My Platform

A New Vision for North Carolina's Future

My platform addresses the affordability crisis and provides access to essential services, like healthcare, transportation, and energy. I have a detailed plan to make Congress work for the people again and save American democracy from autocracy.

America needs to make new investments and strategies for public safety, and reimagine our national defense strategy to stop threats like domestic terrorism, climate change, and more.

I intend not only to break stalemates and make progress on the issues that matter most to North Carolina, but to balance the budget and fix America’s broken tax system to generate revenue for public services like education and mental health.

My platform is unique and offers an ambitious vision for North Carolina that Establishment Democratic Party leaders simply lack.

My Top Issues Are

Affordability Through a Living Wage and Universal Basic Income (UBI).

Too many North Carolinians are feeling the effects of inflation, skyrocketing housing costs, and a higher cost of living. Congress needs to help everyday people meet their basic needs. That’s why I plan to increase the Federal Minimum Wage to $20.30 an hour for all jobs in North Carolina and support Universal Basic Income to help lift people out of poverty and cover essential costs that people are struggling to afford in the Triangle, like energy, food, housing, healthcare, and transportation.

The key to stimulating economic and job growth is increasing consumer spending power.

End Gerrymandering, the Partisan Stalemate, and Make Congress Work for the People.

Congress is a mess right now, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. MAGA Republicans halt everything that progressive and moderate Democrats alike do. Our “experienced” leaders have no answers to partisan stalemates, and North Carolinians are suffering as a result. Dark money and Super PAC money have left Establishment Democrats and Republicans both out of touch with everyday Americans. The far-right and Donald Trump want Americans divided and apathetic because polarization plays into their hands.

Republicans have no idea that a solution to flip American politics on its head is under our noses. It is time to come together to end the two-party system by adopting multimember districts and coalition-building rather than endless partisan stalemates.

It’s not too late to reform Congress and make it work for the people it serves once again.

• I will work to pass legislation to implement proportional representation, ensuring that progressives, moderates, and independents alike can find a representative who suits them in their district and rendering gerrymandered maps irrelevant.

• The number of members of the U.S. House of Representatives has remained stagnant for nearly 100 years, despite rapid population growth. It is time to improve constituent services and complement proportional representation by increasing the number of U.S. House members and the size of Congressional staffs to improve constituent casework.

• Enact term limits for members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to ensure that new leaders who represent the people are in Congress every election cycle.

It’s a paradigm shift that might sound strange to many voters, as the two-party system is all America has ever known, but coalition building is the norm in most other democracies around the world. Everyone benefits from strong coalitions in government.

Universal Healthcare, Public Health, and Mental Health

Americans are concerned about the future of Medicare and Medicaid, their Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, and their access to healthcare. The ACA still does not cover everyone, and Trump’s disastrous Big Terrible Bill will make more people lose coverage. It is time to ensure that every North Carolinian has healthcare coverage, regardless of their income, age, or identity.

I plan to reform America’s Healthcare system to provide Universal Coverage for everyone through a Bismarck-inspired system that utilizes non-profit sickness funds (insurance companies), while ensuring access to the same doctors and new providers. This system will be heavily regulated to prevent price gouging and make costs more transparent, while also expanding coverage for doctor’s visits, hospital visits, specialists, and mental health services.

Under a Bismarck model, all employers would be required to contribute to a “sickness fund” through payroll deductions. The difference, though, is that insurance companies are non-profit and, much like employee plans currently work in America, people can choose from different sickness funds (insurance companies), maintaining a marketplace for coverage.

In contrast, the United States does not cover over 28 million Americans and currently uses a mix of state and federal revenues to fund Medicaid, while payroll taxes support Medicare. Most private insurance is either paid out of pocket or deducted from employees’ paychecks. However, people employed in the U.S. also contribute to Medicare payroll taxes. At the same time, federal revenues cover the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare costs.

We can ensure quality coverage, expand access to everyone, and streamline healthcare administration, making it less complicated while costing less per capita than the current fragmented system. I will ensure that universal healthcare legislation includes a transition period to prevent coverage gaps and ensure that Medicare, Medicaid, and VA plans roll over into sickness funds.

We need to invest in public and mental health to ensure North Carolinians build a happy and healthy life, including:

1. Establish a new Nationwide Mental Health Agency, focused on providing mental health treatment, awareness, education, and support for men’s and women’s health.

2. Secure more funding for the National Institute of Health (NIH) to enhance existing and new nationwide public health campaigns for students and the general public.

3. A new Public Health Social Media Awareness Fund and Partnership to help public health officials and private influencers counter public health misinformation and share accurate public health messages nationwide.

