Candidate Profile: Ralph Groves

Libertarian candidate Ralph Groves faces Democrat James Pericola and Republican Joe Strada in the Nov. 3 midterm general election for Congressional District 11. The district comprises all of Sumter County and parts of Lake and Orange counties.

The winner succeeds former U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster, who retired after 16 years in Congress.

U.S. Representatives serve two-year terms and earn $174,000 annually.

The former chair of the Libertarian Party of Orange County, Groves, 74, who had no primary opponent, lives in Ocoee where he cares for his wife Annette. The two have five children, but one son passed away at an early age, he said. Groves also has three grandchildren, one godchild and he sponsors a child in West Africa.

A U.S. Army veteran, Groves served on active deployments in Armenia, Germany, West Africa, and other regions, including support for Operation Desert Storm in 1991 in Iraq while stationed in the U.S. (He was later deployed to Iraq from 2008 to 2009). He completed active duty in 1999 and then served in the U.S. Army Reserve until 2010, retiring as a major. At the same time he was in the reserve, he became a civilian analyst for the Defense Department, a position he held until 2018. That’s when he and his family moved from Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. to Ocoee.

According to Groves’ campaign site, Groves wants to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to provide grants to eliminate lead in Florida drinking water. He wants to increase funding to the Coast Guard to better enable them to respond to Florida storms and favors maintaining the Florida National Guard at home so that they can aid Floridians in a crisis.

He favors more personal freedoms and less government. That translates to opposition to vaccine mandates, which he calls “tyrannical,” but not support for reproductive rights. “In extreme cases, abortion should be decided by women and their doctors, not government.”

He’s anti-war, but pro-spending on defense. He favors legal immigration, gun ownership, abolishing the Department of Education and allowing parents to utilize vouchers or homeschooling to educate children. He supports Social Security, Medicare and lowering taxes.

The state candidate database shows that Groves has not raised any money for his campaign, nor filed any campaign finance reports.

Here, Groves answers questions from VoxPopuli and the News Collaborative of Central Florida.

If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them?

Fraud in Federal benefits programs. I will work with Vice President J.D. Vance, who was appointed by President Trump's Executive Order 14395 to chair a new interagency task force to stop fraud, waste, and abuse. In particular, I will address fraud in the Medicare Program because stolen funds detract from the program's ability to take care of people who need assistance.

Uphold the War Powers Act. I will work with Congress to ensure that presidents commit U.S. military forces overseas only for defense of the United States and only for up to 60 days unless Congress authorizes an extended period of time.

Promote a culture that respects life. As a pragmatic Libertarian, not an ideologue, I am neither "pro-choice" nor "pro-life" in a doctrinaire way. However, I believe that life should be protected and therefore I am a pro-natalist. Abortions should be available for medical reasons — such as cases of ectopic pregnancies — and performed in hospitals, not in outside clinics.

Why do you deserve to be elected in this race?

Prior to my retirement in 2018, I worked for 45 years in the U.S. military, including wartime service in Iraq, as well as for the U.S. Department of Defense and a defense company. During the 45 years of service, I worked in the U.S.A., including at the Pentagon, and overseas in Germany, the United Kingdom, Armenia, and West Africa. These experiences enabled me to understand the federal government and its broad range of commitments. As an Army veteran and Iraq War veteran, I am very dedicated to issues pertaining to Florida's military personnel, including Florida's National Guard. I prefer the National Guard should stay at home, rather than deployed overseas, to be available to assist Floridians during emergencies. Likewise, I support increased funding for the Coast Guard in Florida to ensure assistance to Floridians during hurricanes and to interdict illegal migration and drug smuggling. In addition to knowledge of federal government issues, I became knowledgeable of local issues during my three years as chairman of the Libertarian Party of Orange County (2019-2022). More broadly, as a Libertarian, I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, not left, not right. So, by electing me, Floridians will have in Congress a representative who is pragmatic, not ideological. My running for Congress will give the voters of the 11th Congressional District of Florida a third choice besides the Democrats and Republicans.

According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue?

First, eliminate fraud from Federal Government programs, especially Medicare. This will enable reduction of taxes, including payroll taxes, leaving more net pay in workers' paychecks that will enable workers to cope with the cost of living.

Second, reduce the cost of housing by getting immigration under control. When immigrants are accepted into the U.S.A. in a legal, steady, methodical way, there will not be sudden spikes in demand for housing, which drive up the costs of houses and rent.  (Sidebar comment: My own mother was an immigrant — a legal immigrant — and we need immigrants, especially because the American birthrate has been chronically low for the past 50 years.)  

Third, the cost of energy needs to be reduced by the construction of more oil refineries and nuclear power plants. The last major oil refinery was built in 1977!  High energy costs drive up the prices of commodities because the high costs of transport of such commodities from factories and farms to retailers become factored into the prices that consumers pay. Likewise, high energy costs drive up the prices of utilities, such as electricity. Reduction of prices for all types of energy will make the cost of living more affordable.

