Where 2016 GOPers stand on vaccinations

After an outbreak of measles in 14 states, the debate on whether parents should vaccinate their children has broken out on the political stage.

On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a likely White House hopeful, said parents “need to have some measure of choice” on vaccinating their children. The comments sparked backlash as public health officials are trying to contain a recent outbreak of measles, one believed to be fueled in part by many parents opting against vaccines.


Christie’s team quickly issued a statement that he “believes vaccines are an important public health protection … there is no question kids should be vaccinated.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also weighed in Monday, saying vaccines should be “voluntary” and, defending that position on CNBC, added: “I don’t understand the point of why that would be controversial.” On Tuesday, Paul insisted he wasn’t alleging any causation between vaccines and disorders.

After the flare-ups, POLITICO asked other 2016 potential candidates where each stands on requiring immunizations.

Sen. Ted Cruz

Cruz said Tuesday that “of course” children should be vaccinated but added that whether such vaccines should be legally mandated is a decision best left to the states.

“We’ve got two little girls. We’ve vaccinated both our girls and would encourage people to do the same,” the Texas Republican told POLITICO in an interview.

Cruz called the controversy surrounding vaccinations “largely silliness stirred up by the media.”

“Nobody reasonably thinks Chris Christie is opposed to vaccinating kids other than a bunch of reporters who want to write headlines,” Cruz said.

Cruz said vaccination requirements should be decided at the state level, noting that some had “appropriate” exceptions for “good faith, religious convictions.” Cruz offered his own state as an example of a state that mandates vaccinations for children.

Still, he added: “But on the question of whether kids should be vaccinated, the answer is obvious and there’s widespread agreement — of course they should.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry

Perry’s spokesman, Travis Considine, said in a statement that the former governor “strongly believes in protecting life and has sought to improve the health and well-being of Texans in a variety of ways, including increased immunization rates.”

Ben Carson

In a statement, the retired neurosurgeon said, “Although I strongly believe in individual rights and the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit, I also recognize that public health and public safety are extremely important in our society. Certain communicable diseases have been largely eradicated by immunization policies in this country and we should not allow those diseases to return by foregoing safe immunization programs, for philosophical, religious or other reasons when we have the means to eradicate them.”

He added, “Obviously, there are exceptional situations to virtually everything, and we must have a mechanism whereby those can be heard.”

Carly Fiorina

“No, I don’t believe the federal government should mandate immunizations. But I think that state governments can allow public schools to say that a child who hasn’t been immunized against an infectious disease that poses a public health risk can’t come to school,” Fiorina said in a statement. The former Hewlett-Packard CEO added that “of course” not all immunizations are the same and some “don’t have anything to do with public health.”

“There’s a big difference between an immunization for measles and HPV,” she said.

Sen. Marco Rubio

The Florida Republican said that children “absolutely” should be vaccinated.

“This is the most advanced country in the world,” Rubio said. “We have eradicated diseases that in the past killed and permanently disabled people. My own grandfather was disabled by polio as a young child. There is absolutely no medical science or data whatsoever that links those vaccinations to onset of autism or anything of that nature. … So absolutely, all children in American should be vaccinated.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

Jindal urged parents to get their children vaccinated and added that “fear mongering” among political leaders is “irresponsible.”

“I have no reservations about whether or not it is a good idea and desirable for all children to be vaccinated,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “There is a lot of fear mongering out there on this. I think it is irresponsible for leaders to undermine the public’s confidence in vaccinations that have been tested and proven to protect public health. Science supports them and they keep our children safe from potentially deadly but preventable diseases. Personally, I would not send my kids to a school that did not require vaccinations. Vaccinations are important. I urge every parent to get them. Every one.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Walker spokesman Tom Evenson provided POLITICO with a statement that the governor “believes vaccinations help prevent serious health problems. That’s why his family is vaccinated and he encourages others to do the same.”

Donald Trump

The real estate mogul and potential presidential hopeful on Tuesday shifted the vaccination conversation toward the issue of illegal immigration by tweeting, “Are all the illegals pouring into our country vaccinated? I don’t think so. Great danger to U.S.”

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence

“Indiana law requires all children be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases like the measles by getting vaccinated,” Pence said in a statement on Tuesday. “Vaccines protect all out children from illnesses, and our administration strongly urges Hoosier families to have their children vaccinated.”

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

“Parents ought to make sure their children are vaccinated,” the Republican told a group of reporters in Detroit on Wednesday. “Do we need to get into any detail on that?”

Ben Schreckinger contributed to this report.

This article tagged under: Vaccination

Ted Cruz