Congressional candidates’ responses to religious voters guide provide some last-minute insight

Though the 10 candidates running to represent Eastern Washington in Congress have submitted to extensive media questioning on their policy positions in recent months, the answers a few provided to the religious iVoterGuide’s surveys provide additional insight into their personal values and politics, including on gay marriage and voter ID laws.

The Mississippi-based iVoterGuide, a division of American Family Association Action, offers to help voters decide “which candidates on your ballot really stand for your biblical values” with questionnaires about issues including abortion, religious liberty and the power of the federal government.

Three Republican candidates, including Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle, Ferry County Commissioner Brian Dansel and disabled veteran Rick Valentine Flynn, each filled out the organization’s questionnaire, as did Kootenai County Deputy Prosecutor and Democratic candidate Matthew Welde.

For the candidates running for an open seat in the 5th Congressional District, many of the policy positions covered by iVoterGuide’s questionnaire have been covered elsewhere, including in debates or The Spokesman-Review’s own policy questionnaire.

However, there were a number of positions addressed by the religious group’s questions not covered elsewhere. The organization asked candidates whether they believed marriage was defined as a “sacred and legal union of one man and one woman” and that no government could weigh in on that issue.

Welde strongly disagreed, Flynn answered “neutral” and said fighting against gay marriage was politically toxic, while Bingle and Dansel bother strongly agreed. In a brief interview, Dansel said that was a personal belief and added that the government should not be involved in the marriage of private individuals; Bingle said he would not vote for legislation supporting the concept of gay marriage.

Candidates were also asked whether they supported eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. Welde and Flynn both strongly disagreed, while Dansel and Bingle both strongly agreed.

Dansel also clarified his position on abortion access in the iVoterGuide. In conversation with The Spokesman-Review, he had declined to say whether he would support a federal abortion ban; in his reply to iVoterGuide, he emphasized that the issue was up to the states, and that he supports passing “strong pro-life laws at the state level.”

The questionnaire also dug into candidates’ positions on issues related to transgender people, including whether trans women should be barred from participating in women’s sports or “occupy women’s spaces” – Bingle, Dansel and Flynn all strongly agreed, while Welde chose not to answer. When asked whether children should be protected from abuse, “including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation,” Bingle, Dansel and Flynn again strongly agreed, while Welde chose not to answer.

Most candidates running for the 5th District did not respond to iVoterGuide’s candidate questionnaire.

The local organization We Believe We Vote, which typically produces similar questionnaires, was not able to complete a primary election guide due to technical difficulties, and instead pointed voters to the iVoterGuide.