Richard Watkins, candidate for US House of Representatives District 4 in North Carolina

Name: Richard L. Watkins

Political party: Democrat

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 37

Campaign website: richardlwatkins.com

Occupation: Full-time candidate (otherwise, educator and scientist)

Education: Bachelor of Science, Psychology; minor: Sociology, Fayetteville State University, 2003-2007. Doctor of Philosophy, Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2009-2014

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought): Yes! I ran for U.S. Congress in the 2018 election cycle.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: I founded The Science Policy Action Network, Inc., am President of the Laity at St. Joseph CME Church, have worked with the HRCC of the AAAS, and was Vice Chair of the Health Committee of the DCABP.

What is your plan for limiting the effects of inflation?

I would push for taxing corporations that use our inflationary environment to profit; revisit federal subsidies and regulations that drive up cost, without compromising safety or environmental standards as we lower production costs and drive competition; and push for a gas tax holiday.

What is the federal government’s role in controlling or ending the COVID-19 pandemic?

Its role is to provide for the nation’s physical and economic safety, including producing more PPE and vaccines; advancing research to better address future pandemics; and providing more support for business and workforce development, Main Street revitalization and child care accessibility.

What is the federal government’s role in combating the effects of climate change?

It must build support for plans to increase carbon capture, prevent deforestation, plant a lot more trees, conserve land and protect endangered species, justly transition fossil fuel workers into green industries of the future, and hold big corporate polluters accountable for damages.

What is your plan for reducing violent crime?

I will work tirelessly with colleagues in Congress to address the root causes of violent crime. The vast majority of incarcerees are poor. I also want to push for more background checks on gun sales, address the gun show loophole and ban ghost guns.

What should happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned?

If it is overturned, the right to an abortion will be determined on a state-by-state basis and lead to more women, especially those who are impoverished and from minority backgrounds, dying due to complications from underground abortions.

Is there an area where you disagree with your party? Why?

I see my main departure from our party — and politics and advocacy in general currently — is my stance on the climate crisis. We should be asking: How to reverse the trajectory of where we are? How do we just not prevent and just not mitigate or prepare but reverse? We have to discuss and invest in reversal.

What are your top issues? Pick up to three.

▪ Health care

▪ Climate change

▪ Wealth disparities between the top income earners and everyone else

This story was originally published April 24, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Richard Watkins, candidate for US House of Representatives District 4 in North Carolina."

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

The News & Observer

919-829-4877

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan is the Capitol Bureau Chief for The News & Observer, leading coverage of the legislative and executive branches in North Carolina with a focus on the governor, General Assembly leadership and state budget. She has received the McClatchy President’s Award, N.C. Open Government Coalition Sunshine Award and several North Carolina Press Association awards, including for politics and investigative reporting.