Ryan Binkley

Ryan Lee Binkley (born November 19, 1967) is an American pastor, businessman and politician. With his wife Ellie, he co-founded the Richardson, Texas-based Create Church in 2014, for which he serves as lead pastor. Prior, he began his career as a young adult pastor for Victory World Church in 1996, and founded Generation Equity Group a decade later, a financial advisory firm for which he serves as chief executive officer (CEO).

He was a candidate for president of the United States in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries.

Early life and education
Binkley was born in Columbus, Georgia on November 19, 1967. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and marketing from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. He also has a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business. After Binkley moved to Atlanta at age 24 to pursue Christian ministry, his brother was killed by a drunk driver; Binkley said that this was what led to him returning to Texas.

Career
Upon Binkley's return to Texas, he spent a year away from pastoral work and spent time working in the family business. Binkley worked for Procter & Gamble and Boston Scientific before selling his family's company and founding his own consulting firm, the Generational Equity Group, in 2005 or 2006, which advises businesses on mergers and acquisitions.

After both were ordained at their local church, Binkley and his wife were sent to plant a church in Richardson, Texas in 2013. Using the church's entire savings, a plot along Central Expressway was purchased and construction on the new church building began in 2018. , Create Church had a weekly attendance of 650 people. A new building across the street from the church was constructed for Generational Group, and Binkley reported that he split his time evenly between working in the two buildings.

2024 presidential campaign
Binkley announced in April 2023 that he would seek the party's nomination for the 2024 United States presidential election. Binkley said a divine revelation from God instructed him to run for president. He said the message from the divine came to him in 2016 telling him that the nation is in trouble. Binkley's campaign was described in May 2023 as built around "solutions for the country", with him calling himself a "uniter", criticizing both Republicans and Democrats for being overly partisan. His four major planks included balancing the federal budget, reducing health care costs, bipartisan efforts to reform immigration policy, and "revitalizing education" to encourage community involvement.

Iowa caucuses
Binkley focused much of his campaigning in Iowa, where the first caucus is held. There, he spoke with the local media and bought $250,000 in radio advertisements. Binkley was considered a "longshot" for the nomination and had been having trouble differentiating himself from other candidates while on the campaign trail in Iowa. He spoke at the Republican Party of Iowa's Lincoln Dinner on July 28, an important platform for candidates in the state.

Binkley has been largely self-funding his campaign, while also appealing for donors to help him reach the donor criteria required to participate in the 2024 Republican Party presidential debates and forums. Binkley claimed to have met the donor threshold on August 20, but had only one qualifying poll out of the four required to participate. He ultimately did not qualify for the first debate.

When asked about dropping out due to poor polling, Binkley repeatedly stated that he is continuing his candidacy through the caucuses. He was the first candidate to visit every county in Iowa, dubbed "the full Grassley". He held the third most campaign events in Iowa of any candidate. However, during the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses he received 774 votes, or 0.70% of the electorate in a distant fifth place behind Vivek Ramaswamy whose showing was so poor he dropped out of the race entirely at 8,449 votes or 7.66% of the electorate. However, Binkley celebrated the fact that he received more votes in the Iowa caucus than former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

New Hampshire primary
After his showing in Iowa on January 12, 2024, Binkley stayed in the race despite other better-known candidates dropping out. On January 21, as Binkley retooled for the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, The Guardian ran a story where one of their journalists attended two Binkley rallies, which only had two and four participants respectively as Binkley outlined his plans for future contests. Binkley stated he was aiming for 2-3% of the vote in New Hampshire. Binkley embraced his low-profile status, selling yard signs that say "Who is Ryan Binkley?". Binkley received 315 votes, equivalent to 0.1% of the electorate, losing to Donald Trump.

Nevada and Virgin Islands races
Binkley shifted his efforts to the 2024 Nevada Republican presidential caucuses, where he was the only registered opposition to Donald Trump, since Nikki Haley is instead competing in the 2024 Nevada Republican presidential primary. Binkley shifted his message away from religious social conservative issues to a more financially conservative position to appeal to the more libertarian-minded voters of Nevada, stating that if is elected president he would balance the budget and pay off all foreign debt in one term. A report in the The Nevada Independent on January 24 predicted that he would not do much better than he did in New Hampshire.

