Deborah Ross in Past and present Senate candidates from North Carolina
On Abortion:
All employers should cover contraceptives (no RFRA)
Q: On Abortion: Should abortion be highly restricted?Burr: Yes
Ross: No
Q: On Contraception: Should employers be able to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if they disagree with it morally?
Burr: Yes
Ross: No
Q: On Healthcare: Should Planned Parenthood be eligible to receive public funds for non-abortion health services?
Burr: No
Ross: Yes
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Civil Rights:
Transgender individuals use public bathrooms of their choice
Q: On Gay Marriage: Support gay marriage?Burr: No. Personal belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. Legislatively, voted several times through 2010 to ban same-sex marriage.
In anticipation of Supreme Court ruling, took the position that it should be decided by the states.
Ross: Yes
Q: On Gay Rights: Should transgender individuals have the right to use public bathrooms of their choice?
Burr: No. Opposed Obama's Executive Order, stating decision should be made by states, parents, and communities.
Later, in response to backlash against NC anti-LGBT legislation, said state had gone too far and should "rein it in before a judge does it for them."
Ross: Yes
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Corporations:
Corporations and wealthiest should pay their fair share
Q: On Taxes: Signed Americans for Tax Reform Pledge to oppose "any and all" tax increases to raise revenue? Burr: Yes
Ross: No
Q: On Taxes: Increase taxes on corporations
and/or high-income individuals to pay for public services?
Burr: No
Ross: Yes. Wants "corporations and the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share."
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Crime:
No incarceration for nonviolent misdemeanors
Q: On Prisons: Switch money from prisons to preventive measures like education and social services?Burr: Unknown.
Did vote for easing mandatory minimum sentencing.
Ross: Increase community policing & no incarceration for nonviolent misdemeanors.
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Drugs:
Supports medical marijuana
Q: On Marijuana: Decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana? Ross: Supports medical marijuana
Burr: No. Opposes medical and recreational. Recent public statements focus on enforcing federal law regarding marijuana. Opposes medical as well as
recreational use, stating in 2010 that "I'm on the record for believing that medical marijuana has no real intrinsic values that you can't get through other things."
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Education:
Make first two years of community college free
Q: On Student Debt: Refinance student loans at lower rates, paid for by increasing taxes on high earners?Burr: No. Supported bills to simplify repayment, but opposed expanding subsidies to support refinancing.
Ross: Yes. Supports refinancing
student loan debt, reining in private for-profit colleges, & making first two years of community college free.
Q: On Student Financial Aid: Should federal student financial aid, like Pell Grants, be increased?
Burr: No
Ross: Yes
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Foreign Policy:
Work with Iran on nukes; work with allies on ISIS
Q: On Iran: Support the US-Iran treaty that limits Iran's nuclear capability in return for lifting economic sanctions?Burr: No
Ross: Yes
Q: On Iraq: How should the US combat ISIS?
Burr: Eliminate Isis rather than contain it, specific plans unclear.
Ross: "Take them out, cut off supplies, work with allies."
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Immigration:
Support the DREAM Act
Q: On Immigration: Should America's 11 million undocumented residents have an earned path to citizenship?Burr: No
Ross: Yes
Q: On Immigration: Support the DREAM Act, which would allow children brought into the country illegally to achieve legal
status if they meet certain conditions? (Need to have graduated from high school, have a clean legal record, and attend college or serve in the military.)
Burr: No. Considers Obama's Executive Order to be overreach.
Ross: Yes
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Civil Rights:
Introduced gender pay equity bill in state legislature
While serving in the North Carolina House of Representatives, Deborah introduced a bill that banned employers from paying employees differently based on gender--
protecting the economic security for the many women who are primary breadwinners for their families. In the US Senate, she'll continue to fight for a national pay equity law, ending the gender pay gap.
Source: 2016 North Carolina Senate campaign website DeborahRoss.com
Aug 31, 2016
On Foreign Policy:
Approach threats in multilateral way, like Iran nuclear deal
Deborah supports the Iran nuclear deal, saying she favors approaching threats in a multilateral way and foreign policy through diplomacy.She has endorsed the
Kissinger-Shultz-Nunn-Perry vision of moving responsibly toward a world free of nuclear weapons and further negotiations with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons.
In the 2013-4 Congress, Burr scored a 13% on the Council for a Livable World voting scorecard. He voted to increase funding for an East Coast missile defense site. Last year, he also voted to torpedo the Iran nuclear deal and signed what was
widely seen as an inappropriate letter circulated by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton and sent from Republican U.S. senators to the Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei that was intended to derail the on-going negotiations.
