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Claire Ragge
Claire Ragge (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 36th Congressional District. Ragge lost in the primary on June 7, 2022.
Biography
Claire Ragge was born in Freeport, New York, and lives in Los Angeles, California. Ragge earned a B.A. from the University of Southern California. Her career experience includes owning The GasLite.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: California's 36th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 36
Incumbent Ted Lieu defeated Joe Collins in the general election for U.S. House California District 36 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ted Lieu (D) | 69.8 | 194,299 |
 | Joe Collins (R)  | 30.2 | 84,264 | |
| Total votes: 278,563 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 36
The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 36 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ted Lieu (D) | 67.1 | 122,969 |
| ✔ | | Joe Collins (R) | 13.4 | 24,553 |
 | Derrick Gates (R) | 5.6 | 10,263 | |
 | Ariana Hakami (R) | 5.3 | 9,760 | |
 | Claire Ragge (R) | 4.0 | 7,351 | |
| Colin Kilpatrick Obrien (D) | 3.4 | 6,221 | ||
 | Steve Williams (Independent) | 0.6 | 1,180 | |
 | Matthew Jesuele (Independent) | 0.5 | 976 | |
| Total votes: 183,273 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Storm Jenkins (R)
- Mitchell Battersby (D)
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Claire Ragge did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Ragge's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Economy/Inflation Our leaders have outsourced American manufacturing and jobs for decades, forcing us to obtain essential supplies and medicine from other countries, primarily China. For example, with the flick of a wrist, our President shut down the Keystone Pipeline, destroying tens of thousands of American jobs, then enabled the reopening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that benefits Russia and China. America faced a fuel shortage as a result, causing prices to increase for hard-working American families. This also caused inflation on other items as shipping and energy costs rose. Further, it emboldened Putin to invade Ukraine. Our ensuing Russian oil boycott, without increasing fuel production here at home, has sent gas prices through the roof. Instead of flip-flopping back and forth, we need a common-sense, well thought-out approach to the economy—one that encourages businesses to manufacture in America, reduces reliance on other countries, provides jobs for Americans, and contributes to the American economy. We can turn this around, but we must act fast. ‘The Time is NOW!’
Crime plagues our neighborhoods. Murders, assaults, and robberies have risen dramatically in our community. The decriminalization of theft and other offenses, along with simultaneous calls to de-fund the police, have left many of our residents feeling unprotected. Our district attorney has refused to prosecute crimes, and has released violent criminals back onto our streets. We need and deserve leaders who care about us. We need full funding and training of police officers, and politicians who are compassionate yet tough on crime. We need to fully prosecute violent and career criminals. At the same time, we must review cases which do exist of over-zealous prosecution. There must be a balance, with citizen safety as the top priority. Lives are at stake and we must take action. ‘The Time is NOW!’
Our leaders have failed small business. They have shuttered the doors of small businesses due to COVID-19, then picked and chosen which ones they will allow to survive by providing them with grants. The un-chosen have not been so lucky. As many as 30% of small businesses have failed in our community due to COVID-19 lock-downs. The ones that have remained open struggle to stock their shelves due to the backup of cargo ships at our ports. Small businesses suffer under endless legislation and training requirements, enacted by politicians, most of whom have never hired an employee or owned a business of their own. It’s time to elect a leader with extensive small business experience who can help cut through the red tape and fight for this last bastion of the middle class. We must take action. ‘The Time is NOW!’
Instead of focusing on basic educational requirements such as reading, writing, science and math, our schools have come to serve as racist indoctrination camps, teaching children to judge each other based on the color of their skin. Educators who once espoused basic human rights such as freedom of speech, now shut down our conversations when we provide a healthy debate. Parents who speak out at school board meetings are investigated by the Department of Justice as domestic terrorists under the Patriot Act. This must not be tolerated in America. We must teach our children not to judge people by their race or religion. We must encourage parents to become involved in their children’s education, and we must bring back diversity of thought in public education and in our society. We must, once again, focus on teaching our children reading, writing, science and mathematics. We must get back to basics. ‘The Time is NOW!’
Our current political leaders have brought us dangerously close to the brink of nuclear war. By removing sanctions from Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, while simultaneously closing down our own Keystone Pipeline, the current administration forced Europe to become dependent on Putin instead of us for their energy needs. This enriched and emboldened Putin, and he began amassing troops along the border of Ukraine. Our leaders knew for months the invasion of Ukraine was coming and did very little to help. Our response under this administration has been way too late for the tens of thousands of people who have been injured and/or lost their lives. The current administration has not only brought us dangerously close to a nuclear war, they have also left America vulnerable to terrorist attacks. They surrendered to the Taliban in Afghanistan—an anti-Semitic, terrorist organization that packs young girls alive in coffins to be shipped abroad and used as sex slaves, and buries women up to their necks in sand before stoning them to death. The Taliban tracks down political opponents by going door-to-door and chopping off their heads and other body parts. Our current, one-party administration not only surrendered the war in Afghanistan to the Taliban, they also surrendered $85 billion worth of our best military equipment, along with Bagram Airfield, arguably the most strategic air force base in the region. Our current leaders disenfranchised our allies by not providing advance notice of the surrender, and by putting the Taliban in charge of security for the evacuation of Afghanistan. Needless to say, many Americans and allies could not get past these savage barbarians to get to the airport and, despite promises made by our current, one-party administration, were left behind to fend for themselves against this ruthless regime. With our allies disenfranchised, the current administration opened up our border, allowing hundreds of thousands of people per month, from over 150 different nations, to pour across unchecked—carrying Coronavirus, drugs, and, undoubtedly, weapons that can be used against Americans. While the Biden administration has either been asleep or in collusion, enough fentanyl has crossed our border to kill every single American. In fact, fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. We must secure our borders, shore up our relationships with allies, and provide the greatest service a country owes to its citizens—security. ‘The Time is NOW!’