As of January 24, Binkley had spent $8 million of his own money to fund his campaign. Due to Binkley being Trump's only opponent, there was a spike in media interest in his campaign, with Newsweek, USA Today, and Deseret News running articles about him and his positions. Binkley received 536 votes in Nevada, or 0.9% of the vote, coming in a distant second place to Donald Trump with the remaining 99.1% or 59,545 votes. Binkley did not run in the Virgin Islands caucuses.

South Carolina primary
Binkley was one of five candidates on the 2024 South Carolina Republican presidential primary ballot. Binkley traveled to South Carolina a week ahead of the primary to campaign, starting on February 15, centering on his evangelical Protestant upbringing, and job as a pastor, while also running on a platform of "reclaiming" cities and urban areas from the Democrats, stating that "[The Republican Party doesn't] have a message for the poor, immigrants, for the changing multicultural electorate for our country, which is growing, and young people. I do." Binkley would receive 527 votes, or 0.1% of the electorate.

Michigan primary
Binkley started campaigning on February 25 for the February 27 primary, prioritizing fiscal responsibility and paying off the national debt in his campaigning in the state. He suspended his campaign on the day of the Michigan primary and endorsed Trump.

Climate change
Binkley has stated that the United States should focus on developing new technologies and other approaches to produce “affordable and dependable green energy,” and that the United States should develop a unified, non-partisan, approach to climate change.

Crime
Binkley is a staunch supporter of broken windows theory and supports harsh sentences for minor crimes as a deterrent for more extreme, violent, crimes. He has also called for a nationwide increase in police budgets and training, as well as more resources to engage with criminals with mental illnesses.

Education
Binkley supports keeping the Department of Education, albeit heavily reforming it, by offering a greater emphasis on vocational training, as well as creating a federally-run national volunteer organization in which college students would tutor third graders through fifth graders in some low-income areas.

Economy
Binkley has touted a "seven-year plan" to “rescue” the American economy. In which Binkley proposes cutting 2% of the budget of every governmental department, except for the Department of Defense, as well as reforming social security. Binkley has also proposed extending Trump-era tax cuts, calling it a pro-growth position for the country. Binkley has also been critical of House Republicans for failing to pass a spending bill.

Foreign policy
Binkley has stated that his primary objective in foreign policy would be preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He also called for strengthening ties to Israel, and further committing to the Israel–Hamas war. He has also denounced sending any military aid to Ukraine, calling for a ceasefire there, even if it means Ukraine loses territory at the benefit of Russia. Binkley has also stated that Russia should be an American ally against China.

Health care
Binkley has been both supportive, and opposed, to private health insurance, criticizing companies and hospitals for spiking rates, while also stating that competitive private health insurance companies provides healthy business growth. He has also called for an increase in transparency from the pharmaceutical industry.

Immigration
Binkley has stated that if elected he will build a physical border barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border, and will expand infrastructure along the border to aid Customs and Border Protection. He does not support giving illegal aliens citizenship status under any circumstances, stating that entering the country illegally should bar them from being able to apply for citizenship. Binkley has also proposed changing the American definition of asylum seeker to actually be people seeking asylum from persecution, not people who simply want economic opportunities.

Abortion
Binkley celebrated the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and has stated that the decision to legalize or criminlize abortion should be made at a state level. At a federal level, Binkley stated that if elected he would emphasize adoption programs and support for the foster care system.

Personal life
His wife, Ellie, was born in South Korea. The two were married at Victory World Church in Georgia in the late 1990s. They have five children. Binkley is a major donor to Baylor University, where two of his children attend.

In 2019, the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation awarded Binkley with the Albert Schweitzer Leadership Award for "exemplary leadership professionally and personally". Binkley and Generational Group have contributed donations to organizations supporting Dallas youth and families in Uganda and Tanzania.