Kentucky Party U.S. Senate candidate Christopher Campbell is proposing a 1%-of-GDP defense spending target and base consolidation, while also calling for allies to share upkeep costs at bases they want for security.
His campaign platform says spending should be brought as close as possible to 1% of gross domestic product. It also calls for a moratorium on military aid to foreign governments and changes to defense contractor pricing and lobbying. The platform says contractor price-gauging and political influence contribute to budget pressure, and invokes Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 Farewell Address.
In an interview published Oct. 31, Campbell told Hindustan Times that base consolidation should come first. He put the U.S. military’s worldwide base count at about 800; that estimate is unverified because the interview gave no counting method. Campbell also said allied countries should help pay upkeep costs for bases they want for security.
Office of Management and Budget figures show $916.14 billion in fiscal 2025 outlays for the federal budget’s National Defense function, about 13.1% of total net outlays of $7.011 trillion. That percentage uses total federal net outlays as its denominator, not GDP, so it does not show how current defense spending compares with Campbell’s target. The campaign platform gives no projected savings or list of bases to close.
The Congressional Research Service’s 2024 inventory covered 128 or more U.S. military locations across at least 51 countries. It classified 68 as “persistent bases” and 60 as “other sites” under its criteria, which exclude temporary locations used for exercises or contingency operations. Those overseas figures are not directly comparable with Campbell’s worldwide estimate. The service says overseas sites can support rapid military responses, deter attacks on the United States and its allies, and reassure partner nations about U.S. security commitments.
Kentucky’s general election, including the U.S. Senate contest, is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
