Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Mike Broihier
Mike Broihier (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Kentucky. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2020.
Broihier completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Broihier earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 1984 and a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1997. He was a Lieutenant Colonel with the United States Marine Corps and retired in 2005.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2020
United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)
United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Kentucky
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Kentucky on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mitch McConnell (R) | 57.8 | 1,233,315 |
 | Amy McGrath (D) | 38.2 | 816,257 | |
 | Brad Barron (L) | 4.0 | 85,386 | |
 | Paul John Frangedakis (Unaffiliated) (Write-in)  | 0.0 | 70 | |
 | Daniel Cobble (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 18 | |
 | Randall Lee Teegarden (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 9 | |
| Total votes: 2,135,055 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Derek Leonard Petteys (Reform Party)
- Alyssa Dara McDowell (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Amy McGrath | 45.4 | 247,037 |
 | Charles Booker | 42.6 | 231,888 | |
 | Mike Broihier | 5.0 | 27,175 | |
 | Mary Ann Tobin | 2.0 | 11,108 | |
 | Maggie Jo Hilliard | 1.1 | 6,224 | |
| Andrew Maynard | 1.1 | 5,974 | ||
 | Bennie Smith | 0.9 | 5,040 | |
 | Jimmy Ausbrooks | 0.7 | 3,629 | |
 | Eric Rothmuller | 0.6 | 2,995 | |
| John Sharpensteen | 0.5 | 2,992 | ||
| Total votes: 544,062 | |||
| = 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
- Kevin Elliott (D)
- Loretta Babalmoradi Noble (D)
- Matt Jones (D)
- Joshua Paul Edwards (D)
- Steven Cox (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kentucky on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mitch McConnell | 82.8 | 342,660 |
 | C. Wesley Morgan | 6.2 | 25,588 | |
| Louis Grider | 3.3 | 13,771 | ||
| Paul John Frangedakis | 2.9 | 11,957 | |
| Naren James | 2.6 | 10,693 | ||
| Kenneth Lowndes | 1.3 | 5,548 | ||
| Nicholas Alsager | 0.9 | 3,603 | ||
| Total votes: 413,820 | |||
| = 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
- Karl Das (R)
- Wendell Crow (R)
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Kentucky
Brad Barron advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Kentucky on March 7, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Barron (L) |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mike Broihier completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Broihier's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Social Justice (Women's reproductive rights, ending mass incarceration, care of veterans, commonsense gun reform) Economic Justice (Workers' right to organize, Paycheck Fairness, rewriting bankruptcy laws to place workers pay and benefits first) Rebuilding Appalachia and other coal extraction communities.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Veterans' issues: We can never break the social contract we have to care for those who've served. Women's reproductive rights: Roe v. Wade was decided correctly almost five decades ago. Period. Foreign relations: Talking is better than shooting. A robust, professional State Department forestalls paying the butcher's bill.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
I look up most to the Marine who commanded my battalion in Mogadishu 92-93. Kind of a pre-Mattis, Mattis. He came in peace but was more than happy to shoot at bad guys if that's what they wanted. He entrusted us junior Marines to do our jobs without supervision, kicked us in the butt when we needed it, but always backed us up if we made a mistake while trying to do the right thing. Funnily, he has said he can't back me because of my progressive positions. On the other hand, when I told him I was running, he said, "Mike, you are and will always be my Ishmael." So I've got that going for me.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
"War is a racket," by Smedley D. Butler. In which a legendary, highly-decorated Marine general realizes he spent a lot of his career killing people for American fruit companies. Also, later in his life, Butler was approached by American fascists to participate in a coup against FDR and he called the FBI.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Honesty. Integrity. Moral courage.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
Honesty. Integrity. Moral courage.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
Leading. An elected official will never be in agreement with all of his or her constituents but taking bold and aggressive positions that benefit them and are in the best interest of the nation will never be in the wrong.
What legacy would you like to leave?
"Here lie the mortal remains of the man who saved the Republic by ridding the nation of Mitch McConnell."
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
I remember my mother ironing clothes and sobbing while watching the news that Bobbie Kennedy had been murdered.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
I started changing car and truck tires at 15-years old and kept that job for 2-years. I asked for a day off because I needed to take my driver's test when I turned 16. My boss, who had me driving our snowplow and wrecker for a year, asked, "How the hell old are you???"
What happened on your most awkward date?
Slowly realized that my date was married and had to extricate myself.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
Summer Solstice. By June 21 we've been picking asparagus for three or four hours a day since late March. There is nothing agriculturally significant about this date, just one were we are about exhausted from the effort.
What is your favorite book? Why?
A Confederacy of Dunces most recently, but I have quite a few favorites.
If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
Huck Finn. He decided he'd rather go to hell than return his friend to slavery.
What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?
Not really big on "things," but I like the antique religious icons, totems and statues we've collected during our travels the world over. If I had to pick one, it's a menorah from Morocco that dates back to sometime after the Inquisition when Jews were welcomed there.
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
Wrong 'em Boyo-The Clash
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
I struggled rejecting my family's conservative religious and political views as I became less sure that they were: a)correct, and b)objective. It's hard to part from "family values" and I am saddened that my growth has distanced me from my kin.
What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?