Get Big Money Out of Politics

SuperPACs, dark money, and corporate money in campaigns have eroded public trust in politics, harming relationships with constituents regardless of party affiliation. In Congress, I will:

• Work to end the Citizens United era of SuperPAC and dark money financing in American elections. We must enact stronger protections to prevent the dangerous influence of billionaires and corporations on America’s elected officials.

• Establish a new Public Financing framework based on matching funds through petition signatures. This reform will combat corruption and the influence of big money, make democracy more responsive, encourage new and diverse candidates to run for public office, and increase participation in the political process.

Research has shown that small-dollar candidates can still win elections if they are strategic about how they utilize their grassroots funding and matching funds.

Education

America must treat education as a lifelong process that does not “stop” after high school or college. The economy is struggling to place young professionals into new jobs. Workforce development and education are the same in my view, and it’s time we do the following:

Start a New Public Service GI Bill 2.0. This new Public Service GI Bill 2.0 will be designed to help America hire new public servants across all state, local, and federal agencies, as well as regulatory agencies. In short, a new Public Service program will place post-secondary students with a government employer that matches their field of study or desired career path.

Students will work with this government employer for up to a year, learn relevant job skills and gain experience, receive mentorship, and, in return, receive a full-time salary high enough to cover the costs (or most of the costs) of post-secondary education.

I will also declare a National Public School Education Emergency and make the following investments and initiatives to improve public K-12 schools:

• Ensure that K-12 children receive Universal Basic Income and SNAP benefits payments to help cover educational expenses and school lunches. SNAP is vital to keeping children out of poverty, providing access to nutritious food, and helping families in need.

• Hire more teachers, coaches, staff, bus drivers, nurses, dietitians, and more with a living wage and competitive salaries to be competitive with the full-time job market. If we want the best people to teach the next generation of Americans valuable life lessons, America must pay them appropriately.

• Invest billions in infrastructure projects and improvements for K-12 schools and facilities.

• Connect K-12 students and staff with licensed mental health professionals, treatment, and services.

• Invest billions in after-school sports and outdoor programs.

• Make it easier for parents to claim the Child Tax Credit.

• Restart the EPA Clean School Bus Program.

• Start new federal programs to help local law enforcement and community safety to prevent school shootings and hold parents accountable for gun safety violations.

As an NC State alumnus, I also know the value that college athletes bring to the Triangle. I aim to collaborate with college athletes, coaches, and staff to develop a new Student Athlete Collective Bargaining Law and Framework to address the illegal exploitation of unpaid student athletes.

Stop Autocracy and Protect Government Workers and Science.

Two major approaches are necessary to achieve this goal. First, I will work to pass legislation and reforms such as:

• The Protect Our Probationary Employees Act enacts safeguards to prevent probationary employees from being fired without cause.

• The Reduction in Force (RIF) Review Act bolsters Congressional oversight of the executive branch’s actions and makes it harder to perform unnecessary RIFs.

• Support the REHIRE and the PREP Act, which would make it easier for federal employees wrongfully fired by the Trump Administration to be rehired and codify rules governing probationary status for federal employees to prevent future abuses.

• I plan to establish a new federal Economic Task Force to aid businesses and organizations that were affected by the DOGE.

Second, we must reform the Executive Branch to not only stop Trump’s autocracy, but any future autocrat. There needs to be a federal future to build towards that protects Democracy.

In Congress, I will work on legislation that follows the recommendations of the Brennan Center for Justice’s National Task Force on the Rule of Law and Democracy. These recommendations are non-partisan and will repair and revitalize American democracy.

The strategies from the Task Force will improve congressional oversight of the Executive Branch, strengthen accountability for the rule of law and ethical conduct in government, curb political interference in government science, and fix a broken appointments process.

The War in Palestine

The far-right Likud party leads Israel. Theocracy is dangerous, and the destructive genocide in Gaza and the demolition of homes in the West Bank must end. AIPAC is a foreign national group that has destabilized American democracy and compromised establishment democrats. I will recognize the Palestinian state and take the following actions:

• End the Israel Defense Partnership Act MOU and other government defense spending for the Israeli war machine, and ensure a lasting Gaza Ceasefire agreement.

• Support further cooperation with American allies to put financial and economic pressure on Israel, including sanctions, tariffs, and additional intervention to end the genocide in Gaza immediately.

• Designate AIPAC and its affiliate groups as a Foreign National organization and ban them from donating any further to American campaigns. AIPAC is a bully in American politics; its influence on American elections must end.

• Work with partners to crack down on antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes.

