Presidential candidate Ryan Binkley hopes to finish in top four in Iowa caucuses
Republican presidential candidate Ryan Binkley is hoping for a top-four finish in the 2024 Iowa caucuses.
But to ultimately win the White House, Binkley wants to connect with groups of voters including college students and people who live in cities.
He told a group of about 15 people Wednesday evening at Peace Tree Brewing Co. in Des Moines he's not running to pull the Republican Party farther right for four years but to inspire a national culture shift for a generation.
Binkley is the president, CEO and co-founder of Generational Equity Group, a mergers and acquisitions and business advisory group headquartered in Texas. He previously worked in Procter & Gamble and Boston Scientific Corp. before starting Generational in 2006.
He's also the co-founder and lead pastor of the Create Church, based in Richardson, Texas.
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Binkley said in recent years he had "heard calls from the Lord about what's needed in our country," leading him to launch the presidential campaign — his first foray into elected politics.
Binkley spoke Wednesday about reducing the national debt and health care costs, implementing immigration and border security policies, and inspiring a national ethic of community service.
He said that could entail cutting discretionary spending and bill earmarks; lowering or having no annual budget increases; limiting future Social Security access for people under the age of 40; making the private health insurance market more competitive; adjusting patent and intellectual property laws when it comes to pharmaceuticals; increasing border security and resources to expedite the asylum process, paths through work permit programs to address labor issues; and highlighting community service projects and programs across the country.
Binkley said he was willing to make and communicate politically challenging choices, especially regarding the federal budget.
Asked by the Des Moines Register how he would seek to unite his fellow Republican party members around those choices, he replied, "Regardless of your party affiliation, we all want the same thing. We want to see a prosperous United States. We want to see a country that's beautiful, diverse, has more unity in it."
In terms of his campaign, Binkley said, "From where we are, Iowa's incredibly important. It's so important that we do well here, and that's our goal, is to be in the top four here and to exceed expectations and get on those debate stages."
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"We're about to start going to New Hampshire" in a week or two, he said. "After that, it's going to be between South Carolina and Texas," where he expected to be doing a lot of town halls, maybe two or three every other week.
"We're just out here keeping busy and sharing with people, trying to really connect hearts," Binkley said.
Phillip Sitter covers suburban growth and development for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: GOP presidential candidate Ryan Binkley seeks top four finish in Iowa
