession should be treated as an addiction issue, not a criminal concern.
On immigration, Sceniak compared the US to a castle with a moat and a wide drawbridge.
“That drawbridge has to be wide for those who want to pursue the American dream,” he said, “who want to contribute to our society, who want to work in our society.”
He believes streamlining the vetting process for immigrants would reduce undocumented immigration to the U.S. as it would make the legal route less burdensome.
Finally, on abortion, Sceniak said that while he’s personally pro-life, he opposes bans on the procedure.
Instead, he believes that other policies – promoting birth control, teaching about safe sex and subsidizing adoption – will reduce the number of abortions in the country without criminalizing abortion care.