• Work with Middle Eastern countries to develop a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild Palestine, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, free of HAMAS interference and influence on future Palestinian Authority elections

Climate Change and Clean Energy

My unique plan for climate and clean energy includes national regulatory reform, such as a Future System Operator, and a new national energy regulatory body. I will also establish a new Climate Change Intel Agency to finally give the U.S. teeth, both domestically and internationally, to address the national security threat that climate change poses to our future. We will restore and expand funding for the Grid Resilience and Innovation Program (GRIP) and make unprecedented investments into Climate Smart Agriculture, as well as Virtual Power Plants.

This is how America reaches Net Zero without breaking the bank, and it will incentivize private investments and public-private partnerships in clean energy, VPPs, science and technology, climate resilience, and even biodiversity.

Public Safety, Justice, Reducing Violence, & Domestic Terrorism

America needs new strategies to keep people safe and address structural and systemic issues that have plagued this country for decades. Police departments need to be equipped to respond to threats while decreasing the perception and reality that they are militarized or politicized.

I will pair a public health and community-centered approach with tools like Universal Basic Income and a Bismarck-style Healthcare system to help reduce drug addiction, prevent overdoses, get people off the streets and into affordable housing, and improve their quality of life. I will work to pass legislation to legalize or decriminalize drugs like marijuana and others, and ensure drug tax revenue is spent on treatment programs. In addition, I will work to create incentives to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences nationwide.

I want to invest fully in community safety and crime prevention programs and aim to reform the Byrne Act, also known as JAG funds, to stop the use of these funds for mandatory minimum sentencing, drug war activities, and militarized policing activities, and instead allow JAG funds to be used for new state and local Departments of Community Safety programs (DCS).

We can reduce political violence in two key ways:

First, proportional representation can reduce the “Us vs Them” mentality that both major parties use, because multiple representatives that better fit different voters’ points of view and political preferences would be in office.

Second, the Trump administration has slashed Department of Justice funding aimed at domestic terrorism. I will work to increase funding for justice and domestic terrorism programs. Including:

• The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership, funding, and critical resources to directly support law enforcement, combat violent crime, protect American children, and provide services to crime victims. In April 2025, the OJP lost over 373 grants, affecting more than 250 recipients, including law enforcement and crime reduction groups, and lost over $500 million in funding.

• The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research, evaluation, and technology agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, is dedicated to enhancing knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through scientific research. The NIJ fosters and shares expertise and tools to inform efforts that promote safety.

I will work with members of Congress to develop a Comprehensive Domestic Counter-Terrorism Plan and double the Department of Justice’s budget. Social science, grants, collaboration, and working with community partners can help prevent domestic terrorism and ensure that law enforcement has the necessary information, tools, intelligence resources, and training to succeed.

Fix the Broken Tax System and Balance the Budget

It is time to bring fiscal responsibility back to Congress. How? With a new progressive platform for tax reform. The U.S. federal deficit was $1.83 trillion in 2024, and Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is projected to increase it by an additional $3.4 trillion by 2034. The OBBB only received votes from Republicans in both chambers of Congress, highlighting the broken nature of our two-party system. We can stop resolutions like OBBB with proportional representation, because having more members of Congress, especially more independents and smaller parties, can prevent party-line-only votes on budget resolutions.

We all value fairness, and billionaires and corporations do not play by the rules when it comes to their tax returns. Having billionaires or even centimillionaires hoard wealth does not help the average American. Billionaires exacerbate income and wealth inequality, threaten our democracy, and deprive the federal government of the revenue necessary for public services, protections, infrastructure, programs, innovation, and the support of its employees.

In Congress, I will support the Ultra Millionaire Tax, a tax on wealth that includes unrealized gains.

This proposal would only apply to around 75,000 households with a net worth of $50 million or more. It would pay an annual 2% tax on every dollar of net worth above $50 million and a 6% tax on every dollar of net worth above $1 billion (tax on total wealth). This would generate $3.75 trillion in revenue over a ten-year period. It would include zero additional tax on any household with a net worth of less than $50 million (99.9% of American households).

The Ultra Millionaire Tax proposal would also include strong anti-evasion measures to prevent the ultra-wealthy from running off to other countries, like:

• A significant increase in the IRS enforcement budget.

• A minimum audit rate for taxpayers subject to the Ultra-Millionaire Tax.

• A 40% “exit tax” on the net worth above $50 million of any U.S. citizen who renounces their citizenship, and systematic third-party reporting that builds on existing tax information exchange agreements adopted after the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

I also support the Billionaires Income Tax (BIT), which would only apply to the nation’s roughly 800 billionaires and would tax income from wealth as it occurs, similar to how income from wages is taxed as it’s earned. The BIT would raise $557 billion over a 10-year period. The BIT is constitutional and has been endorsed by 220 legal scholars and economists.

