Who Should I Vote For?

Below is a selection of what each of the candidates have said about mental health on the campaign trail:

DR. BEN CARSON

“We do not provide the requisite support or finances for the mentally ill in this country, and we clearly have to address that because it has a domino effect. Every mentally ill person is not living in isolation, they affect other people who are around them, and there are a lot of facilities in this country that are sitting empty where we could very easily be providing the appropriate care,” -January 4, Staten Island, New York

HILLARY CLINTON

“There’s mental health and substance abuse, both of which are incredibly expensive, heart wrenching, and in many ways, unaddressed in communities across our country. We’re supposed to have parity, that means, if you have a mental health problem you’re supposed to get taken care of just like if you had some physical problem. There shouldn’t be any distinction. Because the more we learn about genetics the more we learn about the way the body works we know there are connections don’t we. And so we have argued very hard to remove the stigma on mental health.” – January 6, Henderson, Nevada

TED CRUZ

“It’s sad to see the Democrats take a horrific crime and try to use it as an excuse not to go after people with serious mental illness or people who are repeat felons or criminals but rather try to use it as an excuse to take away the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens.” June 19, Red Oak, Iowa

JOHN KASICH

“When you help people who people normally in politics run over, people notice. Here’s what I mean. You know how easy it is in politics to ignore the resources you need for the mentally ill? It’s really easy. they don’t have a lobby, they don’t have any power. so when you tend to them, when you make sure that you treat them right, that’s a great thing. And people notice. And they respect it. And so don’t ever ignore those that don’t have the power.” – January 19, Concord, New Hampshire.

MARCO RUBIO

“There’s a stigma associated with it. We have to remove it. Mental health is no different than any other disease. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It happens. And people at any age who have it deserve access to treatment, quality treatment, quickly. And we, as a society, should not stigmatize it.” January 5, Ft. Dodge, Iowa

BERNIE SANDERS

“I think we need a revolution in mental health. And that revolution is about making sure that the many thousands of people who are walking the streets of America today who are suicidal or homicidal get the help they need, and they get it now, not two months from now.” – December 6, CBS’s Face The Nation

DONALD TRUMP

“We have a tremendous mental health problem. We’re closing places all over the world. All over the country they’re closing. Nobody’s doing anything about that. All they want to do is blame the guns. And it’s not the gun that pulls the trigger.” -January 3, CBS’s Face The Nation