TJ Cox
Bio | As the son of immigrants, TJ Cox was inspired to graduate with a degree in chemical engineering and later an MBA. Before transferring these skills to politics, he developed his reputation in the Central Valley as a business leader. |
Status and Position | Former US House of Representatives of California |
Political Party and Jurisdiction | Democrat, California |
Elections | Election Jurisdiction | Started Campaign | Campaign Status | Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 House of Representatives Election CA-21 | CA-21 | Yes | Running | 38.0% |
Campaign Financing | Cox avidly denounces Citizens United. Most of Cox's campaign is funded by individual contributions despite a GOP super PACs massive funding of targeted ads against him. |
Voting Rights | Cox has no explicit position on voting rights. |
Opinions on Issues
Issues | Stance | Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | For | He advocates for the expansion of coverage and affordability to all Americans. TJ Cox supports the Affordable Care Act. While his primary goal is universalizing healthcare, he sees the stabilization and protection of the ACA as a means of progress. |
| Socialized Healthcare | Unknown | His position is unclear on the extent of socialization. |
| Private Healthcare | For | While Cox supported legislation that increased regulation of private costs and billing practices, he does not believe the private sector should be overhauled. |
| LGBT Rights | For | Cox advocates for LGBT rights across all issues. TJ Cox supports progressive policies that prioritize the inclusion of LGBT people in respect to marriage, family, and business. He supports anti-discrimination legislation that extends to gender identity and LGBT people serving in the military. |
| Taxes | For | He is mostly for taxes but supports some tax incentives for small businesses in his district. Cox views taxes progressively in the legislation that he supports such as policies that increase the transparency of the IRS as well as support the agricultural sector in his industry. However, the IRS issued a tax lien individually to him for $145,000 in unpaid taxes. |
| Flat Tax Rate | Against | Cox's support of nuances such as tax incentives and credits demonstrates that he is against a flat tax rate. Cox views taxes progressively in the legislation that he supports such as policies that increase the transparency of the IRS as well as support the agricultural sector in his industry. However, the IRS issued a tax lien individually to him for $145,000 in unpaid taxes. |
| Abortion | For | He is pro-choice. The congressman supports the right for a woman to choose whether to have an abortion. |
| Gun Control | For | He believes in the priority of gun safety. Cox has been endorsed by the gun safety organization Giffords. The congressman supports reform and regulation for the greater goal of halting gun violence. |
| Assisted Suicide | Unknown | He has no explicit position on assisted suicide. Cox has been endorsed by the gun safety organization Giffords. The congressman supports reform and regulation for the greater goal of halting gun violence. |
| Government Interference | Nuance | Cox supports a lot of legislation such as the Affordable Care Act which clearly constitute government interference. However, there are some instances in which he believes individuals and businesses should be protected from government intervention. |
| Planned Parenthood | For | He is in favor of the public funding of Planned Parenthood. |
| Welfare | For | He supports welfare. Cox has supported California's funding of measures such as rehousing and street outreach to combat homelessness. Due to his support for the Emergency Solution Grants Program, he sees welfare as a means of addressing the emergency crisis of homelessness. |
| Welfare | Unknown | He has not expressed a strong position on stem cell research. |
| Death Penalty | For | He supports the death penalty. The congressman has historically voted against eliminating the death penalty in 2016. However, he failed to speak up against Governor Newsom's moratorium on the practice in California. |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Against | TJ Cox believes that the US' incarceration system is already under pressure with federal budget cuts. |
| Military Spending | Nuance | He believes in the increased funding of veteran health programs. He does not necessarily support the funding of militaristic interest. |
| War on Terrorism | Nuance | He supports policies that prevent domestic terrorism. But, he is apprehensive about expanding military efforts abroad against terrorism. |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | Against | He does not support international intervention for the most part. TJ Cox has supported bills that limit the potential for conflict. He has criticized the executive branch due to its lack of recognition of Congress' power to wage war. |
| United Nations power | Unknown | He has not taken a stance on this issue. |
| Nationalism | Unknown | There has been no explicit position taken on this issue. |
| Free Markets | For | He supports free markets. Specifically, TJ Cox has been a supporter of aiding the agricultural sector in his district. He sees the expansion of trade deals as a means of using the global market to help farmers thrive. |
| Brexit | Unknown | Cox has not made a statement on Brexit. |
| Affirmative Action | For | Cox is backed by groups that support affirmative action. |
| Government Spending | Nuance | Cox supports bills that are revenue neutral as to not increase deficit spending. However, he is concerned about making sure that increased federal funds reach his district specifically. |
| Charter Schools | Unknown | TJ Cox has not taken a stance on charter schools. |
| Common Core | Nuance | TJ Cox is in favor of a national standard for education. While TJ Cox supports the concept of common core, recognizes the need for reform in its implementation. |
| Clean Energy | For | He is a huge supporter of clean energy. Cox advocates for the improvement of water and air quality. He has worked to cut methane emissions and to create a more sustainable economy in the rural communities in his district. |
| Religious Freedom | For | He supports religious freedom internationally. Cox has been involved with urging the State Department to protect Sikhs in Afghanistan. He supports the religious freedom alliance abroad. |
| Separation of Church and State | For | He supports the separation of church and state. |
| Slavery Reparations | Unknown | He has not made an explicit statement on this point. |
| Border Control | Against | He is against increased security at the border. He sees the Trump administration's increase of border control as a cause of a humanitarian crisis due to it endangering families and children. Thus, he sees a need for increasing funds to aid these people, not to increase enforcement. |
| Passenger Profiling | Against | Cox is against any form of racial profiling. |
| DACA | For | TJ Cox helped introduce the Dream and Promise Act of 2019. |
| Sanctuary Cities | Unknown | While he is supportive of aiding immigrants in general, he has not taken an explicit stance on sanctuary cities. |
| Legalizing Marijuana | For | He supports the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana. |