E-Paper
Kansas Libertarian Drew Cranmer criticizes Iran war, tariffs and rising costs ahead of midterms: 'President overstepped his bounds'
Drew Cranmer is the Libertarian candidate for Kansas Congressional District 4, and he spoke exclusively with HT.com ahead of the midterms.
Prefer HTon Google
Drew Cranmer is the Libertarian candidate in the Kansas Congressional District 4 race. Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections on November 3, he spoke exclusively with HT.com about his views and expectations as an aspiring lawmaker.
Cranmer might not have a track record in US politics, but he was into student politics. A political science student, Cranmer described how his days at Wichita university whet his appetite for politics. “I've kind of been interested since college,” Cranmer shared.
He also explained how he'd long been reporting on and investigating incidents involving Flock cameras and more. When asked about what he felt about the controversial cameras, the Libertarian candidate outright called them ‘unconstitutional’.
Drew Cranmer on the dangers of Flock cameras
“Flock cameras are against the Fourth Amendment,” Cranmer said. Notably, concerns have been raised about mass surveillance, warrantless tracking, and police misuse of data when it comes to these cameras. “If we are going to have them, we definitely need better guardrails. We need to be able to inspect the audit logs,” Cranmer said, noting that this was not possible in Wichita due to statutes currently present. Pointing to Georgia's transparent process with the data, Cranmer noted that it was not coincidental that a high number of Flock camera abuse cases had emerged from that state.
“They should be as open as possible and transparent as possible,” Cranmer said of Flock cameras. “Too many Americans are probably willing to give up their right to privacy in exchange for what they think is security,” adding that Flock cameras tracking where people were going all the time was a ‘line too far’.
Drew Cranmer on pressing issues this election
Cranmer looked at both sides of the coin when asked about ICE action in the state. While he noted that federal agents should go for law breakers and violent criminals, he urged them not to go after ‘low hanging fruit’ by going after people working in restaurants and grocery stores.
The Libertarian called it ‘heights of inhumanity’ and admitting that agents had ‘hard jobs’ he noted that it did not mean removing empathy for people.
“I probably differ from many Libertarians in that I do think if we are going to have the welfare state that we have, we should seek to limit immigration and enforce the laws that are there in the books,” Cranmer told HT.com.
However, he noted that the immigration process should be made easier, especially for people who have been living in the US for years, and have families and lives here, and have been contributing meaningfully to society and the economy.
Cranmer flagged the affordability crisis, and called for an audit of the Federal Reserve. The Libertarian explained how it was dealing with debt that led to rise in inflation. He also spoke about the foreign policy, referring to the Iran war and the foreign aid being given to countries, especially Israel. “I don't know why we are sending money overseas and contributing to the inflation here,” Cranmer said.
He also spoke about the Department of Defense not having passed an audit in the last ten years and called for them to undergo an audit too. Cranmer spoke of skyrocketing diesel prices, and tariffs which are impacting the farming sector of Kansas. “The president [Trump] has overstepped his bounds,” Cranmer said, speaking of tariffs, wars, and rising costs.
Cranmer expressed belief that the Democrats were keeping on making the same promises, while the Republicans had already had their shot and didn't have much to show for it. He posited the Libertarian Party as the alternative ahead of the midterms and signed off with a message for the voters to put their ‘principles above the party’.