Source: LivableWorld.org on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Aug 31, 2016
On Gun Control:
Tried to block legislation that would allow concealed carry
Ross spent her time as a state representative voting against almost all key state legislation on firearms, according to Project Vote Smart. She tried to block state legislation that would allow people to carry concealed handguns into restaurants & state
parks as well as legislation that gave judges permission to take concealed weapons to court. State residents with concealed carry permits can now take their guns into restaurants, and judges with the same types of permits can take their firearms to work.
Source: McClatchyDC.com on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Aug 25, 2016
On Tax Reforms:
Against raising taxes on the middle-class & working families
"You took millions from special interests, went there and cashed in, voted to cut your own taxes and raise taxes on working folks," Ross tells the fictional Burr in the ad.
A press release announcing the ad was even more direct: "While Burr's own wealth has tripled since he has been in the Senate, he has voted to raise taxes on the middle-class and working families while cutting them for millionaires like himself."
Source: PolitiFact.com on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Aug 25, 2016
On Free Trade:
Always against the TPP; we need to stop trade agreements
Ross said she opposes TPP. "I have always said that I am against TPP," she said. "We need to protect American workers and we need to stop trade agreements. It hurts the middle class." Ross stated in a response to a questionnaire in Indy Week for the
March primary that she was against the TPP. "North Carolina has seen too many jobs get shipped overseas because of trade deals that didn't work for us, and the TPP deal doesn't do enough to protect North Carolina workers or the world's environment."
Source: McClatchyDC.com on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Aug 16, 2016
On Homeland Security:
Maintain a strong military & care for veterans
Protecting Americans is Deborah's top priority. She believes our national security is strongest when we use all the tools at our disposal: a modern military, the most sophisticated and capable negotiators, and an intelligence community that will stay
one step ahead of our enemies.Deborah will work to keep America's families safe from threats at home and abroad by maintaining a strong military, and by caring for our servicemembers, and their families. Deborah knows that we have a responsibility to
make sure our veterans receive the care and benefits they have earned. As a state legislator, she fought for veterans and their families by cracking down on payday lending schemes targeting servicemembers. She also sponsored a uniform child custody
law for military families. In the U.S. Senate, she will work to improve our VA system. She will not tolerate a VA that doesn't live up to the high standard of care that our nation's veterans deserve. [Source: www.deborahross.com/issues ]
Source: Vote-NC.org profile for 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Aug 8, 2016
On War & Peace:
Committed to defeating ISIS, with our international partners
America faces the threat of terrorism at home and abroad. Deborah is committed to defeating ISIS. Deborah is committed to defeating global terrorism. Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our families and as Senator, she will make
this a top priority.She believes that we must act together with our allies in the global community, balance Americans' right to privacy with our national security needs, and show strength and compassion to displaced families whose lives have been
torn apart by brutal regimes and the horrors of war. We can protect Americans from global threats while upholding the values our country was built on.
In the U.S.
Senate, Deborah will work to keep America's families safe from threats at home and abroad by working with our international partners to address national security threats. [Source: www.deborahross.com/issues ]
Source: Vote-NC.org profile for 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Aug 8, 2016
On Gun Control:
Supports commonsense gun safety and background checks
Ross said "the right time is now" to talk about issues that include gun safety. She specifically used the term "personal safety," and said background checks could be a way to ensure terrorists and
people who have a history of violence don't have access to guns. Ross said "the second amendment is very important, but we have to have commonsense gun safety."
Source: Salisbury Post on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Jun 14, 2016
On Social Security:
Government shouldn't cut nor privatize Social Security
Ross wants to expand and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. Ideas she stated included having wealthier people pay into the programs for a longer period of time, giving people better access to information and costs, and lowering prescription drug
prices. What the government shouldn't do, she said, is cut the programs and privatize them. "[They] are the safety nets for our seniors," Ross said. "We absolutely have to stabilize them and make sure they're available for generations to come."
Source: Charlotte Observer on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Jun 13, 2016
On Immigration:
Support giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship
The four Democratic candidates for US Senate in North Carolina disagree on what to do about immigrants who are in the country unlawfully.
Deborah Ross of Raleigh and Chris Rey of Spring Lake said at a Thursday evening televised debate they would support legislation that would give these immigrants a path to citizenship.
Source: WWAY-TV-3 on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Feb 25, 2016
Page last updated: Feb 23, 2019