What's your platform?

Stop taxing social security benefits.

I'm a hard-nosed, right-leaning Libertarian. In your opinion, why should I vote for you?

Why is your sign saying fuck you to my eyes?

I strongly support this. I also support COLA being based more locally and not on the nation’s CPI.

Party-wise or issues?

I'll take both please

What are your qualifications?

The only information I can find about you states that you're 24 years old, a singer and YouTube personality? What party are you associated with? What government experience do you have?

I don’t believe the government should control your body whether it be abortions, vaccines, or how many times you see a doctor. I believe that the government has no right to spy on our online presence, phone calls, or texts without a warrant. I will push for a balanced budget and cut spending that doesn’t benefit the American people.

Apologies. We will definitely improve our color palette.

So you're pro-choice but don't support vaccine mandates?

I agree with all of your stances except abortion. You sound like a solid choice. Do you have a website or FB page?

I need a candidate who doesn't put red text on a blue background!

Thank you I didn't want to be harsh but holy cow that is messing with me haha

Letting people decide whether or not to get a vaccine is Pro-Choice. A vaccine mandate is just as invasive as an abortion ban. I’m vaccinated but I would not tell someone else the have to get the vaccine or they’ll go to jail.

I do apologize. This was just one design and I will make sure future ones are less straining

Excuse me? No one is going to jail for refusing a vaccine. Thank you for demonstrating, in one sentence, why I shouldn’t vote for you. Yikes.

I appreciate the feedback. I can’t run a successful campaign or be a beneficial lawmaker unless I listen to the people.

Two judges in Ohio made getting a vaccine a condition of probation. A federal judge said prisoners refusal to get a vaccine was “practically a disqualifier” in compassionate-release cases. Numerous lawyers who spend their lives reading the law have stated that local, state, and federal governments hold the right to fine and or jail people for refusing vaccine mandates. It’s an overreach of power to tell someone what to do with their bodies. If that forces you not to vote me, that is your right. Have a wonderful day.

If someone asks you a question can you string together a coherent response?

Maybe take a look at how many inmates died of covid and other infections.

Woah, Actually a consistent position on the issue! Don't see that too often.

One gripe that always really bothered me is that someone could advocated for "muh body muh rights" when it came to abortion, but then not when it came to vaccines.

Either you have rights over your body or you don't.

What about second amendment, workers rights/unions, Medicaid for all/public option giving kids puberty blockers, foreign policy, all that fun stuff that people yell into the void over on twitter?

So its only my body my rights when it comes to abortion, but not everything else regarding what goes into one's body.

Very interesting.

Too late, you already lost all of our votes

Well I’m not going to say I’m Jill Biden’s husband or talk about how the military defended our airports during the Revolutionary War. I prefer to take a moment and think before answering questions, especially when I’m speaking for the large group of constituents I would represent if elected.

I'll support any candidate who supports Ranked Choice Voting at the state level.

Why are you running for US Congress instead of the state legislature, where you're much more likely to have a positive impact?

[removed]

How do you feel about trans rights and the growing anti-Lgbtq terrorism locally and in the nation at large? What are your stances on labor rights and the massive wage stagnation we are experiencing right now? Are you actually going to listen to your constituents and act for them, or are you just another yes vote for the party line?

Lol why won't you say his name?

My district in the state level is heavily red and heavily Trump. I have some conservative values but I do not support Donald Trump and that will hurt me.

What percentage of registered voters in your state district voted this year?

People support Trump because they think elections are binary choices. If you can communicate effectively, I think you'll find that there's more support for independent minded candidates than most people seem to think.

US House seems like a higher hurdle than MO state house. I'm open to being wrong, but I don't think I am. If you think I am, convince me.

What kind of spending would you say doesn’t benefit the American people?

Joe Biden or Donald Trump? I was referring to gaffs they both have made.

I think not getting vaccinated is stupid, selfish, and extremely detrimental to public health, but agree with you in principle that vaccines shouldn’t be forced on anyone at gunpoint. However, probation aside, that isn’t happening anywhere, is it? Making vaccination a condition of employment is not the same as making it a condition of being free to go about one’s life unmolested. When you say you oppose vaccine mandates, are you saying that you oppose (say) hospitals requiring vaccinations for the protection of their staff and patients?

[deleted]

I’m with you. If Shelly gets back to the office after an abortion chances of me,an immunocompromised person, ending up hospitalized are pretty damn low. However, if unvaccinated shelly shows up and gives my compromised ass polio that’s a different ballgame. It’s not “my body, my choice” when that choice impacts your cubicle buddy’s(or mom, grandpa, hair stylist etc) body, as well. It’s more complicated than that.

