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The General Election is scheduled for Nov. 8, and in an effort to help inform the public, the Sun sent out a questionnaire designed to help the public know more about each candidate.

Every reasonable attempt was made to reach all candidates. Every candidate who responded will be included online and in print.

The answers have been edited for spelling and punctuation only. Each candidate was sent the following questions in the same order:

1. Would you tell us about your background, please?

2. Why are you the best candidate for this office?

3. What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

4. How would you address this issue in your elected office?

United States Senate

Charles Booker (D)

1. I’m a proud native of Louisville’s West End and a proud husband and father. I grew up in poverty and understand what it means to live with this insecurity. I have had to ration my insulin in order to provide food for my family, and I am a former State Rep. for District 43 in Louisville.

2. I’m the best candidate for this office because I want to bring real change to the lives of Kentuckians. While my opponent is focused on keeping things the same or making us even more hyper-individualized, I understand that we are a community that depends on each other for our livelihoods and that our policies should reflect that. From healthcare to social security to poverty reduction, these are all issues of justice that could be better. It will be my focus to address the immediate needs of the people of Kentucky, not just to sit back and let things play out as they always have.

3. The right to privacy. Rand Paul believes the government should force a pregnant person’s body to become state property. He believes even if a child is raped, they must give birth. He claims this topic should be left up to the states to decide, yet he introduced The Life at Conception Act.

4. I support codifying Roe v Wade in Congress. The right to privacy that the case for Roe v Wade was built upon is essential to many other rights and freedoms we enjoy in the United States today. With the codification of Roe, Kentuckians and women across the country will be ensured equitable access to necessary reproductive healthcare. I will not support legislation that makes women and those who can become pregnant state property.

Rand Paul (R)

1. My family and I live in Bowling Green, where I owned my ophthalmology practice and performed eye surgery for 18 years before being elected to the Senate in 2010. As a dedicated physician–not a career politician– I was sent to Washington to shake things up and make a difference for all Kentuckians.

2. Since being elected to the U.S. Senate, I’ve been a consistent advocate for Kentuckians by standing for fiscal responsibility and supporting local law enforcement. I will continue to fight back against reckless spending, the Defund the Police movement, and any radical liberal attempt to tear down our country and your way of life. I will always advocate for your constitutional liberties, protect your tax dollars, and fight against Big Government. I would be honored to have your support this November.

3. Reckless spending by the Biden Administration and both parties in Congress has caused record-high inflation and price increases for all Kentuckians. Everything costs more, and I fear it will only get worse with continued out-of-control spending.

4. I’ve never voted for an unbalanced budget and have always fought to protect your tax dollars from going towards wasteful spending that has caused record-high inflation and price increases. As your Senator, I’ve returned over $5.7 million to the Treasury Department from my office budget. I’ve kept my promise to Kentuckians that I would stand for smaller, more efficient government, balanced budgets, and spending restraint. We can’t continue down the path of reckless spending that aims to destroy our dollar, takes more money from you, the taxpayers, and risks ruining our country.

State Senator – 28th Senatorial District

Ralph Alvarado (R)

1. I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a longtime local practicing physician and the State Senator representing Kentucky’s 28th Senate District since 2014. I am proud to call Winchester my home. I serve as Medical Director at Isaiah House Recovery Center and oversee various nursing homes.

2. My work over the past 8 years has provided me the experience and influence to obtain results for our county. As a physician, my approach to problem-solving is unique and valuable in a setting like Frankfort. I will reflect the values of our community including the protection of our constitutional rights, lower taxation, cutting government bureaucracy, fighting our drug epidemic, balancing our state budget, and protecting our pension systems. I plan to apply common sense to achieve those goals and ensure a fair playing field for all Kentuckians.

3. Misguided federal policies such as mandated responses to the pandemic, devaluation of the American dollar from poor federal monetary management, and weak foreign policy decisions have driven a decades-high inflation and an increased cost of living which is unsustainable for Kentucky families.

4. Kentucky needs to stay upon its current conservative financial course. I will continue to advocate for decreased government bureaucracy, reduction in personal taxation and the implementation of pro-business, pro-growth policies so that our local leaders can attract higher wage jobs to our community. I am also working on infrastructure investment for our roads, broadband development and sewer/ water lines in addition to the strengthening of our public safety nets. This will prepare our community for growth and protect/insulate our community and state from the impact of poor federal policies.

Josh Buckman (Write-in)

1. I currently work as a medical social worker in Winchester where my job is to assist patients with paying for insurance, medical bills, and obtaining prescriptions. I graduated from Western Kentucky University with a BA and from the University of Louisville with a MSW.