Freedom of speech, provided by The First Amendment to the Constitution of The United States, has historically been praised by both Democrats and Republicans. Our forefathers understood that freedom of speech is necessary to prevent tyranny. Totalitarian regimes—whether they be in China, Russia, Iran, or elsewhere—limit speech and thereby limit the ability of their citizens to hear opposing views and think for themselves. In a totalitarian regime, opposing thought must be quashed at all costs. The party narrative becomes the only viewpoint allowed. The recent proliferation of violations to freedom of speech in our country should be a cause of concern for every American. President Biden, the highest elected official in our government, publicly, for all the world to see, asked media outlets to stop the spread of “misinformation”—information that opposes the government’s official viewpoint. In a totalitarian regime, it makes little difference where this information comes from—top scientists from Harvard, Oxford and Stanford, a Nobel-prize contending scientist who helped create the MRNA technology upon which we rely for our COVID-19 vaccines, a former President of the United States, a Presidential candidate’s son via his laptop, or an average citizen on Facebook who dares to contradict the officially permitted viewpoint on a subject. In a totalitarian regime, all information that opposes the official propaganda must be silenced. We are not a totalitarian regime. We must reclaim our right to hear all of the facts and to make up our own minds before it is too late. ‘The Time is NOW!’
Our current political leaders have enabled Mexican cartels to run multi-billion-dollar drug-smuggling and human trafficking operations on our borders. These cartels have transferred caravans filled with tens of thousands of people at a time into our country at fees ranging from $3,000 to $150,000 per head, depending on the country of origin. Migrant women have been raped and murdered along the way, and their bodies dumped on our border to be found by U.S. Border Patrol agents. For the migrant survivors, the remainder of the journey has been conducted by the U.S. government at taxpayer expense. We must never forget, at a time when small businesses were shut down at record rates due to Coronavirus, our elected leaders allowed the spread of Coronavirus in order to continue their human trafficking operations. Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating that the Trump era “Remain in Mexico” policy must be re-instated, the Biden administration continues to allow illegal immigrants to come across the border and continues to fly them throughout the country. This is a clear violation of the separation of powers provided by our Constitution, as would be seen in an authoritarian dictatorship. The Biden administration also continues to encourage this human trafficking operation through their silence, their blatant lack of enforcement of immigration laws, and by de-funding border patrol agents. We must take back control of our borders from the drug-smuggling and human trafficking rings that our current government enables, and once again enact compassionate, common sense immigration policies. ‘The Time is NOW!’
In our constitutional republic, a system of checks and balances works to form a legitimate government, approved of by the citizens through the electoral process. Thus, the first principle of government accountability is that of free and fair elections. The belief alone, that elections are not free and fair, can serve to undermine the legitimacy of a governing body. We must ensure that our elections are not only free and fair, but that the citizenship believes they are as well, which many on both sides currently do not. This faith must be restored. Only through free and fair elections can our democracy survive. We must assemble a bi-partisan, Warren-style commission to investigate any failures in our electoral system and to provide potential solutions. ‘The Time is NOW!’
Seniors find it more and more difficult to survive on a fixed income due to the rising cost of inflation. Any increase in social security benefits is quickly negated by higher prices on everyday items like food and toiletries, as well as escalating rates for Medicare and caregiver services. Communication commonly becomes difficult for seniors, who are not always well versed in the latest social media applications. Often isolated, seniors are especially susceptible to being taken advantage of by corrupt guardian-ships. The Coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for seniors to get the medical care they need for other ongoing ailments. We need to take better care of our seniors by keeping inflation in check with a good economy, and providing more programs to help seniors keep up with ever-changing technology so they can remain active participants in our society and share the wisdom they have acquired throughout their years. We need to cherish our seniors before it is too late. ‘The Time is NOW!’
President Biden joined The Paris Agreement to fight climate change, which currently places expensive restrictions on clean-energy American manufacturers, but allows the world’s largest carbon producer—China––to wait until 2030 to meet its requirements. Thus, more manufacturing jobs and plants move to China and other countries for lower costs, and global warming proliferates. Claiming ecological superiority, President Biden destroyed tens of thousands of American jobs by shutting down the Keystone Pipeline, yet he enabled the re-opening of the Nord Stream 2 AG pipeline that profits Russia and China—countries that lack the environmental safety protocols required in America. Whether naive or corrupt, the actions of our leaders have not only failed to decrease carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, they have resulted in higher costs on everyday items that must now be imported, like fuel, for hard-working American families. Environmentally sound policy requires that America become energy self-sufficient once again, and that we funnel jobs to America, where manufacturing can occur under our environmentally safe procedures. ‘The Time is NOW!’[2] |
” |
| —Claire Ragge's campaign website (2022)[3] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Claire Ragge For U.S. Congress, "Meet Claire," accessed June 10, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Claire Ragge For U.S. Congress, “On the Issues,” accessed May 24, 2022