Not only has the broken tax system affected individual wealth, but it has also created a disparity in the lack of revenue from the wealthiest corporations. The irony of these tax loopholes and the low tax rate for corporations is that they claim they want to invest in the activities and programs that corporate tax revenue could help fund. The best thing corporations can do to help North Carolina and its economy is to pay their fair share in taxes and not hide behind charitable donations to receive a tax deduction.

I will ensure that the corporate tax rate remains low for small businesses and businesses running on a tight operating margin.

I will also support the Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act, which places a higher corporate tax rate only on the largest publicly traded corporations and closes corporate use of offshore tax havens. This legislation would generate more than $1 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years. Additionally, this would roll back the Trump corporate tax rate cut, restoring the top rate to 35 percent. Together, these policies would raise more than $2.3 trillion over the next decade. I will also ensure that large corporations do not pass on these higher tax burdens to consumers.

This is how you balance the damn budget. We need to undue the OBBB tax cuts that add to the federal deficit, increase the risk of default, and stop our democracy from plunging into economic chaos. We need to pass a Wealth Tax, a Billionaire Income Tax, and raise the corporate tax rate, while closing all loopholes for billionaires and the wealthiest companies from offshoring jobs, income, and wealth. If passed, these proposals could raise revenue by approximately $5.407 trillion over the course of ten years, with the potential to create a Surplus.

Transportation

My Transportation plan makes investments in a new Connected Communities Approach, which provides alternative transportation options, and it offers proactive investments in existing and new EV charging programs, and a new Internal Combustion Engine to EV Conversion program.

Affordable Housing

North Carolina needs new federal leaders to close the housing gap and make housing options affordable. Rent and housing costs are skyrocketing, and Wake County faces a massive housing shortage. Universal Basic Income is essential to help North Carolinians pay for housing costs. In addition, I will:

Restore funding and staffing for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which has lost an estimated 2,300 staffers since April 2025, accounting for nearly 23% of its workforce. This included a 70% staffing reduction in HUD’s Office of Fair Housing. HUD plays a crucial role in supporting local governments in their affordable housing initiatives.

I will work with members of Congress and other states on a federal investigation into landlord price gouging, collaborating with the NC Attorney General’s Office.

Many local government leaders agree that expanding housing options is a crucial step in addressing homelessness. However, cities in North Carolina are unable to work with HUD to build more public housing due to the Faircloth Amendment. I will repeal the Faircloth Amendment and establish no cap on the amount of public housing that can be built. This would enable local governments to construct more units and integrate them with transportation options.

I will also work to undue Trump’s costly tariffs on key trading partners and countries that have raised the price of goods associated with building new housing units. Tariffs on building materials and resources are NOT a smart policy and worsen housing affordability.

The Supreme Court

America’s Supreme Court is broken. Letting one party have a supermajority of justices with no term limits and without ethical and financial guardrails is an injustice. This is a reason why people have lost faith in Democracy. I will work to fix our broken Supreme Court by passing a law that would give Congress the ability to have oversight and enforcement of the following:

• Adopt a U.S. Supreme Court Code of Conduct and new requirements to explain recusal decisions.

• Strengthen rules to stop financial gifts to Supreme Court and federal court justices and make each federal judge across the nation file routine financial disclosures.

We must establish 18-year term limits and expand the number of Court seats to 15. Under this system, justices would sit in staggered terms of active service on the Court.. Each president would have only two appointments during a four-year term.

National Defense

The military industrial complex supported by Establishment political leaders not only led to two costly and deadly wars in the early 2000s, but is inadequate for addressing modern threats like cybersecurity, cyber espionage, domestic & international terrorism. We are failing to counter the influence of our rivals, Russia and China, on the global economy.

My strategy will focus on re-modernizing America’s national defense programs and budget to better adapt to modern-day threats. A blend of intelligence, diplomacy, soft power, economic partnerships, foreign aid, such as the work of U.S. AID, special operations, lawfare, and cybersecurity will enable America to stay ahead of threats in the 21^st century.

In Congress, I will work to:

• Replace some military personnel with civilian employees and provide them with new roles in fields like cybersecurity, infrastructure improvement, diplomacy, and espionage.

• Invest in protecting American infrastructure from physical, cybersecurity, economic, and environmental threats, while also countering foreign misinformation and disinformation. Our national security strategy should focus on the strategies, people, and resources that protect from these threats, not on costly military projects that fail to keep people safe.