This argument is tiring.

What is your college status, marital status, and religion?

Are you a 19 year old OTC student?

Do you believe in term limits and not taking money from corporations or lobbyists. Do you believe you in banks being able to buy up houses to either jack up the prices or rent them which in turn has caused a large demographic of the American population to be in a position that they can’t afford to buy a house or there aren’t many options for housing.

How would those have an affect on my job if elected? I’m not going to make laws based on my political beliefs, that’s unconstitutional. Laws should be based on inclusion.

I am not.

Then please direct me to the correct website for your campaign. The only Willard Harris I can find in the area is a teenager from Branson with delusions of grandeur.

I believe in consecutive term limits. I don’t believe in stopping people from coming back to the office after someone else is given the seat. There’s been quite a few politicians who accomplished a lot after a break. I don’t believe in PAC funding. I think it’s a way to buy votes on legislation. As for the housing crisis, I would love to find a way to limit banks without obstructing the free market. Affordable housing is super important to me and Congress seems to completely ignore it.

Hatred and violence towards anyone for any reason is intolerable. People have the right to be who they feel they are and the government should have no say in two consenting adults relationship. I’m a big labor rights activist. I actually have a small group on Facebook that we just got running called “Workers of The Ozarks”. I’m pro Union and living wages that continuously increased as cost of living increases. I do not plan on spending my time in Washington. I’ll be there when it’s required of me but when I’m not needed, I will be right here in the ozarks, being involved in my communities and talking to everyone

Please speak on your feelings towards the idea of CRT

None! He's a 24 year old OTC drop out.

The more I learn about it, the more I’ve come to believe it is crucial to teach our kids about it and the dangers and oppression certain people face in this country.

Don't let this thread get you down. Reddit users are notoriously FAR left/totalitarian and are in no way an actual representation of Springfield's demographic.

You're doing great 😅

One has to wonder if all of these downvotes on the sensible comments aren't bots/throwaways.

Yikes Willard! You were doing so good

There’s not a candidate out there who will agree with every single view of each constituent. I tried to explain many times that I am not fully educated in CRT. My main knowledge is it would educate children and young adults that your life in society is currently dictated by prejudice systems that will base everything off your skin color. That’s a fact that has been proven.

[deleted]

[deleted]

Again I’m not a dropout. Thanks for spreading misinformation.

[deleted]

Thank you all for the feedback, positive and negative. We may not agree on everything but I’m glad to hear from different perspectives. I appreciate your time.

What year did you graduate?

You might want to brush up on CRT - both its actual concepts as well as what people put into and under the CRt umbrella. It's a minefield you are gonna have to navigate and it will pop up alot from enough potential voters.

That said, if you support having our kids learn about their privilege in school and that involves race, gender, identity, etc I'll have to resort to voting GOP cause at least they don't go down that avenue.

Not gonna let my kids get harrased and degraded by curriculum that shames or guilts them in anyway for their ancestors and overall history. (Basically what CRT does with the "power+privilege = racism so its okay to discriminate/advocate for racist policies against "white" people because they supposedly have structural and systematic privilege". (This is a big deal to me cause my kids can pass for white and im not inclined to let insane progs punish them for it.)

you have a good take on it. These people don't understand that history is recorded. Can't hide from it.

Nah I don't think so.

You sound like you would be fun at parties 😎

Teaching kids there is prejudice and privilege is not shaming them. They have not participated in or created the system. Teaching them about it, in my opinion, could lead to them learning from it and choosing to abandon it. They could, instead, create a system of equality and justice.

Marital status and religion aren’t relevant. I do think college status is important.

This is your resume to the people, what’s your educational/trade school/employment/volunteer history?

At the time of the election, I will have an associates degree in Political Science. I’m not wealthy so anything more than that isn’t really affordable to me at this time.

I understand that. We’re all just doing the best we can with the situations we were born into.

That made me think of another couple questions:

Do you support universal, state-funded preschool?

Do you support universal (or subsidized) college/trade schools?

I’ve noticed that younger children are becoming smarter each year. Universal preschool would give them the chance to grow more intelligent at a younger age and, in my opinion, improve their transition to full day schooling that comes during Kindergarten and onward.

I’ve always wondered why public colleges cost tens of thousands to attend. Why does it cost so much to obtain a degree that is so crucial and beneficial to our economy and society? I would love universal college education but that’s a hard drive with conservatives. I would definitely start with free community college and trade schools. We need more electricians, welders, mechanics, and stem workers. Those are all departments that students would be able to obtain a degree in from a community college or tech school.