Democratic candidate Bennie J. Smith, who is seeking the U.S Senate seat held by Republican Mitch McConnell, says he would like to see affordable healthcare for every Kentuckian and work to bring more jobs to the state.
Smith, a native of Danville who now lives in Louisville, made a stop at the WKDZ/WHVO studio Wednesday afternoon as he campaigned across western Kentucky. He tells the News Edge he volunteered and worked on the Barack Obama/Joe Biden campaign in 2006. He has also worked with the Ben Chandler and Jack Conway campaigns in Kentucky.
Smith said he suspended a run for U.S. Senate in 2016 when the Democratic Party selected Allison Lundergan Grimes as the candidate. He says he started this campaign after the government shutdown in 2018-19 because he felt it could have been avoided.
Smith says he was the first Democrat to throw his hat in the 2020 U.S. Senate race. If elected, he wants to see that every Kentuckian has affordable accessible healthcare.
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In addition, he says if elected the first legislation he wants to see signed is the Violence Against Women Act. Smith says he also wants to address human and sex trafficking.Another issue important to him is climate change and bringing those jobs and training into the state.
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He also wants to increase the living wage from $15 to $20 where people don’t have to worry about working two or three jobs to make ends meet.
Smith says another key component of his campaign is he wants to bring rapid rail and light rail transit to Kentucky to create more jobs and at the same time address environmental issues.
He also wants to legalize cannabis for recreational and medicinal use.
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With all of the mass Black Lives Matters demonstrations going on, Smith says he is for defunding police departments.
click to download audioSmith is one of ten Democrats vying for the U.S. Senate seat.
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