Kentucky Senate candidate Christopher Campbell calls US military’s global footprint ‘waste of money’, pushes defense budget reduction

Christopher Campbell, who previously served in the Kentucky National Guard, spoke exclusively to HT.com about US defense and military spending.

Christopher Campbell of the Kentucky Party is facing off against Democratic candidate Charles Booker and Republican nominee Andy Barr for the Kentucky Senate seat in the U.S. midterm elections scheduled for November 3. Ahead of the elections, Campbell spoke exclusively to HT.com.

Christopher Campbell is running for the election to the US Senate to represent Kentucky. (Instagram @chris_ctcampbell)

Campbell, a Kentucky resident, decided to run for the seat during a party executive committee meeting, where discussions arose over the party’s lack of a candidate for the Senate position held by McConnell since 1985.

“We're trying to get our name out there. So this is a prime opportunity to run an independent candidate. I'm like, All right, I'll do it. That's how I got into the race,” Campbell told HT.com.

Kentucky Party’s core principles and manifesto

Founded in 2024, Kentucky Party is built around three key principles: anti-corruption, anti-war and pro Kentucky.

Campbell’s campaign website also outlines the key elements of his manifesto, which include Medicare for All, support for labor and unions, respect for international law, term limits, public health, environmental sustainability, and an anti-war stance alongside support for the military.

Campbell, who previously served in the Kentucky National Guard, spoke about U.S. defense and military spending, explaining what advocating for an anti-war policy entails.

Campbell calls for US military base consolidation

The U.S. currently operates around 800 military bases worldwide, a presence Campbell believes is unnecessary. “The first step would be base consolidation,” Campbell said when asked how he would approach reducing U.S. military and defense spending.

“We should not be running 800 military bases around the world. That's just a huge waste of money,” Campbell continued.

“I see us having all these bases that we have to pay 10s of billions of dollars every year just to maintain, just to kind of keep our foot on the necks of a lot of groups of people that we should not be doing that to.”

Campbell pushes for shared base costs

He further explained that some military bases could continue to operate in allied countries, but their upkeep should be a shared responsibility, with partner nations also contributing to the costs. “We can split the payment if they want some type of security,” Campbell said.

The Kentucky Party representative argues that the military’s “initial purpose is to defend national security, not to wage wars of aggression around the world.”

Campbell targets rising costs of defense contracts

Campbell also highlighted what he described as a 1,600% increase in the military-industrial complex.

“Another big thing with the military spending is that it's just gotten so bloated, because the military industrial complex, the inflation of the military industrial complex has gone up by like 1600%,” he said.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. national defense spending reached $916 billion in fiscal year 2025, accounting for 13% of total federal expenditures.

Citing several private corporations, he argued that these companies can name their prices, with the government paying whatever they demand.

“The military-industrial complex is a massive monopoly. There's like 5 or 6 companies that get like 90% of the contracts just because they're there and they can lobby Congress so they get first dibs,” he explained.

According to MilitarySpend.org, Lockheed Martin Corporation was the largest recipient of U.S. Department of Defense contract funds and defense revenue, receiving $56.62 billion between July 14, 2025, and July 14, 2026, based on aggregated federal award data.

Pentagon audit and congressional approval proposed

Campbell also outlined several measures he believes should be implemented through a structured approach to reduce military spending and ensure greater oversight of expenditures on wars.

“So, the way I see it is that, first, the Pentagon needs to pass an audit, and second, the Pentagon would have to petition Congress for money to wage a war. So, the money wouldn't be available,” he said. “Every dollar that the Pentagon wants to use, they should have to petition Congress for that money. And then Congress will allocate it via budget.”

He added that the President should not have war-making powers. “This whole thing where the President could just wage war for 60 days or whatever, that needs to be rescinded. There should be no war powers resolution for the President.”

Campbell explained that decisions on which military bases should be shut down would be made after consulting the chiefs of staff and assessing the purpose each facility serves. “If the base serves a purpose, fine. If it doesn't, then it should just be closed,” he said.

Campbell backs stronger North American alliances

However, the Kentucky Senate candidate clarified that his anti-war stance does not rule out all forms of military intervention, particularly when a country facing an invasion seeks U.S. assistance.

“My big thing would be really, really strengthening our military alliances with our neighbors, our actual neighbors, Canada and Mexico,” he said.

Military benefits protected under Campbell’s plan

Campbell also stressed that reducing the military budget would not come at the expense of service members’ benefits, including healthcare. Instead, he said his plan would include raising soldiers’ salaries. “It's not about less money, it's about more efficient spending,” he said.

With the midterm elections approaching, Campbell reiterated his stance on U.S. defense spending and military involvement in conflicts worldwide, stating:

“We don't need to be having this massive global military footprint to where, again, it's like we're just waiting for a war to happen because we're a solution looking for a problem.”