Will you vote Yes or No on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue — fees and/or service reductions?

Yes, property taxes should be reduced, but this should be accomplished in a graduated way — a certain percentage each year for several years. Then services will be able to adjust and to implement efficiencies to provide the same services within a constrained budget. Gradual reduction of property taxes will enable Floridians to retain their own income to cope with the cost of living.

Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond?

Data centers should be established on military bases. This will provide security for the data denters while the federal government will offset the utility costs, thereby preventing utilities in Florida from bearing the burden.

What do you think is the biggest environmental issue your government should address in Florida?

Safe drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be more empowered to get contaminants -- such as lead as well as excess phosphorus and nitrogen -- out of drinking water.  In addition, the EPA should prevent contamination of Florida's porous limestone aquifers.

Do you support the Iran War?

No, this war was totally unjustified. The U.S.A. was apparently influenced by Israel to attack Iran on the faulty premise that "regime change" was possible and that Iran was on the verge of deploying nuclear weapons. As one who lived in Iran, 1977-1979, I understand Iranian nationalism as well as Iran's large size and mountainous terrain. These factors make a prolonged war against Iran very difficult and very costly.

The goal of "regime change" is impossible to achieve because most Iranians support their regime, as observed during the eight-year war against Iraqi aggression (1980-1988), during which hundreds of thousands of Iranians died to defend their country and regime. The goal of preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons is likewise impossible. Iran has a large number of skilled nuclear engineers and technicians who can design and build nuclear weapons eventually. The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran surely convinced Iranians that nuclear weapons are needed to deter future attacks. (They have observed that Russia attacked Ukraine after Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons.)

It should be noted that the U.S.A., along with allies, invaded Iraq on the assumption that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction" that turned out to be false. I myself served in Iraq due to this false assumption. One of my sons currently is a Special Missions Aviator in the U.S. Air Force whose life may be placed in jeopardy due to the unnecessary war in Iran.

Another point: The war against Iran has depleted stocks of U.S. munitions, which will take years for defense companies to replenish. In addition, the high tempo of U.S. military actions — such as overuse of aircraft — have degraded the service life of equipment. Any furtherance of this war, will reduce the military capabilities of the U.S.A.  

Have tariffs improved the economy and reduced the cost of living?

Superficially, the cost of living is kept low due to importation of items produced in low cost-of-labor countries. However, outsourcing of many components used in production of American cars, computers, etc. has resulted in loss of American jobs. Unemployed American workers do not have any income with which to cope with the cost of living. Those tariffs that protect American industries, and prevent outsourcing, are beneficial to American workers by giving them an income to meet the cost of living.

Has Congress abdicated its role as a co-equal branch of government?

In some respects, yes. For example, Congress has not demanded that the President stop overseas deployments of American troops after 60 days as required by the War Powers Act.

Nearly 70 percent of voters in the South oppose abortion bans, according to new analysis by the Brennan Center. Would you support a national abortion ban?

No, but abortions should be regulated for medically necessary reasons and performed in hospitals, not in outside clinics.

Obergerfell currently protects same-sex marriage, but Supreme Court decisions can be overturned. Would you favor the Supreme Court re-evaluating same-sex marriage with an eye to overturning Obergerfell?

This issue should be addressed culturally, not legally. Encouragement of pro-natal values will naturally promote traditional marriages and family formation. In parallel, same-sex marriages may continue to exist, but not as a cultural norm.

America's support for Israel is at a crossroads. Where do you stand?

The U.S.A. should interact with Israel with normal diplomacy, but should no longer provide large amounts of aid to Israel. We cannot afford such generosity while we have a huge national debt and millions of people who need assistance here at home. In addition, we should avoid any partisanship in Israel's favor so as to be an objective interlocutor to help resolve the chronic Israeli-Palestinian dispute. In addition, the USA should encourage the United Nations to deploy multi-national peace-enforcement troops to Gaza under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The troops could be obtained from non-NATO, neutral countries, such as Ireland, Armenia, and South Africa, and should be empowered to separate Israeli troops and Hamas militiamen from each other.  

Has the U.S. ceded the renewable energy market and electric vehicle market to China?

Yes. The U.S.A. should render "renewable" energy and electric vehicles as innovations that are inferior to traditional sources of energy and vehicles. "Renewable" energy, such as wind turbines and solar panels, are unreliable.  Wind turbines, in particular, are unecological, having killed millions of birds. Electric vehicles are inferior to gasoline/diesel-powered vehicles, especially in cold climates, with shorter range, carcinogenic batteries, and fewer mechanics trained to maintain electric vehicles. Therefore, the USA should abandon such innovations and allow China to suffer a glut of overproduced, unmarketable turbines, solar panels, and vehicles.