This is the transcript of an interview with with District 5 Senate Candidate Rep. Miller (R-KY-5) by Congressional Report Reporter Rep. Smith held June 18, 2020.

Rep. Smith: Thank you for joining us for the second part of The Congressional Report’s interview series with District 5 Senate candidates. I’m Rep. Smith, your host for the evening. Joining us this evening is the representative from the great Commonwealth of Kentucky and Republican candidate for the District 5 Senate seat, Rep. Miller. Rep. Miller, thank you so much for burning the midnight oil to join us.

Rep. Miller: Glad to be on here!

Rep. Smith: Glad to have you! Just to open things up, tell us a little about yourself and your background.

Rep. Miller: Well, I’m a former senator from the great District of District 5. I’ve been on this since late February and have had many accomplishments and roles under my belt. I would say my best accomplishment was either becoming senator of District 5 in April or becoming a deputy leader in May.

Rep. Smith: Thanks for sharing that with us! That brings me to my next question. What convinced you to run for your old seat?

Rep. Miller: I feel after a while, it was ready for me to go back to the Senate after resigning for the first time in the start of the month of May.

Rep. Smith: Thank you for that answer. I understand you were formerly a Democrat, is that accurate?

Rep. Miller: Yes that is.

Rep. Smith: For the voters that may not know, could you elaborate on the reason for your switch to the GOP?

Rep. Miller: I feel like as a moderate Democrat at the time the views of the Democratic Party were becoming way too Progressive and shifting left way too quickly then I wanted, so after talking with some people I decided to change to the Republican Party to better fit my values. I don’t regret it. No offense to the Democratic party as a whole. Still love y’all 🙂

Rep. Smith: Thank you for that. So let’s talk policy. What is your “pet policy” or issue that you want to tackle most if you are elected to the Senate?

Rep. Miller: I feel like the issue I would like to discuss the most is religious freedom. I call for all branches of government to cease their attacks on the religious liberties of the people and the State.

Also, another thing I would like to tackle is LGBTQ rights, I believe that they are the same people as straight people and should get the same rights as us, simple as that.

Rep. Smith: Following up on that last answer, as you may know there has been some conflict between LGBTQ rights supporters and religious freedom advocates due to their differences on moral issues. How do you plan to reconcile that if elected to the Senate?

Rep. Miller: I plan to consolidate that by talking to the people that have those problems and discussing how we could effectively agree on either a compromise or way to stop this fighting between the two groups.

Rep. Smith: Thank you. Moving on to the race itself, what do you feel sets you apart from the rest of the field running for this seat?

Rep. Miller: I feel like in terms of most members that I’m running against except a certain Carton (who is a great friend of mine and I have great respect for), I feel I have activity on my side and the determinism to get things done. I also feel that as the only Republican running for the seat it really helps me as most Republicans will see a main person instead of splitting the vote unevenly.

Rep. Smith: Thank you for that. To close us out for the evening, is there anything else you’d like to share with the voters of District 5 about yourself or your campaign? The floor is yours to speak on any topic of your choice.

Rep. Miller: I feel that no matter who you support or what party you’re siding with, everyone should go out and vote for whoever tomorrow in District 5! Thank you for having me here!

Rep. Smith: The pleasure is all ours! Thank you so much for joining us!

This has been the second part of the Congressional Report’s interview series with the District 5 candidates. I’m Rep. Smith signing off.