SPRINGFIELD – Not enthralled with either of the two Establishment Party candidates running for governor, Illinois conservatives are looking for an alternative they can support in Illinois' November election.
At least that's what people are telling Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kash Jackson.
"I've been traveling the state for several months now, courting the Libertarian vote to get the party's nomination. But what I've learned is that people are completely disenchanted with the two mainstream parties, and they're looking for a viable alternative that comes from their background, that can relate to the middle-class American background. Someone that will fight for what they believe in," the Lake County resident said.
A key problem is that as a nation, Americans are polarized these days, he said.
"We've been pitted against each other in a variety of ways: religion against religion, man against woman, race against race, gay against straight, whatever," Jackson, 39, said. "The politicians and mainstream media is equally responsible for polarizing our country. I'm really opposed to that. I'll bring something completely different to this election. I seek to recognize our commonalities as Americans and human beings, and focus on that."
Jackson's background was featured over the weekend by State Journal Register's Bernie Schoenberg, who mentioned that the candidate retired from the military in a little over 10 years ago.
The big topic for Illinois voters in November will be how candidates plan to fix Illinois' financial crisis.
A place to start would be not spending more than the state takes in, Jackson said. "What about tying our tax revenues to the health of our economy? The state's spending is outgrowing the state's economic growth – that results in more and more debt," he said. "We need to reduce the state's taxes – including property taxes. It is immoral that we can tax our senior citizens out of their homes."
Jackson said he would like to see a 2/3 voter referendum before property taxes are raised anywhere. He favors transitioning towards a consumption tax over income taxes, fully aware such a change would demand a change in the legislature. "An income tax is immoral because it's not consensual," he said. "Several other states do not have income taxes and do just fine without them."
Like most Libertarians, Jackson is for legalizing cannabis and unlike many Libertarians, he's pro-life. He's also a staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights.
Jackson said he hopes to grow the Libertarian Party by encouraging down ballot races in legislative districts where incumbents are rarely challenged. He says he's confident the Party will surpass the five percent statewide vote threshold in November – a crucial goal for any "new party" in Illinois to become an established party.
As for gathering the needed 25,000 petitions signatures before June 25, Jackson says his team of volunteers are "ahead of schedule," and of course, can use more help.
For more information, see Jackson's website at www.kash2018.com.
More to come on this, an other races, in the days ahead …