Repairing our alliances with allies shoved aside and belittled by the current administration and reentering civil international discourse to address military, economic and environmental challenges.
What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?
Historically speaking, I admire the Senate's conduct that earned it the title "world's most deliberative body" but the artificial comity and hail-fellow-well-met behavior on the floor today is a thin veneer. The days of the deep thinkers and those who routinely and significantly worked across the aisle are probably long gone.
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for senators to have previous experience in government or politics?
No.
What do you think of the filibuster?
I think the weaponized filibuster has exposed a fundamental flaw in our system of government that allows a single person to defy the will of the nation.
What criteria would you apply when deciding whether to confirm presidential appointees?
I don't care about a person's religious beliefs, personal beliefs or origin story. I want to know what they know about the subject and how they will act when faced with challenges. Regarding judges, my firm rule is that I will not appoint anyone to a federal bench who does not agree that Roe v. Wade was properly decided almost 5 decades ago and is the law of the land.
Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other senators?
Absolutely. Regardless of party. Appalachia coal country will only be fully repaired and fairly compensated if representatives from Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia Alabama, Maryland and Tennessee are pulling in the same direction.
If you are not a current senator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
Veterans' Affairs, Rural Development and Energy, State Department and USAID Management.
If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. Senate, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?
I'd love to work with Senator Sanders on Outreach. Energizing the next generation of progressive voters by soliciting their priorities and working them into the legislative agenda so they feel a part of the party that wants to represent them.
Is there a particular senator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?
Maybe Mike Mansfield. He labored in mines, served in the Great War, changed his mind about early support for the Vietnam War and skillfully attained Republican support for the Civil Rights Act. Despite some of his flaws, I believe he always had the best interest of the nation at heart and was willing to support bipartisan action when deserved.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Broihier's campaign website stated the following: Issues
- Economic justice:
- Authorize Health and Human Services to directly negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. There is no reason for US customers to pay three times as much for prescription as customers in other countries.
- Provide immediate medical and mental healthcare options for honorably discharged veterans awaiting VA treatment. No veteran should be denied care while awaiting induction to the VA and subsequent treatment. Improve the Affordable Care Act by adding a public option to compete with private insurers.
- Repeal McConnell’s tax cuts for corporations and the super-rich.
- Raise income tax rates on the wealthiest earners and cut taxes for everyday Kentuckians.
- Address climate change and transform Appalachia and western Kentucky’s coalfields at the same time. Apply a small, fixed fee on every megawatt of commercially produced power earmarked for a fund to rebuild Appalachia and rural coal communities in western Kentucky and other states.
- Legalize marijuana, creating a source of revenue for Kentucky while reducing incarceration rates and eliminating the black market while creating a cash crop for small farmers in Kentucky and rural America.
- Raise the federal minimum wage to $10/hour and index it to the annual inflation rate. Mike sympathizes with those advocating for $15 and as senator will also work to pass legislation allowing local officials to set their own minimum wage higher.
- Federalize student loans. Any student at a public institution pursuing a degree or certification would be eligible for a zero percent loan. Defer repayment for those who enter public service. Refinance existing loans under the same terms.
- Social justice:
- Women must have equal rights and equal pay for equal work.
- Women have the fundamental right to privacy and to make their own medical decisions as decided by Roe v. Wade. Mike is the only Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate who has publicly stated that he will vote against confirming any judicial nominee who refuses to publicly acknowledge that Roe v. Wade is settled law and it was decided correctly.
- Provide LGBTQ Americans with the full protection of our nation’s federal anti-discrimination laws.
- Stop separating families. Release those migrants who have been fully vetted to their relatives in the U.S. or to a church or organization willing to sponsor them in order to relieve overcrowding in existing facilities and save taxpayers’ money.
- Support a commission to address the economic disparity that exists between white Americans and black Americans who are descendants of trafficked and enslaved persons.
- Mike agrees with President Reagan’s vision of America as a shining city on a hill whose “doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.” The US is a signatory to international treaties that outline protocols for the treatment of asylum seekers that require they be treated quickly, equitably and with dignity. It’s the law, and Mike will make sure our government follows it. But many immigrants don’t seek permanent status in the US, like those our farmers rely on for many agricultural jobs. With near full employment, Mike will move quickly to ease the process for those pursuing employment to legally transit the border. By pursuing comprehensive immigration reform, including reinstating DACA, we can move millions of workers out of the shadows of a cash economy and into one where they pay taxes while assuring their safety and security.
- The 2nd Amendment assures the right of citizens to keep and bear arms and with rights come great responsibility. Almost all gun owners agree with Mike that all gun sales should be cleared through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), closing the “Gun Show Loophole.” In addition, Mike believes that any device or modification that allows a semiautomatic weapon to fire like an automatic weapon should be banned and that all guns should be secured with a cable lock, trigger lock or in a gun locker when not. Mike also agrees that their should be reasonable restrictions on high capacity magazines like drums and magazines that extend beyond the grip of a pistol.|author=Mike Broihier's campaign website (2019)[2]
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
Economic and social justice for all. Is there anything you would like to add? For 35-years Kentucky Democrats have run Republican-lites. It doesn't work.[3] |
” |
| —Mike Broihier[1] | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form on September 11, 2019
- ↑ Mike Broihier's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed September 16, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
