As the streets of Athens buzzed with excitement for the upcoming Super Bowl, U.S. Senate Candidate Morgan Harper made her way into town, hoping to focus some of that excitement on her campaign during a Saturday appearance in front of the Athens City Building.
Harper shared her campaign goals and made conversation with her potential constituents. She touched on topics including affordable living, small businesses and clean energy.
Her overarching message consistently related back to her belief that in America, issues arise from politicians instead of policies. On her campaign website, she encourages voters to “Morganize” their community and support her causes.
“We have to have a candidate that is going to be able to lead with honesty, integrity, and make people believe and overcome this disillusionment barrier,” Harper said. “So many people are opting out of politics altogether.”
Harper said a big reason she chose to become involved in politics is her personal Ohio story. She lived in a foster home and was adopted and raised by her mom, and a lot of the struggles they faced while she was growing up showed her the importance of having a strong community, she said. Harper also said one of the main issues facing Appalachian communities today is the cost of living.
“We need to make sure that we have debt-free trading opportunities … and also forgive student debt so that we are not burdening a generation of young people, many of whom are here,” Harper said. “We are going to have universal healthcare – including mental healthcare — including access to addiction recovery services for people who need it. We do not allow big insurance and big pharma to continue to profit off of our health.”
Harper believes that universal health care will support small business owners in starting their companies and running them effectively for their workers. She hopes to help small business owners in many different ways, criticizing the “large multinational corporations that have just grown to dominate the economy.”
“We have lived through a generation that has allowed big business to pretty much do whatever it wants, and the rest of us just have to pick up the economic scraps left behind. It’s not necessary,” she said. “We refresh antitrust laws, and that will make sure that our economy is working for everyone.”
Harper is also a big supporter of clean energy. She believes at the federal level, there is a need to immediately invest in the creation of 600,000 jobs in the clean energy sector over the next 10 years.
“And so, we need to ask ourselves, will we be best protected by having someone represent the United Senate who has been a member of organizations like the NRA, who used to be against the woman’s right to choose?” she said. “Or, do we need to have a fighter and somebody who doesn’t have to be convinced to do the right thing, but actually just knows the difference between right and wrong and is willing to stand for it? … I am that candidate. My opponent is not.”
