Why a little-known GOP presidential candidate from Texas is working to win the nomination

The Iowa caucus, the first-in-the nation primary which will kick off the 2024 presidential contest Monday, is famous for making and breaking candidates.

And there’s a little-known GOP presidential candidate from Texas who is hoping for traction after racking up some political capital having visited all 99 of Iowa’s counties (a prized accomplishment to Iowans), spending millions of his own money, running TV ads appealing to evangelical voters and planning to make a whirlwind series of appearances — practically hourly — throughout the state leading up to the big night.

What we know about the Texas Republican running for U.S. president

Ryan Binkley, 56, a wealthy businessman and pastor from North Texas who attended the University of Texas and has a master's in business administration from Southern Methodist University, is a political newcomer who has been running a below-the-radar campaign after announcing his candidacy in April. He has outlasted several better-known candidates, including another Texas Republican — former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd.

Binkley’s pitch to voters is summed up by his campaign slogan: Believe.

In a recent TV ad titled “A Prayer,” Binkley said: “Our founders knew that government was the threat and faith was the answer. For decades, liberal elites, establishment politicians and the media have used their influence and power to try to banish God from our society. It’s time to put things right.”

Binkley and his wife co-founded Create Church, which in 2019 opened a 25,710 square-foot sanctuary in Richardson where he is the lead pastor. “I’m not going to force my faith on everyone,” Binkley said in the ad. “However, I will not apologize for my beliefs to anyone. My faith in God and his word motivates me to fight for a better, more united, and more prosperous future for our children and the hurting in our society.”

Binkley has told Iowa voters that he would govern with a “biblical worldview,” but his campaign message features aspects of his dual careers as a pastor and a businessman.

President and CEO of Generational Group, a wealth management firm in Richardson, Binkley has released detailed plans on his campaign website to balance the federal budget in seven years; to secure the border and provide a path to legal status for Dreamers (immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children); to reform health care to slash costs for consumers; and to promote technology for U.S. energy production and green technology for a “sensible climate policy.”

"Nobody is really addressing the true cause of inflation and how to really balance the budget,” Binkley said of his rivals at a Dec. 28 campaign stop at Murph & Mary’s Pub in Newton, Iowa, according to the Newton Daily News.

“They're not addressing, I think, a real plan for the border. They're not addressing a true plan for health care. And we have one,” Binkley said.

The North Texas Republican has been willing to spend his own money to get his message out.

According to Federal Election Commission reports filed for April 1 through Sept. 30, the most recent report available, the Texan had loaned his campaign $6.335 million of the $7.08 million he raised.

However, that funding hasn't helped Binkley in the polls or to qualify for any of the candidate debates sponsored by the Republican National Committee. He has largely been ignored by pollsters — he is not even included in most questionnaires — although he registered a 2% showing in an October poll by Iowa State University. He tied with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and beat out former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum who had 1% support, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Hurd who showed no support.

Christie, Pence, Burgum and Hurd have all dropped out of the race.

Former President Donald Trump is the overwhelming favorite to win Monday night, and the horserace has focused on who will finish second — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — but that hasn’t discouraged Binkley.

“Ryan expects to finish in the Top 5 in the Iowa caucus,” Binkley spokeswoman Diane Moca told the American-Statesman. “Ryan intends to stay in the race. He is spending the time, money and resources to get on the ballot in all 50 states. Ryan has officially secured his name on the state primary ballot in 28 states, and his campaign is in the process of securing a spot on the remaining state ballots.”

She said Binkley was stopped from being on the ballot in Minnesota, but he has sued to get his name on it.

Can Ryan Binkley grow his appeal?

The candidate, who has a South Korean-born wife and five children, including an adopted Korean girl, has a look reminiscent to Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a former GOP presidential nominee.

To a political expert at Des Moines’ Drake University, Binkley is “an interesting curiosity.”

“The focus of his advertising is increasingly on returning America back to God, which of course might appeal to conservative evangelicals if they want a ‘purer’ version of their political concerns than the mainstream candidates,” Drake University political science professor Dennis Goldford told the Statesman.

“While his message started out as a rather general argument about solving the country’s problems, these latest ads have become more overtly religious in nature,” Goldford said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: US presidential candidate from Texas tours Iowa ahead of GOP caucus