There are steps to ensure Kansas remains on the right path, Patrick Schmidt said Thursday.
In fact, some of those steps have already been taken, he offered.
Schmidt, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer running for Congress, stopped by Iola’s Fillmore Coffee House to visit with a dozen or so residents, where he touched on a number of topics, from jobs and infrastructure to healthcare and green energy.
Schmidt is the Democratic nominee for Congress challenging Rep. Jake LaTurner, the Republican incumbent, in the Nov. 8 general election.
“I’m encouraged by what we’ve been able to do,” Schmidt said of his candidacy, and the growth of those registered as Democrats for the Aug. 2 primary.
He noted Kansas had the single biggest shift in its electorate for the Aug. 2 on the constitutional amendment vote on abortion.
That swing led to a convincing win for those who said abortion should remain a right under the Kansas constitution.
“There are a lot of issues at stake,” Schmidt said. “Kansas issues, economic issues, simple freedoms.”
And many are connected.
He pointed to a pair of pieces of federal legislation, the CHIPS and Science bill authorizing $52 billion in subsidies for semiconductor chip production and boosting funding for research; and the federal infrastructure bill as a boon to Kansas.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in the East China Sea,” Schmidt said, of his time in the Navy. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the South China Sea. I’ve spent more time on a ship than I wanted to because of China.”
China’s rapid militarization should remain a top focus for the United States.
“We’re being challenged and threatened in ways we haven’t been since World War II, all over the world, but especially in the Western Pacific,” Schmidt said.
The semiconductor chip bill “is an incredible piece of legislation that should secure our supply chain and bring jobs to the United States,” he concluded. “Every windmill and solar panel we can build here is one we’re not buying in China.”
Other conflicts, such as the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine proves investment for green energy jobs should remain in the United States, he continued.