2. My job often requires me to deal with real world concerns for my patients. I see how so many public services like Adult Protective Services or programs for individuals with disabilities are often neglected by Frankfort. I also have to listen to the needs and concerns of various individuals and have to work to address them. That is a skill I will take to Frankfort to help my constituents. In addition, I have done internships with organizations like Kentucky Youth Advocates and with substance use recovery programs like The Healing Place and Recovery Louisville.

3. The lack of support for our youth concerns me the most. I fear the teacher shortage and the lack of after school activities for youth is creating a void that is not helping our children develop and prepare them for their career. It also seems many youth are falling in with the wrong crowd.

4. I would like to find out why so many individuals are either leaving the teaching profession or not going into it. I will listen to various individuals and organization to better understand why and work to address issues causing the teacher shortage. As for increasing student activities and making them affordable for parents and guardians, I’m looking at additional revenue like expanded gambling and legalizing medical cannabis. I would also work to utilize community organizations to help increase activities and make them more affordable.

State Representative – 73rd Representative District

D. Ryan Dotson (R)

1. I am a Kentucky boy raised in the mountains of eastern Kentucky in Pike County. I moved to Winchester 30 years ago this month after I got out of the Army. I’m seeking re-election as your State Representative where I will fight for the unborn, the underprivileged, and underserved citizens of Kentucky.

2. I have a proven track record of community service as a pastor, feeding and clothing our neighbors impacting lives with the Gospel of Christ. I work daily to improve the lives of those around me if given the opportunity. As a legislator I am known as a fighter. I got passed into law “Save Women’s Sports” that I was told would never pass. Guess what? I did it, because I don’t quit on things I’m passionate about.

3. Workforce participation. We in Kentucky rank one of the lowest in the nation at 45 percent, when 150,000 jobs are available. We need to get well able bodied people back to work. This will make Kentucky attractive to prospective industries looking to move here.

4. Curb benefits to those who are abusing the welfare system and get rid of the bad actors, and get them back to work.

Thomas Weston Adams (D)

1. I’m Tommy Adams, and I love Kentucky. I’m a longtime educator and lifelong student. I serve as a member of Wolfe County Search and Rescue. I actively support the members of my community. I’m running because I care, not just for some Kentuckians, but for every Kentuckian.

2. I am the candidate best able to speak to the needs of my community. I am the candidate best able to form a broad coalition of support to win in November. I have all of the skills necessary to succeed in this role, but being better than my opponents with regard to these metrics isn’t why I will win. I will win because I’m kind. I’m a caring person, and my kindness doesn’t just extend to people with the label Democrat or teacher or runner or progressive –this will be evident in my commitment to building a Kentucky for every Kentuckian.

3. I think it’s a disservice to label any one thing the highest priority because it reinforces the misconception that these things aren’t all connected. But, to pick one thing, I always go back to education. As a longtime teacher, I just can’t help but view the world through the lens of education.

4. The people in office have promoted policies and passed laws that are actively hurting Kentuckians. Our first priority should be to stop this from continuing. Thus, our first priority should be removing these folks from office by electing folks like me. Fully fund education. Increase compensation for teachers. Create incentive programs to hire and retain top talent. Rebuild education to be equitable and enjoyable. Raise our standards. Universal Pre-K and funded childcare assistance. Tuition free college. Student debt assistance. Better college/trade prep. More academic travel opportunities.

Clark County Clerk

Linda Jako

1. I have been a Clark Countian for 33 years and love our small town of Winchester and have been serving the families of Winchester at the Clark County Clerk’s office since 1998 and started my employment when Anita Jones was our Clerk and have been employed there for almost 25 years.

2. I have great leadership and people skills and have a servant’s heart. I will advertise to the community when jobs are available. I will have on-going training for my team of workers to better serve you the people of Clark County. We have had 30 employees in the last eight years with now 14 plus clerk and 2 part-time and use to operate with only 9 plus clerk and a lot more traffic. I will be trained to work every area in the office and just not one job..I will extending hours to better serve the working people. We also will have an innovative and informative website to better serve you.

3. We need more training for our poll workers to make sure every voter gets the correct ballot and less confusion on where they go to vote. Also under my leadership we will have two people from each party to take and pick up absentee ballots at the post office. Elections need to be safe and secure.

4. I will provide more training for our poll workers and work closely with the State Board of Elections to follow all the protocol to have safe and secure elections and to make sure every legal vote counts.