Democratic primary challengers: Williamson, Phillips and Cenk Uygur on the issues

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(NewsNation) — With Republicans set to kick off the presidential primary season in Iowa, three longshot Democratic candidates are trying to do something that hasn’t happened in modern U.S. history: beat out a sitting president for their party’s nomination.

Author Marianne Williamson, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and progressive commentator Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks are all vying to unseat President Joe Biden.

At this point, it’s unclear which state primary ballots they will appear on. Last week, North Carolina officials chose not to add any of the three to the Democratic primary ballot.

Uygur, who was born in Turkey before later becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, faces an additional ballot battle since the U.S. Constitution says only natural-born citizens can be president.

Editor’s note: Marianne Williamson has ended her presidential primary bid. She suspended her campaign Feb. 7.

Here’s where the three Democratic hopefuls stand on the issues.

Immigration and the border

Marianne Williamson

“America, at its best, is a welcoming community, and we need to live up to our image, instead of tarnishing it,” her campaign website says.

Williamson does not view the current border situation as a “crisis,” calls that framing a “canard”
Would abolish U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) and establish an Office of Citizenship, Refugees, and Immigration Services under the Department of Labor
Supports comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for all immigrants living in the U.S. so long as they haven’t violated any “serious laws”
Wants to expand the number of visas available to immigrants

Dean Phillips

“It’s a disaster and it needs to be addressed, and yes, it is a national security crisis,” Phillips said of the border situation during a recent NewsNation interview.

Phillips has criticized the Biden administration for mismanaging the border and said Democrats don’t take immigration issues seriously enough
Wants barriers, as well as, better technology and human resources at the border
Says U.S. asylum policy should be changed so claims are litigated and adjudicated in the migrant’s country of origin
Supports comprehensive immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship for those in the country

Cenk Uygur

“I think we should have a humane way of processing undocumented immigrants and the cost should be paid for by everybody,” Uygur wrote on X.

Uygur has called Republican governors’ migrant busing strategy a “publicity stunt” and a “waste of taxpayer money” while also pushing back against critics of the policy: “Blue states can’t complain about the border states sending them undocumented immigrants because of the cost. Why do the border states have to bear the brunt of the cost?” he wrote
Criticized the Biden administration for following through on a 2019 appropriation for a southern border wall, calling it a “capitulation”

Inflation, economy, minimum wage

Marianne Williamson

“American social and economic policy has acted like a vacuum cleaner, taking the majority of our nation’s economic resources and sucking them into the hands of a very few,” per her campaign site.

She would push to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour
Would enact “fair taxes” on the “wealthy, corporations, and Wall Street” and reduce taxes on “working people,” supporting a 70% top marginal tax rate
Vows to repeal Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts
Will push for a “modern Glass-Steagall Act” separating commercial banks from investment banks

Dean Phillips

“I believe that smart public policy is both pro-business and pro-worker,” his campaign website says.

He voted in favor of Biden’s major economic agenda items, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act
Worked as the president and CEO of his family’s organization, Phillips Distilling Company before becoming a co-owner of Talenti Gelato
Promises to grow the economy by “reducing red tape” and “rewarding innovation”
Says building 7 million housing units is a priority on “day one” i

Cenk Uygur

“If you think the economy is actually in good shape and the people have it wrong, then Joe Biden is a terrible politician who couldn’t get a simple message across,” he said in November.

He supports a $15 minimum wage and paid family leave, according to his campaign website
Has criticized Biden for not fighting hard enough on inflation, particularly when it comes to worker wages

Abortion

Marianne Williamson

“I trust the moral decision-making of the American woman, and I do not feel the government has a right to deny or restrict her decisions,” according to her campaign page.

Williamson vows to appoint federal judges and Supreme Court judges who support Roe v. Wade
Wants to codify Roe v. Wade as federal law
Would expand and restore funding for Planned Parenthood, and other local health care clinics that provide abortions and other services
Supports more funding for sexual education in K-12 and in higher education

Dean Phillips

“The Supreme Court’s decision to unravel decades of settled law and allow states to outlaw abortion with no exceptions is both dangerous and shortsighted,” his campaign site says.

Phillips says Congress must take action to codify Roe
Is a member of the pro-choice caucus in Congress
Has voted for legislation like the Women’s Health Protection Act

Cenk Uygur

“Between abortion and Trump, Republicans look like they are heading straight into an iceberg,” he wrote on X.

