RICHARDSON, Texas — A North Texas businessman and pastor on Sunday announced his hopes to be on the presidential ticket in 2024 as a Republican.
Ryan Binkley, 55, said he thinks people can unify the country “by listening to and respecting one another.” More than 750 people came to the University of Texas at Dallas campus to attend Binkley’s campaign announcement event.
The economy, budget and health care were among Binkley’s major focal points. Binkley also said he wants to address border issues and immigration with “peace, safety, security and care.”
“We have to be unified,” Binkley said. “We have to be in this place, because if we’re in a time of uncertainty, what it’s going to take is faith in God and faith in each other to get us through, and it’s not time for us to back down. It’s time for us to believe.”
Binkley is president and CEO of Generational Group, a business advisory firm he co-founded. The company is based in Richardson and has more than a dozen regional offices in Chicago; New York; Irvine, California, and other cities.
Since Generational Group’s establishment in 2006, its more than 400 employees have consulted with hundreds of companies and sold $8 billion worth of businesses, according to a news release from Binkley’s campaign.
Binkley previously worked at Procter & Gamble and Boston Scientific Corporation and holds a BBA from the University of Texas and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
Binkley said his business acumen and financial knowledge are important to get the country’s “financial house in order.” If America was a company, its value has been decreasing, Binkley said.
“It has been decreasing in value over time because we’ve not had good monetary policy, so we’ve not been meeting our budget,” Binkley said. “We keep printing money in order to meet the debt obligations we have. We have to get our budget in order, and then it will be more valuable than ever.”
If his political aspirations become a reality, Binkley said, his business firm and church will be in good hands.
“We have a board and team that runs the business today. We’ve raised up great leaders to take over the church ministry as well, and we’ll continue on,” Binkley said.
Outside of the financial world, Binkley founded Create Church in Richardson with his wife, Ellie, where they serve as lead pastors. They previously worked together at churches in Carrollton and Norcross, Ga. The Binkleys have five children.
His faith and family are critical to his run for office, Binkley said, adding that he had contemplated the decision for about eight years.
“God spoke to my heart quite often about the direction for our country, where we’re headed, and the message for us is it’s time for us to unify again and it’s time for us to love our neighbor again and to get involved in the lives of people.”
Although he mostly agrees with how the state of Texas has been running, Binkley said he thinks there is more the Republican Party can do to win voters in major cities.
“Texas is a Red state, it’s a Republican state, but yet the message that we carried as the Republican Party wasn’t enough to win Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin,” Binkley said. “So we need to have our message be a little more clear and reach all the segments of our society, and I think we can do that.”
Binkley said he is “absolutely” confident in competing against Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.
“The message we have, I think, is one that is for the hope of America,” he said. “It’s for the heart of America coming back to God and trusting in God and each other, and I believe God wants to bring a new message to our country.”
Amber Finney, 33, said she heard about Sunday’s event as a member of Binkley’s church. She said affordable health care and education are important issues for her in the next presidential election.
“A lot of people nowadays don’t even really want to be part of America because of how much it has changed. It’s greedy; it’s not about helping the community,” Finney said. “It’s the same thing when people run for president. They say it, but we never see it. So we’re hoping to see this change, and I know (Binkley) will do it.”
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