Ryan Binkley is still running for president. Really, he is.
The Republican businessman and pastor understands if that comes as a surprise to many voters.
But he’s on the ballot, he’s outlasted other candidates considered more household names, and he’s in New Hampshire through next week’s primary looking to earn your vote.
“Most of America wants something different than what they’re seeing; 75% of America doesn’t want the two leading candidates in,” Binkley said in an interview with the Union Leader on Thursday. “They don’t want them there, and yet they’re kind of forced into them.
“I’m just carving out a message saying, ‘Do you want something different? If you had a different choice, would you want to hear it? That’s what I’m asking you to look at,’” Binkley said.
“I believe in it, I’m gonna stick with it, because I feel a calling.”
Binkley finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses this week — ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — and the GOP presidential hopeful feels his campaign is riding a wave of “Binkleymentum” into the Granite State.
Binkley received about 774 votes, or 0.7%, in Iowa, NBC News reported.
He finished fifth behind Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, who suspended his campaign this week.
According to Binkley’s campaign website, he is president and CEO of Generational Group in Richardson, Texas, and is lead pastor at Create Church, which he founded. His campaign is centered on his faith, and his platform is focused on border security and balancing the federal budget.
“I think just seeing the disconnect between the real solutions for America, what the real problems were — continued inflationary environment, deficit spending, division, and I just felt led to do something about it,” Binkley said. “If we stay on the current path, something’s coming that we’re not prepared for. When you look at the economy, when you look at how much debt we have, there are some things really, truly broken.
“We’re in an environment now where the culture is broken, a culture in D.C. where it seems like the goal of each party is to see the other party fail, more than to see America succeed,” he said.
Binkley said he wants to build a better country for his five children, with his main priority balancing the federal budget.
“When you look at the amount of debt we have, nobody’s talking about the impacts of inflation and what it’s going to continue to do,” Binkley said. “I think we’re setting the next generation up for, I think, probably the weakest economic foundation since the Great Depression. I want to rescue us from that. w... I’ve got a plan to do that without going after welfare programs.”
Binkley said his plan would involve a reform of the federal government’s role in health care and the health care market, which he believes drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical benefit providers have a monopoly on.
He has also campaigned on restoring Christian-based values in the federal government.
“We can no longer stay divided with the way we are today, that can’t continue — Lincoln warned us about this,” Binkley said. “It’s an economic revival message we have, a spiritual revival message, and it’s connecting with people.”
Asked why he remains in the GOP race after more familiar names have dropped out, Binkley said it’s because he feels the nation is “on fire.”
“It is on fire economically, spiritually and culturally,” Binkley said. “If you had a family member or a loved one in a building that was burning, and you had a chance to rescue them, would you go in? No matter what the odds are?
“Of course you go in.””
