Mike Espy
Bio | Mike Espy served as the US Secretary of Agriculture from 1993 to 1994. Prior to this, he represented Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district in the United States Congress. |
Status and Position | Former US House of Representatives of Mississippi |
Political Party and Jurisdiction | Democrat, Mississippi |
Elections | Election Jurisdiction | Started Campaign | Campaign Status | Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 Senate Election Mississippi 1 | Mississippi 1 | Yes | Running | 40.0% |
Campaign Financing | Espy has outraised incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. Espy's top contributors include Euclidean Capital, Voter Protection Project and PAC to the Future. |
Voting Rights | Espy is for voting rights. Espy is calling on young and minority voters to go out and vote and is focusing on expanding the voting population. |
Opinions on Issues
Issues | Stance | Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Against | Although he does not support Medicare for all, Espy supports Medicaid and wants each citizen to have access to affordable and high quality healthcare. Espy's top priority once elected will be to expand Medicaid. He is following in the footsteps of his grandfather who started the first Black-owned hospital in Mississippi. Espy will guarantee all Mississippians accessible, affordable and quality health care. |
| Socialized Healthcare | For | Espy supports socialized healthcare, especially Medicaid, but would not call himself a socialist. |
| Private Healthcare | Nuance | Believes that more people should have access to Medicare/Medicaid coverage but should not have to give up private insurance. |
| LGBT Rights | For | Espy supports and is a strong ally to the LGBT community. Espy is committed to voting for the Equality Act to protect the LGBT community. He also supports the Human Rights Campaign and believes in equality of people regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. |
| Taxes | Unknown | Espy's stance on taxes is unclear. States that he probably would have voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, but he wanted people to see the benefits first. |
| Flat Tax Rate | Unknown | His stance on taxes is unclear. States that he probably would have voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, but he wanted people to see the benefits first. |
| Abortion | Nuance | Espy is anti-abortion yet pro-choice Espy believes women should have the right to make the choice, but is personally against abortion. Says he will fight for women's rights including this type of medical service. |
| Gun Control | For | Supports further restrictions on gun control legislation Espy believes in the second amendment but states that no one under the age of 21 or seen as a danger should have assault weapons. His stance on gun reforms have evolved with the increase in mass shootings. |
| Assisted Suicide | Unknown | Espy has not made a clear statement regarding his stance on Assisted Suicide Espy believes in the second amendment but states that no one under the age of 21 or seen as a danger should have assault weapons. His stance on gun reforms have evolved with the increase in mass shootings. |
| Government Interference | For | Supports federal interference for health care as well as restricting gun laws. |
| Planned Parenthood | For | Supports Planned Parenthood and women's rights to reproductive health care |
| Welfare | For | Espy supports welfare development. Espy was involved in welfare task force as a congressman. He was a leader in bringing new strategies to the poorer population regarding wealth development. |
| Welfare | Unknown | Espy has made no stance on this issue. |
| Death Penalty | Unknown | Espy's stance on the death penalty is unknown. N/A |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Unknown | Espy has advocated for drawing a line between violent and non-violent crimes but has not made a specific statement about mandatory sentences. |
| Military Spending | Unknown | Advocates for cutting federal budget but has not made a statement on military spending. |
| War on Terrorism | Unknown | No statement has been made about the issue. |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | Unknown | Stance is unknown Was tried at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity after accepting money from the Ivory Coast. However, he has not made a statement regarding his stance on the issue. |
| United Nations power | Unknown | He has made no clear statement on this. |
| Nationalism | Against | He is opposed to white nationalism. He is focused on Mississippi and his campaign rarely mentions Trump. |
| Free Markets | Nuance | Espy believes in private markets, yet also supports free trade. Espy stated that he believes in free enterprise and private markets, but also stated that he supports free trade. |
| Brexit | Unknown | He has not made a statement on brexit. |
| Affirmative Action | For | Stated that when working with Bill Clinton at DLC, they both cared about Affirmative Action. |
| Government Spending | Against | Has said that he supports free trade. |
| Charter Schools | Nuance | Supports families deciding where their children go to school, but is against tax dollars being redirected to charter schools and taken away from public schools |
| Common Core | Unknown | Espy has not made a statement regarding Common COre N/A |
| Clean Energy | Unknown | Espy has not stated his stance on clean energy N/A |
| Religious Freedom | For | Espy has shown support for all religions. Believes in the worth of every person regardless of religion. |
| Separation of Church and State | Unknown | He has made no clear statement on the issue. |
| Slavery Reparations | Unknown | Has shown that he wants to promote racial equality in Mississippi, but has not made any clear statements on slavery reparations |
| Border Control | Against | Espy is against strict border control. He is against ICE separating families at the border. Also against building a wall. |
| Passenger Profiling | Unknown | He has not made a statement on passenger profiling |
| DACA | For | He is a proponent of DACA. |
| Sanctuary Cities | Unknown | Espy has made no statement on the issue. |
| Legalizing Marijuana | For | Is for medical marijuana as long as it is safe and provides financial benefit. |