U.S. House District 7 covers Springfield, Joplin, Branson and much of southwest Missouri. The following is a transcript from Ozarks Public Radio's interview with Hesketh recorded on July 22.
GREGORY HOLMAN, KSMU NEWS: Welcome, Ms. Hesketh.
MISSI HESKETH: Good morning, Greg, thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to be heard.
KSMU: Let's get right to our questions. And just as a reminder for each answer, we have 1 minute and 45 seconds for all of the candidates. First question: If you are elected to represent southwest Missouri in the United States House of Representatives, what will your top agenda items be?
HESKETH: That is a very good question. There are so many issues that are facing southwest Missouri in particular. But primarily, my objective is to get into office and help ensure that Project 2025 is not put into place. That is the biggest threat, I think, to the nation at this time.
Once we get that taken care of, then I would like to look into bringing back some earmarks to southwest Missouri, as we have not had any brought back to us in a long time. And there are a lot of rural communities that are really struggling that could benefit from them.
KSMU: Next question: Abortion is a hot-button issue right now, with several states facing ballot issues on the subject. What are your views on abortion and a woman's right to choose?
HESKETH: Greg, I'm going to tell you right now that it's not going to take me a minute and 45 seconds to answer that question. I really, truly, honestly do not feel that a woman's medical issue — a family's decision when or if to create a family has — there's no place in legislation for that. That is totally something that is personal and private, and just should not be legislated whatsoever.
KSMU: The voting process has been a key topic of discussion, both at the federal and state levels. How do you think the U.S. can ensure fair elections, while also ensuring that everyone has an equal chance to cast a ballot?
HESKETH: Well, I certainly am a proponent of automatic registration to vote when you get your driver's license or you know, turn 18. Just like when they have the... [Hesketh paused while attempting to recall a phrase].
I think that mail-in ballots are essential to individuals who do not have reliable transportation. I think absentee voting is another avenue for people to get in, instead of just keeping it down to the one day. And I really do not think that there has been any sort of existential threat to the election process. You know, I think there's been a lot of exaggeration in that — the politicizing the entire process. And I think that electing sound and focused and fair secretaries of state to ensure that process is what we need to do as well.
KSMU: What do you think should be done to address illegal immigration issues in the United States?
HESKETH: Well, it certainly would have been would have been nice if Congress had passed the bipartisan immigration bill. That would have solved that issue right there.
Without seeing what's going on at the border, it's hard to tell because there's so much misinformation and disinformation out there. It's hard to understand what is fact and what is fiction. There should be a fair and balanced access to immigration in this country, not one that takes a year or two years or 10 years to go through for people. And that certainly shouldn't be absolutely out of bounds economically for them. This country relies on immigrants to perform a lot of the jobs that are out there, I think 5% of our workforce are immigrants. [Editor's note: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, people born in countries outside the U.S. make up 18.6 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force.] So a fair way to get folks in and get them through the process and not be huddled up at the border cities.
KSMU: Do you think the United States should continue to fund the war in Ukraine, and why or why not?
HESKETH: That is another really good question. It's been the job of the United States to help countries protect their democracies, for basically its existence, and to allow Russia and Putin to continue to move in on their territories and to take over the land that the people of Ukraine call their home is not fair, and it is not right, and there's no telling if Putin would not continue to progress further west. So yeah, I think that we should continue to fund that war.
KSMU: What are your views on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas?
It's just another devastating situation on this planet. You know, there's, they've been looking for a two-state solution for decades. And it's just been a disaster forever. And now we're up to 70,000 dead in Gaza. [Editor's note: The United Nations said July 22 that "at least 39,006 Palestinians were killed and 89,818 were injured," citing Palestinian health officials. KSMU cannot independently verify these figures.]
I don't know what the perfect fix for it is. But I really have a hard time justifying the United States continuing to provide bombs and missiles to Israel, when they're focused on hospitals and schools, where the innocents are holed up waiting for, you know, a chance to go home, which, they don't even have homes anymore. So it is, it's a devastating situation. And if there could be an absolute ceasefire, that would be ideal. I understand that Hamas is, you know, not trustworthy with that, and that Israel wants retaliation. But there are just too many innocent people being killed.
KSMU: If your political party wins a majority in the U.S. House, what should voters expect?
If the Democratic Party wins a majority in the House, and wins the presidential office, maintains the Senate, I can almost guarantee you that one of the first things that we need to be done is codifying Roe so that states like Missouri do not have to go through the initiative petition process and trying to have, you know, the statehouse or the state Senate, changing the initiative petition process to, you know, keep up with the will of the people.
In addition to that, I think that they could probably see their Social Security more secure. I think that they could see the Democratic Party continuing to try to make prescription drugs more accessible, like Biden had done with inhalers and some of the, some diab — some insulin.
I think I think you could see a return to decorum in the House, so that we are more productive and not acting so completely partisan, and looking for an investigation here and investigation there. A productive Congress is what I think that we could bring.
KSMU: In your opinion, what makes southwest Missouri's 7th District a unique place? And what can our elected representatives contribute to leadership discussions in the nation's capitol?
HESKETH: The Missouri 7th is unique in that it has a couple of somewhat urban areas, you have Springfield, Joplin, Branson's growing — but then also the rural communities. By and large, we are living in one of the most beautiful areas of the country with ecotourism financing a lot of jobs for families.
So I think that we could bring the perspectives of rural folks who want small communities to stay small, and then urban communities where we have more diversity, and folks trying to find their way and better their communities, whether it be just their neighborhoods or the cities at large.