Uygur said he agrees with Roe v. Wade standard
He argues that the bible is pro-abortion

Drugs, marijuana legalization, crime policy

Marianne Williamson

“Violence and crime don’t happen in a vacuum. A holistic response to this issue requires a deeper focus on its causes, as well as, crime prevention solutions,” her campaign site says.

She wants to end the reliance on police to handle homelessness and mental health crises
Would create a national database of police crimes, brutality and misconduct. Also wants a legal fund for victims of police brutality
She intends to decriminalize cannabis and psilocybin and would immediately pardon those convicted of nonviolent drug possession
Would work toward decriminalizing possession of all drugs once the national infrastructure for “harm reduction” and “addiction treatment” is built up

Dean Phillips

“I believe we can enhance public safety by providing funding for police departments and other first responders for the recruitment and retention of the best and the brightest from our communities,” according to his campaign site.

He thinks public safety is improved by funding police departments and first responders
Has called for legalizing and taxing marijuana
Wrote and sponsored the Pathways to Policing Act to provide funding to bolster law enforcement recruitment

Cenk Uygur

“It’s not a progressive position to be indifferent to the injustice victims suffer,” Uygur on X in Aug. 2022.

He denounced the “Defund the Police” slogan in 2022, calling it “wildly counterproductive framing” after previously supporting it in June 2020, saying it was time to “start over and completely rebuild policing in this country”
Has also called the “abolish prisons” rhetoric counterproductive
Criticized “dinosaur corporate Democrats” and Biden for blocking marijuana legalization despite widespread public support

Israel-Palestine, Ukraine war and Taiwan, China foreign policy

Marianne Williamson

“We cannot simply rely on brute force to rid ourselves of international enemies,” her campaign site says.

She wants to create a U.S. Department of Peace that would work on matters related to “international and domestic peace issues” including a U.S. Peace Academy, which would act as a sister organization to the U.S. Military Academy
Called the atrocities committed by Hamas “acts of pure evil” but has also criticized American leadership for not taking an “active role” in emphasizing the need for “Palestinian justice”
Has said she would not “poke the bear” concerning China and wants to approach the country as a collaborator, not an enemy
Doesn’t think Ukraine should get a “blank check” from the U.S. but says the country shouldn’t be ignored either

Dean Phillips

“Israel has every right and expectation to target Hamas terrorists and dismantle their capability of destroying the State of Israel,” he said in a statement.

Phillips blames the cycle of bloodshed on Israel’s enemies attacking its “fundamental right to exist” but also “policies of oppression” and “illegal settlement on Palestinian lands”
Says Israel’s response has taken an “unacceptable toll” on Palestinian civilians
Praised Biden’s call for additional support for Ukraine after the president spoke in October
Voted against an amendment to treat Taiwan similar to other NATO countries

Cenk Uygur

“As long as Israel continues to kill innocent Palestinian civilians at these record rates, we should not only not send them any extra money, but we should end any funding we send to them at all,” he wrote in November.

Said Israel “imprisons 5 million Palestinians in an open-air prison of West Bank and Gaza Strip” during a NewsNation interview in November, later clarifying he’s not against Israel but opposes the “current right-wing government and their actions”
Called Biden’s recent $105 billion funding request “insane” and said it would primarily go into the pockets of “defense contractors and politicians they fund”

Student loan forgiveness

Marianne Williamson

“Forgiving all student debt will allow students to work in a career they love, launch a business, or buy a home,” her campaign website says.

Williamson supports eliminating all interest on student loans and forgiving all federal and privately held student debt
Wants to offer free tuition at all public colleges, as well as, free tuition at trade schools
Plans to expand the Pell Grant Program and double funding for the Federal Work-Study Program
Would invest more money in teacher training programs and “end high-stakes testing”

Dean Phillips

“Every American should have access to an affordable two or four-year college degree, apprenticeship, or job-training certificate that prepares them for jobs of the future,” Phillips said on his website.

Supports “targeted relief” for federal student debt holders with the “greatest need” and for those pursuing certain careers like teaching, nursing and law enforcement
Says policies should focus on treating the “underlying problem of college affordability” rather than “short-term actions to treat the symptoms”

Cenk Uygur

“I think Democratic leaders who never wanted to do student debt relief in first place are secretly thrilled. This way they can tell their donors they didn’t do it and they can tell young voters they tried,” he wrote in June.