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{"id":38757,"date":"2018-07-17T12:52:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T17:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occasionalplanet.org\/?p=38757"},"modified":"2018-07-17T13:33:25","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T18:33:25","slug":"cort-vanostran-is-he-the-democrat-who-can-defeat-ann-wagner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occasionalplanet.org\/2018\/07\/17\/cort-vanostran-is-he-the-democrat-who-can-defeat-ann-wagner\/","title":{"rendered":"Cort VanOstran: Is he the Democrat who can defeat Ann Wagner?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cort VanOstran is a candidate who is clearly thinking past the August 2018 Democratic primary. When we interviewed him last week, it seemed obvious that VanOstran is less focused on his primary opponents and more on defeating Ann Wagner, the Republican incumbent, in November. However, VanOstran does have to win the primary, and it\u2019s shaping up to be more competitive, as undecideds make up their minds.<\/p>\n
His strategy for winning your vote? Hard work. In the days before the August 7th primaries, VanOstran plans to use every last minute to win over voters in Missouri\u2019s Second District with his grassroots campaign. If you live in Missouri\u2019s Second Congressional district, you\u2019ve probably seen a VanOstran sign along the road, or VanOstran himself. His schedule is available on Twitter and Facebook and he can be spotted at any of his public events, knocking on doors, or making phone calls in his field office.<\/p>\n
The reason VanOstran is running is largely due to his background, and he sees the current administration in Washington as failing to make decisions that benefit families like his. VanOstran was raised in Joplin by his mother and two siblings, went to public school, attended Harvard on scholarship for his undergraduate degree, and eventually ended up in St. Louis to attend Washington University\u2019s Law School. His drive for success comes from his observations of his mother, and he\u2019d argue that she\u2019s given him an appreciation for hard work.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad passed away when I was eight… he took his own life\u2026 That was really the thing in my life that defined my worldview more than anything else,\u201d he explained. VanOstran paused for a moment and ,then started to talk about his mother, as he often does on the campaign trail. \u201cI watched my mom work to make ends meet. I learned a lot about people not always being responsible for the situations that they find themselves in, but I also learned a lot about what strength looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
VanOstran understands what it is like to grow up struggling, and he wants to help families in similar situations find a path to the middle class. He listens well, and seems genuine about being in this line of work to see positive change in the lives of everyday people.<\/p>\n
Even though VanOstran is not a native of Missouri\u2019s Second District, he feels the values with which he was raised resonate as \u201ccore values\u2019\u2019 that other Missourians hold close to their hearts. He now lives in Clayton. He is especially disappointed with the leadership of Ann Wagner, his current representative. \u201cMy mom passed away of breast cancer a couple years ago. For the last couple of years of her life, she had a health that she had purchased through Missouri’s Affordable Care Act Exchange… It wasn’t perfect, but it worked well for my mom…I watched about a year ago, in May 2017, as Ann Wagner voted to cut 23 million people like my mom from their coverage, and that felt like a vote against my family,\u201d \u00a0he said. \u201cFor me, I was already thinking about the fact that I was represented in Congress by Ann Wagner, somebody that I really didn’t feel shared my values\u2026 I said I think we can do much better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to the issues, VanOstran takes a progressive stance. He believes in access to quality health care for all, common sense gun laws, making higher education more affordable, and making our government more accountable for its actions. Although the issues he centers his campaign on look very similar to those of his opponents, his legislative solutions are carefully concocted. When asked about health care, VanOstran\u2019s plan is to \u201c…incentivize states like Missouri to expand their Medicaid program…I want to get to Medicare-for-all.\u201d More specifically on Medicare, VanOstran feels that younger people should be allowed to buy into this system as we make the transition to Medicare-for-all. Younger people are typically more healthy and have less need for healthcare, therefore increasing the amount of money in the system to cover the costs of care for older people.<\/p>\n
On the issue of gun violence, VanOstran says that legislation in urban areas and more rural areas \u201c…can and should look different…\u201d and seems willing to open dialogue with those who do not share his viewpoint. VanOstran seems to have done his homework on a number of issues, and plans to go into Congress with an outline of his goals and how to achieve them.<\/p>\n