This is the seventh in a series of profiles on the 2014 U.S. Senate Candidates on View from the Hill. Links to previous profiles are at the end of this post.
For Will Stewart, a 32-year-old information technology small business owner from eastern North Carolina, many of America’s issues are deeply seated in what he believes is corrupt, corporate-financed politics that fall far from fulfilling the needs of the everyday citizen.
“I think that the system is pretty corrupt and I think that it’s the elephant in the room that nobody really wants to talk about,” he said.
He is running for the Democratic nomination in the upcoming U.S. Senate primary election on May 6 against incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan and retired U.S. military officer Ernest Reeves.
Stewart attributes the increasing difficulty of college affordability to corporate politics and government corruption. He said he believes it is important to restore consumer protection, such as bankruptcy protection, on student loans in order to keep students from being taken advantage of by lenders.
Stewart’s proposed plan involves attempting to create federal guidelines that would limit government and corporation profit from defaulted student loans and prevent college students from being financially abused.
Stewart said he is determined to best represent the average American. He’s focused on issues such as campaign finance reform, marijuana decriminalization and regulation and the repeal and/or prevention of the renewal of the Patriot Act.
“They’re issues that affect everybody, that everybody wants to see changed and that nobody’s changed,” he said.
Stewart’s relative obscurity due to limited campaign finances and lack of previous political experience is unlikely to win him the nomination, but he said he wants to see someone who “really cares about Americans represented” in Congress.
“I want to see North Carolinians, and I don’t care who it is, it doesn’t have to be me, I want to see North Carolina represented by everyday North Carolinians, not some well-connected politicians,” he said.
Read the other Senate profiles by clicking on the buttons below! And be sure to check out the voter's guide for information on Orange County candidates. Early voting ends May 3, and the primary election is May 6.
View from the Hill is a political blog by Daily Tar Heel staff writers. Any opinion expressed in it does not represent the Daily Tar Heel. Email the blog coordinator at dthviewfromthehill@gmail.com.
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