Marc Victor (Photo courtesy of Marc Victor)
Political affiliation: Libertarian
Position sought: U.S. Senate Arizona
Age: 53
Career: Marine Corps sergeant, criminal defense lawyer, Superior Court judge pro-tem
Website: liveandletliverevolution.com
Marc Victor says he’s running for the U.S. Senate because he wants to change the world, starting with Arizona.
Running as a Libertarian, he calls himself a “live and let live guy.” Victor gives “Live and Let Live” talks, started “The Live and Let Live Global Peace Movement” and is writing a “Live and Let Live” book.
This is Victor’s second run to represent Arizona in Washington. He was defeated in 2012 by Republican Jeff Flake. This time around, he faces Republican Blake Masters and Democrat Mark Kelly, the incumbent, who is leading in the polls.
Victor has raised $129,000 in his campaign, compared to Kelly’s $54.1 million and Master’s $5 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
He’s campaigning on what he calls “a new approach to politics.”
“Instead of each of us attempting to impose our personal moral views on others through the law, we should instead work to remove even our own moral views from the law such that the law prohibits all forms of aggression only,” he wrote in a Ballotpedia survey.
Victor spoke about his candidacy and his policy positions in an interview for Cronkite News.
Q: Why are you interested in this job?
“I want to change the world.”
Victor said Kelly and Masters may be nice people acting in good faith, but he doesn’t think they have the right conception of how governance should work.
“Republicans and Democrats are trying to impose their particular views of how the world should be on everybody,” he said. As the Libertarian candidate, he disagrees with laws that go beyond prohibiting aggression.
“People need to decide for themselves how they want to live. The only requirement that I think should be in the law is the requirement to not be an aggressor.”
Q: What in your past work, political or volunteer experience makes you the best candidate?
“I served in the United States Marine Corps in a combat situation. I also am an entrepreneur; I’ve run my own business now for about 25 years.”
A criminal defense lawyer since 1994, Victor has represented clients in more than 1,000 felony cases, “including first and second-degree murder, sex cases, gun cases, major drug cases, complex white-collar cases, federal appeals, high-profile civil rights, personal injury and other complex state and federal matters,” according to his campaign website.
In 2019, he founded the Live and Let Live Global Peace Movement, based in Chandler, that advocates for nonaggression.
But Victor said his real qualification is “just having the right ideas. I think it’s about ideas and getting back to principles. What I’m saying is: Ethics and morality should be outside the law.”
Q: What are the major issues facing Arizona?
On his website, Victor details his positions on dozens of issues, ranging from animal rights and pandemics to drugs and euthenasia. But his biggest concerns, he said, are global in nature: nuclear war, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, energy, climate change and international economic systems among them.
“One of the biggest issues nobody’s talking about is existential threats. And what I mean by that are nuclear weapons. We have weapons all over the planet that can destroy it, and we don’t pay much attention until something happens.”
However, he favors more nuclear power plants to address energy needs.
“I think that people have the mistaken idea that these are not safe and these are dangerous for the environment,” but improved technology makes them both clean and safe, he said.
“I don’t want to rely on other countries for our energy.”
Victor said he also fears a possible economic collapse that would affect the entire world.
“I also worry about artificial intellComputers will be smarter than us.”
Q: What will be your top priorities if elected?
“Peace. I can’t believe how close we are right now to a disaster and a confrontation between our country and the nuclear-armed Russia or China.”
He thinks it’s unacceptable that President Joe Biden has not talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We have to pursue policies that get us to peace.”
Q: How will you work to improve bipartisanship in politics?
“I’m not in either of the tribes. I would encourage people to take their personal views and keep them out of politics and law. … That’s what freedom is about. Persuasion should be encouraged. Coercion should be outlawed.”
Q: Do you have any concerns about the security of our elections?
“I have a generalized concern to make sure all of our elections are open, fair and free from fraud. But I don’t have any reason to think that they’re not right now. ”
Victor said he would do everything in his power to ensure votes are accurately counted and that people who legitimately have a right to vote are allowed to vote. He also wants to prevent those who aren’t eligible from voting.
Q: What is a personal challenge that you feel you need to overcome?
“I have to accept that I’m imperfect and make mistakes even though I strive for excellence and perfection. … I want to lead better by example. I want to be a better leader in terms of myself. I want to model how I think people should act.”
Q: Please share a quote or advice that you live by.
“‘Live and let live’ is probably my favorite thing.”
But he also likes other phrases, such as “ferociously and relentlessly committed to excellence.”
“I like the idea of striving for perfection but recognizing that’s not an option.”
Q: What should be done, if anything, about border security?
“Immigrants are the backbone of what America is about, a nation of immigrants. We should be embracing them. I favor policies like we had in the late 1800s and early 1900s, where immigrants were free to come to the United States.”
However, he said background checks are important.
“If they’re coming to aggress, we should do our best to stop them. If they’re not coming to aggress, we should say, ‘Welcome to America.’”
As a lawyer, Victor has represented undocumented immigrants who have worked in the U.S. for years.
“I know exactly who they are. These are some of the best Americans I’ve ever met. They want to come here and work hard and support their families.”
He does not, however, advocate giving immigrants government benefits.
“We are in such a ridiculous position right now where we have a huge labor shortage. And we have millions of people who want to work, who can’t legally. This is absolute, utter foolishness.”
He also wants to end the so-called war on drugs.
“Legalize drugs, and you let adults decide for themselves and make our economy more robust in the legal market.”
Q: What should the state or federal government be doing to mitigate the ongoing drought and address Arizona’s water issues?
“The private sector that brings gas, food, clothing, homes and everything else should be allowed to bring water as well. And then we’ll purchase it from the most efficient deliverer of water. Let’s get it out of the hands of the government and put it in the hands of for-profit companies.”