• Develop a Democracy International Community Aid Plan and restore the U.S. Agency for International Development to promote democracy globally through diplomacy and partnerships, rather than force.

• Reduce the use of U.S. combat forces and instead encourage U.S. allies to provide more of their own defense in regions like Europe, East Asia, and South America.

• Eliminate or restructure costly and ongoing military industrial projects that are plagued by cost overruns and fail to keep us safe.

Food & Agriculture

There are several actions Congress can take to alleviate hunger, stabilize food prices, and combat food insecurity. I will make it my goal to:

Remove Trump’s harmful tariffs on key trading allies who help supply our food and agricultural resources. Nutritious and everyday food products are affected by Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and Latin American countries. Free trade between key allies or partners benefits consumers by lowering food prices and increasing agricultural trade.

Establish a new Future of Food Waste Public-Private Partnership that will work with key partners to address food insecurity, which has sadly been on the rise in North Carolina, and provide consumer food education around four key principles:

1. Eat it all: Consumers should eat all the food they buy. Don’t let it go to waste.

2. Freeze it: Freeze leftovers or food not eaten in time

3. Share it: Share extra food with friends, family, or neighbors.

4. Donate it: Donate food to local food banks or charities.

I will also work to establish a new food label system that “grades” food products based on nutritional value. Additionally, we must restore SNAP benefits and other K-12 nutrition programs that were cut or affected by Trump’s budget proposal.

I will also work with members of Congress and the North Carolina community to establish a new Community Garden Rebate program under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, encouraging people and organizations to grow local food using existing urban space.

Community gardens would provide the following benefits for all North Carolinians:

• Increased access to nutritious food.

• Build healthy relationships with food suppliers and educate consumers on food growth.

• Ensure food systems are more resilient, help keep prices honest, and increase local food supplies.

• Partnerships can develop with K-12 schools, reducing food insecurity and providing opportunities for food education.

Establish a Domestic Climate Smart Agriculture Program and Economy

As farmers and ranchers confront the challenges of natural disasters and changing weather patterns, climate-smart agriculture is vital to

• Increase or maintain productivity and yield.

• Enhance food supplies and production to make them more resilient to extreme weather events.

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

LGBTQ Rights and Protections

I will stand up for the LGBTQ community and work to protect their rights by signing a new Civil Rights Act amendment to:

• Guarantee access for youth and adult transgender healthcare nationwide.

• Protect the ability for LGBTQ members to participate and compete in K-12 and college sports.

• Take proactive steps to curb hate speech and threats made to the LGBTQ community.

• Improve family planning and understanding of transgender care options.

Under my newly proposed Bismarck Healthcare system, I will ensure proper and ethical access to physical and mental health services for the LGBTQ community.

Men’s & Women’s Health

I will work with members of Congress to protect a woman’s right to choose and to codify Roe vs Wade. We must stop states that are denying contraception and abortion access and expand funding and support for Planned Parenthood and women’s health services.

The Establishment leaders of the Democratic Party have ostracized young men. I will NOT make that mistake. I am running to be a mentor for future generations, regardless of gender. Several of my proposed programs will greatly benefit men’s health, including:

• Starting a Bismarck-style healthcare system will guarantee not only healthcare coverage, but also access to mental health services and men’s health services. Additionally, my proposed expansions for public health campaigns will prioritize discussions about men’s health.

• A new Public Service GI Bill 2.0, which will allow any college student, regardless of gender, to be placed in a public service role that helps to accelerate their career.

• Universal Basic Income can be used to cover expenses that improve overall health, such as supplements, nutritious food, and mental health services, among others.

Immigration

ICE is a menace and the enforcement arm of Donald Trump, and its mission of rooting out illegal immigration and terrorism has now been tainted. We should take border security seriously, but it is time for a new approach that does not rely on fear and intimidation to secure our borders. It is time that we:

1. Disband ICE and replace it with a new Community Immigration Office, where public servants build relationships with immigrants to help provide economic opportunities and social services, while still ensuring they apply for a pathway to citizenship. The goal will be not only to help immigrants assimilate more quickly and establish an easier pathway to citizenship, but also to rely on community-informed intelligence to protect our borders and facilitate the assimilation of immigrants.

2. Start a federal task force to bring stakeholders at all levels of government, law, and business together to investigate ICE and hold them accountable for their illegal scare and intimidation tactics they are using in major cities across the U.S.

3. Design a new and improved pathway to citizenship. We need to make it easy to become a citizen so that we can truly identify who wants to be here legally and integrate with our society, versus those who do not.

How can you help?

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