What voters need to know about Mike Carey, Republican candidate for 15th Congressional District

Voters in Ohio's 15th Congressional District will decide this November who they want to work for them in Washington after months without a representative. 

Republican Mike Carey and Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo will vie for the seat in the Nov. 2 special election after securing their parties' nomination in August. The winner will replace former GOP Rep. Steve Stivers, who left Congress in May to run the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. 

The 15th includes Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Madison, Morgan, Perry, Pickaway and Vinton counties, as well as portions of Athens, Fayette, Franklin and Ross counties. 

The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau asked both candidates to complete questionnaires. Here's how Carey responded. 

More: Meet Allison Russo, Democratic candidate for 15th Congressional District

About Carey

"Mike Carey grew up in Sabina, a small town in rural Ohio. Like so many people in OH-15, Mike’s hometown molded him into the person he is today and taught him the values of hard work, community and freedom.

After high school, Mike followed his family tradition earning an ROTC scholarship and serving as an officer in the military. During this time, Mike attended and earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University.

As a professional, Mike became an executive for one of the nation’s largest privately owned energy companies, headquartered in Ohio. For more than 20 years, Mike has fought radical left-wing policies and worked to protect American energy jobs. As an advocate for American coal miners, Mike has worked to protect the environment, save miner’s pension benefits, and roll back overreaching, job destroying regulations. Today Mike sees the same radical playbook that was used against the fossil fuel industry being applied across our entire economy. He will use his experience to fight back."

Talking infrastructure, Afghanistan and more

Why should voters elect you?

"If voters elect me, I will work tirelessly to return jobs and prosperity to our district while supporting policies that reflect their values. I will work with Republicans, Democrats and independents to fight the radical agenda being pushed by Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi that is bankrupting our children with runaway inflation and mountains of new debt; making our nation less safe by opening our borders and defunding police; and crippling our economy. 

I am also proud to have the endorsements of former President Donald Trump, the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), the Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Veterans United, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Susan B. Anthony List and many local officials across OH-15."

Do you support the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion spending package? 

"I believe we must invest in a true infrastructure package, not a bill marketed as such, but serves as a trojan horse for Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s $3.5 trillion spending package. This is the largest tax and spend bill in history and would add $17 trillion to the national debt. To highlight a few of the radical proposals: This package includes higher taxes, the largest expansion of welfare since the 1960s, $100 billion in amnesty for illegal immigrants, a Green New Deal "clean energy standard" to force utilities to stop using fossil fuels, and doubling the size of the IRS.

Passing this monstrosity would make the American economy look more like the European economy, which is something I will not support. We must invest in true infrastructure and new technologies, reduce taxes and restrain the size of government, not expand it."

Do you support how President Biden ended the war in Afghanistan? What steps should the U.S. take now that troops are out of the country to address humanitarian and security concerns?

"President Biden failed our troops, our veterans, our nation and our allies with his hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan. Thirteen U.S. service members were killed and hundreds of Americans were left behind enemy lines after Biden promised to get them out. His failed strategy created a humanitarian crisis, leaving Americans and Afghans at the hands of a brutal Taliban regime, led by known terrorists who are heavily armed with U.S. military equipment. The choice did not have to be a chaotic exit or forever war.

Now we must focus on locating and evacuating every American and ally who helped our troops over the last 20 years. Additionally, we must vet and take in Afghan refugees who are at risk under the Taliban regime. Already critical, but more so now that the Taliban is emboldened by the president’s weakness, we must secure our borders and focus on threats to the homeland. Americans are less safe today due to Joe Biden’s failure."

What is your response to those who say you can't run authentically as a political outsider when you spent years working as a lobbyist?

"I have spent my career fighting for hard working American miners, their jobs and their pensions. I have never held elected office, but for more than 20 years I have held radical politicians accountable for their attacks on the American coal industry and the tens of thousands of jobs that they put in jeopardy. I have worked on behalf of the people that keep the lights on, not the D.C. elites and career politicians that have led our county down a dark path."

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.