Ben Van Winkle

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ben Van Winkle

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas, Austin

Personal

Birthplace

San Antonio, Texas

Religion

Christian

Profession

Small business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Ben Van Winkle (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 23rd Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.

Van Winkle completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Van Winkle earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. His career experience includes owning a small business and working as a technology account manager.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020

Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 23

Tony Gonzales defeated Gina Ortiz Jones and Beto Villela in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 23 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tony Gonzales (R)	50.6	149,395
		Gina Ortiz Jones (D)	46.6	137,693
		Beto Villela (L)	2.8	8,369

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 295,457
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Steven Sanders (Independent)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 23

Tony Gonzales defeated Raul Reyes Jr. in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 23 on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tony Gonzales	50.1	12,342
		Raul Reyes Jr.	49.9	12,297

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,639
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 23

Gina Ortiz Jones defeated Efrain Valdez, Rosalinda Ramos Abuabara, Ricardo Madrid, and Jaime Escuder in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 23 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gina Ortiz Jones	66.2	41,718
	Submit photo	Efrain Valdez	11.4	7,163
		Rosalinda Ramos Abuabara	10.9	6,896
	Submit photo	Ricardo Madrid	7.2	4,518
		Jaime Escuder	4.3	2,725

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 63,020
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Liz Wahl (D)
• Brandyn Waterman (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 23

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 23 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tony Gonzales	28.1	11,522
✔		Raul Reyes Jr.	23.3	9,555
		Alma Arredondo-Lynch	13.2	5,391
		Ben Van Winkle	10.8	4,427
		Jeff McFarlin	10.3	4,241
		Sharon Thomas	6.1	2,511
		Cecil B. Jones	3.8	1,552
		Alia Garcia-Ureste	2.5	1,039
		Darwin Boedeker	1.8	745

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,983
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Adam Hansen (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 23

Beto Villela defeated Tim Martinez in the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 23 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Tim Martinez (L)
✔		Beto Villela (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ben Van Winkle completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Van Winkle's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am not a politician. I am a small business owner and technology account manager based out of San Antonio. I am driven by the desire to bring REAL representation to the people of Texas' 23rd District. I am tired of politicians saying one thing to get elected, and not following through. I am sick of the stalemate in Washington led by polarizing figures on both sides, that are not even attempting to get the job done for the American people. Our job should be to represent our district, and come up with solutions to the issues we face, while upholding and defending the Constitution. I will do just that. Where most candidates want to get elected by saying what they need to, I will tell you exactly where I stand, and back it up with sound reason. The Republican Party has to start arguing for why we believe the way we believe, instead of just pushing back with emotion. The Constitution can protect us and secure the future of the United States indefinitely, if we have the right people in Congress fighting for it. I am the right person for Texas' 23rd District.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Constitutional Conservative: There is ideology developing on the left, and legislation that has passed, that has been in direct conflict with the Constitution. I will fight against socialist ideologies, and attempt to overturn legislation in conflict with the Constitution.
• Fiscal Conservative: The government spends Americans' money unwisely. I will support a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution, and another amendment that puts a maximum percentage government can tax individuals and businesses of their earnings. Right now, there is no maximum they can tax us, and we need to put it in the Constitution. Unlimited taxation is enslavement.
• Limited Government: The Constitution does not lay out the framework for a massive central government. I believe government should only be involved enough to ensure individual liberties are not taken, the constitution is adhered to, national defense and homeland security is taken care of, most of the other issues should be left up to the states.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Government Spending & Taxation

2. Adherence to the 2nd Amendment
3. Closing asylum loopholes and giving border patrol the tools they need to do their job
4. Standing up for The Right to Life
5. Oversight over government agencies not doing their jobs
6. Taking care of our veterans, law enforcement, and first responders
7. Creating better healthcare infrastructure for rural areas
8. Competitive healthcare to drive down cost of healthcare and pharmaceutical drugs

9. Building a better way of doing Social Security and Medicare that guarantees the money you put in will be there in the years to come.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Constitution.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

1. Always put the people of your district, the American people, and The Constitution first.

2. Attempt to work with the other side. Find common ground to benefit the greater good.
3. Do work for hundreds of years from now, not tomorrow only.

4. Be quick to hear and slow to speak. There is strength in humility.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

1. Humility is a top priority for me. I want to listen to my people first. The office is not about me. I think we have a lot of politicians all about themselves and not about the people they represent.

2. I think of solutions. I look at the basis of the problem, and see solutions where others see problems.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listen to the people of your district and uphold The Constitution.

What legacy would you like to leave?

"I really felt like I knew him, and he listened to me." "He valued the foundational documents of this country, and upheld them for future generations."

What is your favorite book? Why?

"His Excellency"

George Washington was a great man, but a flawed man. I think that what really made him great was how he took life experiences and learned from them.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"To those I've loved" by Eric Church

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. Neither did the founders. They wanted citizen representatives. It is good to be intelligent, but what we have now are life-long politicians that have other agendas, rather than caring for the people of their district. We need to bring back the citizen politician, not someone who has stacked their resume for years to become a representative.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

1. Budget

2. Homeland Security
3. Veterans' Affairs

4. Ways and Means

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes. It gives you enough time to show the people of your district what will do, but it isn't too long to where they can't vote you out for a while if you are doing a bad job.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am FOR term limits.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

I just want to do a good job representing my district first. Have not thought about being leadership.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Trey Gowdy

Ted Cruz - I know he is a senator, but he is a great one

Both of these men are really well thought out. I admire that.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

In Sanderson, a small town in western Texas, the county judge was telling me about how little medical service they have there. Their clinic was taken from them to go to Fort Stockton. I started wondering how I would feel if I did not have medical help readily available when my son had seizures.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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External links

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Footnotes

[show]

Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Cornyn (R)

Ted Cruz (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nathaniel Moran (R)

District 2

Daniel Crenshaw (R)

District 3

Keith Self (R)

District 4

Pat Fallon (R)

District 5

Lance Gooden (R)

District 6

Jake Ellzey (R)

District 7

Lizzie Fletcher (D)

District 8

Morgan Luttrell (R)

District 9

Al Green (D)

District 10

Michael McCaul (R)

District 11

August Pfluger (R)

District 12

Craig Goldman (R)

District 13

Ronny Jackson (R)

District 14

Randy Weber (R)

District 15

Monica De La Cruz (R)

District 16

Veronica Escobar (D)

District 17

Pete Sessions (R)

District 18

Vacant

District 19

Jodey Arrington (R)

District 20

Joaquin Castro (D)

District 21

Chip Roy (R)

District 22

Troy Nehls (R)

District 23

Tony Gonzales (R)

District 24

Beth Van Duyne (R)

District 25

Roger Williams (R)

District 26

Brandon Gill (R)

District 27

Michael Cloud (R)

District 28

Henry Cuellar (D)

District 29

Sylvia Garcia (D)

District 30

Jasmine Crockett (D)

District 31

John Carter (R)

District 32

Julie Johnson (D)

District 33

Marc Veasey (D)

District 34

Vicente Gonzalez (D)

District 35

Greg Casar (D)

District 36

Brian Babin (R)

District 37

Lloyd Doggett (D)

District 38

Wesley Hunt (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (12)

Vacancies (1)