On Saturday, December 9th, at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, presidential candidate Ryan Binkley appeared on stage at the Faith & Family with the Feenstras forum. The event also featured appearances by Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ambassador Nikki Haley. Notably, no other candidates were present at the forum.
“We’re looking to make a strong finish in the next five weeks,” Binkley said. “We’re looking to finish in the top five in the Iowa caucuses in January. We’re going to keep pushing ahead.”
Binkley is running for the Republican primary in four states, South Carolina, Idaho, Hawaii, and Maine. He qualified for the ballot in these states since one candidate missed the filing deadline, and another did not meet the requirements. Unlike some of his opponents, Binkley has campaigned in all 99 counties of Iowa, which is known as the Full Grassley tour, named after Sen. Chuck Grassley, who made this tradition popular. Binkley’s campaign aims to unite Americans and reduce the federal debt rather than increasing it.
“Republicans have spent as much money in the last 40 years as Democrats, just on different things,” Binkley said. “It’s time we change that.”
Binkley, a pastor who has dedicated years of his life to ministry, stood out among the candidates at Saturday’s faith-based event. He is the co-founder of Create Church with his wife, Ellie, and a father of five children, including an adopted child. Binkley’s focus on faith and family aligns with the topics discussed by Feenstra and his wife, Lynette, with the four key presidential candidates and their families in front of a Republican audience.
Binkley’s campaign has garnered support from over 80,000 unique donors, and he recently surpassed Christie among millennials in a national poll, ranking sixth ahead of Hutchinson.
As the field of Republican candidates narrows from 15 in the summer to seven, Binkley remains one of the candidates who are spending the time, resources, and over $600,000 in filing fees to get on the ballot in all 50 states and five U.S. territories.
In addition to his pastoral work, Binkley is also the co-founder and CEO of the mergers and acquisition firm Generational Group. With his background in finance, he is proposing a new economic approach to secure the border, balance the budget, reform healthcare, and revitalize urban America.
