Goyle Voted To Curtail Immigrants’ Rights: On the campaign trail, Goyle said, “we must get tough on illegal immigration,” and boasted about his efforts to make English the official language of Kansas, in addition to generally taking anti-immigrant position.
In 2007, Goyle supported a bill declaring English as Kansas’ official language, legislation he had championed on the campaign trail a year before. The bill faced “criticism from immigrant advocates, a Native American tribal leader and Garden City leadership during a recent committee hearing.” Even some Republicans found the bill silly and superfluous: a Parson Sun article from the time noted that at least two Republicans questioned why a state law was needed to declare English as the official language of Kansas.
In 2008, Goyle supported a bill to make it harder for immigrants to receive a driver’s license. A report stated, “The number of nonresidents applying for Kansas driver's licenses has dropped dramatically since a bill was passed last year to reduce the possibility of licenses being issued to illegal immigrants.”
In 2006, Goyle said that in order to curb illegal immigration, “the state must crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants” in campaign literature.
Goyle reiterated in his 2008 re-election bid, “We must get tough on illegal immigration,” and that he had helped write a “tough, reasonable, and effective immigration bill” during his first term in office. In 2010, Goyle described illegal immigration as a “national security and economic crisis."
In 2008, Goyle voted for an immigration reform bill that would require all Kansas businesses to check employees' eligibility to work in the country through the federal e-Verify system. Some Democrats were opposed to the bill for not doing enough to protect workers who could be exploited by unscrupulous employers. Goyle called the bill "tough and effective" and said it "will go a long ways towards addressing the problem of illegal immigration."
Goyle’s Criticized “Overreaching Role of the EPA” and Supported Oil & Gas Industry: In 2010, Goyle said he was “deeply concerned about the overreaching role of the EPA” and other federal agencies. Also in 2010, Goyls said“Our state must continue to lead in the oil and gas industry.”
Goyle Boasted About Voting With Republicans: A voting scorecard from the Koch Brothers’ Americans For Prosperity found that “in 2010, Goyle was alone as the most conservative Democrat in the House.” On Goyle’s 2010 campaign website, he had a page dedicated to “Republicans For Raj,” and he ran ads in which he boasted that he “voted with the Republicans more than 80% of the time.” He also promised he would extend Bush tax cuts on the wealthy.
Goyle Voted To Curtail Abortion Rights: Goyle voted against Planned Parenthood and Democrats on reproductive rights legislation, arguing he worked to “reduce the number of abortions” and “increase access to adoption” instead.
In 2009, Goyle voted to extend requirements for pre-abortion notifications and fetal heartbeat monitoring; 27 Democrats voted against. The bill included a requirement that doctors “certify in writing the woman was offered the opportunity to listen to the heartbeat 30 minutes before the abortion.”
In March 2010, Goyle stood against Planned Parenthood and 28 Democrats to vote for a bill “designed to strengthen state laws regulating late-term abortions.” Goyle later voted against overriding the governor’s veto of the legislation.
Goyle, in his 2006 and 2008 Kansas state House races, repeatedly told the media that he “strongly supports measures to reduce the number of abortions in Kansas. We must work together to support women and children, increase access to adoption and redouble our efforts at promoting personal responsibility.”
Goyle’s Pro-Gun Votes Generated NRA Approval: Gun control was yet another area where Goyle seemed willing to give up his principles in a desire to be seen as moderate.
In 2008, Goyle received an “A” lifetime rating from the National Rifle Association.
In 2008, Goyle voted for a bill“allowing individuals to own machine guns, other fully automatic firearms, sawed-off shotguns and silencers.”
In 2010, Goyle voted for a bill opposed by the Kansas Peace Officers Association “that would effectively force universities, community colleges and local governments to accept concealed guns in their buildings.”
Goyle Supported Patriot Act Reauthorization, Called Afghanistan “War of Necessity”: While campaigning in 2010, Goyle said he supported reauthorizing the Patriot Act and defended its need. He stated the bill, “underscored how badly we needed to upgrade our technology and our intelligence infrastructure and our surveillance network to capture the chatter and the signals” that led to terrorism. Also during that 2010 campaign, Goyle called America’s invasion of Afghanistan a “war of necessity” rather than a war of choice and “therefore we must accomplish the mission there, which is to defeat the radical terrorist networks that wished our nation harm.”
Raj Goyle has tried to portray himself as a staunch critic of Israel and advocate for the Palestinian people, yet his “history of conservative positions” have left many “suspicious.” In fact, his new positions on Israel are yet another "sharp left turn.”
In a FOX News interview in 2018, Goyle said, “Look, it’s very clear, we stand with Israel.”
In May of 2025, Goyle palled around with conservative commentator Tomi Lahren and called on Trump to “meet with Netanyahu” - yet now that he’s running, he calls Netanyahu a war criminal.
Goyle Supported Bush Tax Cuts on Wealthy, Voted To Cut Corporate Taxes To All-Time Lows, Harming School Funding: Goyle took right wing positions on most economic issues and said he was “proud to be a fiscal conservative” and supported Bush’s tax cuts on high income households.
In 2008, Goyle voted for a bill “rewriting corporate income tax laws, dropping the top corporate income tax rate.”
In 2010, Goyle said “I certainly support extending the Bush tax cuts. And if they are working for the economy then in fact they should be made permanent." Goyle even clarified he wanted “the extension of the full range of the Bush tax cuts, “ a position ran counter to Obama and Democrats who did not want to extend the tax cuts to households earning $250,000 or more.
In May 2010, Goyle voted with Republicans against a sales tax increase to prevent cuts in education and social services funding. An editorial of the Wichita Eagle wrote critically of Goyle’s votes against the small sales tax increase, remarking that Goyle was “perhaps focusing more on his race for the 4th Congressional District seat than on the needs of schoolchildren and others who depend on state services.”
A letter to the editor in the same publication echoed that point, stating Goyle showed a “callous disregard for helping our public schools and those individuals with disabilities” and questioned Goyle’s motive behind the “no” vote: “Is it possible he would do anything to get elected, even if it means abandoning the core principles of his party?”