Dalia Al-Aqidi (GOP): 2024 Election Guide
Welcome to WCCO.com's 2024 Election Guide!
We reached out to Minnesota major party candidates running in U.S. congressional races this fall. Candidates were asked to provide answers to a set of political questions of high importance to voters.
Minnesota 5th Congressional District candidate Dalia Al-Aqidi submitted her answers to the questionnaire below.
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What do you believe are the most pressing issues facing constituents served by the office you are seeking?
The economy and cost of living, crime and public safety, education, managing immigration and securing our borders are the issues I most frequently hear about when I'm meeting residents of our district.
What are the three big goals or policies you hope to accomplish or pass during your time in office?
I am running for U.S. Congress because I take my oath of U.S. citizenship seriously and I believe in giving back to the country that allowed me to live the American dream when I came here as a refugee in 1993. I will focus on reducing the cost of living and eliminating government waste; making our district safe for residents, workers, and visitors; educating our kids to their fullest potential; and securing our borders and managing immigration. I will also combat the rising scourge of antisemitism that Ilhan Omar so often promotes.
At the national level, I will participate in Congressional oversight to ensure that existing antitrust laws are enforced. These laws prevent large corporations from creating monopolies or duopolies that give them the power to set prices that ordinary people cannot afford. Additionally, I will participate in legislative efforts that invigorate local supply chains, for everything from medicine to steel to energy. COVID showed the risk of becoming dependent on far-flung suppliers who have their own interests in mind. We must learn the right lessons and not recreate these dependencies.
Proposing these ideas and getting bipartisan agreement for them takes leaders who can work across the aisle. Ilhan Omar antagonizes everyone and practices the opposite approach.
Do you think Congress should pass a federal law on abortion rights and what should it look like?
I believe the issue is back where it belongs, in the states. They are the test tubes of democracy. I also believe in women's reproductive rights and freedoms and that people should be able to make their own choices in their lives as they see fit. The government should stay out of people's bedrooms.
According to polls, illegal crossings at the southern border and immigration policy are consistently ranked as a top issue for Americans. What do you propose to address these concerns?
I profoundly appreciate the freedoms granted to me by America, my adopted homeland, and that appreciation compels me to preserve these freedoms for others, and to give back to the country that has given me so much. Ilhan Omar complains that any management of immigration is cruel and inhumane. Such thinking is foolish and ignorant at best. It is cynical and dangerous at worst.
I believe in controlled, legal immigration, and I would vote in favor of such policies. I would oppose massive amnesty proposals. I would consider proposals that create pathways to citizenship for thoroughly vetted, contributing immigrants already here if they don't disadvantage those who pursue legal means of immigration.
Ilhan Omar's opposite approach would recreate the lawless society that her family helped create and from which she fled. I fled a complicated and oppressive society in Iraq myself. But I'm intelligent enough not to wish for its recreation here.
What would you do to address violent crime and drug use?
It is intolerable that criminal attacks with deadly weapons, carjackings, and shootings have become commonplace. Minneapolis and our district must be a safe place to visit, work, and live. Any plan to revitalize downtown depends on creating a safe environment.
I will push for more state and local law enforcement funding through grants like the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance and COPS so officers can gain access to modern equipment and advanced technology. I will promote bipartisan cooperation on law enforcement issues and work closely with police leaders to understand their needs. I will also promote transparency and accountability by supporting measures that uphold the highest standards of integrity within our police forces to foster public trust and confidence.
I would combat drug use by working to provide more treatment facilities for those who are addicted, just as I would work to uphold and enforce our laws, which means disincentivizing drug users by imposing stiffer penalties. We must stem the flow of fentanyl coming into the country and that again gets back to securing our borders.
Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States. What do you believe the federal government should do to reduce gun violence?
People who commit crimes must face punishment. Weak attorneys general and prosecutors on a local level too frequently let criminals escape prosecution. If you do the crime, you must do the time. We have laws on the books that go unenforced. That's where I would start.
Do you believe there should be term limits for members of Congress?
Yes. I don't believe our Founders intended to create a permanent class of politicians.
What economic policies do you propose to address high prices and cost of living?
We need to stop spending money we don't have and rely on our own energy supplies more than we currently do.
What is the government's responsibility when it comes to climate change? How would you address it?
I appreciate concerns over environmental costs associated with developing energy supplies, and I appreciate the concern over climate change as a consequence of over-reliance on carbon fuels. I also appreciate the fears of environmental degradation that unfettered energy exploitation can create. However, I believe that we have developed, and still can develop, energy practices that protect the environment.
We must consciously develop a mix of local energy supplies. We must continue to use, while reducing our dependence on, fossil fuels, as we develop safe nuclear energy, along with transitioning to cost-effective renewables that have demonstrated an ability to scale. I do not believe it is wise or helpful to cut off fossil fuels as quickly as possible, as if this will force us to transition away from them before alternatives are available.
As government, health care, and financial institutions face increasing threats to cybersecurity, what measures should policymakers and Americans alike take to protect people from these ongoing threats?
Technology holds the promise of greater inclusivity and productivity for American society. At the same time, the cyber domain is providing new avenues for state and non-state actors to undermine our national security and democracy, pilfer intellectual property from private companies, and steal personal identifiable information. To capitalize on these opportunities and address these challenges, we must combine rigorous academic research of adversaries' strategies and capabilities with scientific experimentation and interdisciplinary study to unlock technological, governance, and policy solutions.
Who won the 2020 Presidential election? How confident are you in the integrity of our elections?
Biden won the 2020 elections. I don't believe non-citizens should be allowed to vote and think voter IDs should be required to cast a ballot.