Michael Ballantine
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Michael Ballantine (Republican Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 6th Congressional District. He lost in the special general election on May 1, 2021.
Ballantine completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Michael Ballantine was born in Abington, Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army from 1980 to 1983. Ballantine received a bachelor's degree from Dickinson College in 1984, a degree from Elizabethtown College in 1988, and a graduate degree from the University of Phoenix in 2012. His professional experience includes being a businessman and educator. Ballantine has been affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, the United Way, and the Justice Party.[1]
Elections
2021
See also: Texas' 6th Congressional District special election, 2021
General runoff election
Special general runoff election for U.S. House Texas District 6
Jake Ellzey defeated Susan Wright in the special general runoff election for U.S. House Texas District 6 on July 27, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jake Ellzey (R) | 53.3 | 20,873 |
 | Susan Wright (R) | 46.7 | 18,293 | |
| Total votes: 39,166 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Texas District 6
The following candidates ran in the special general election for U.S. House Texas District 6 on May 1, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Susan Wright (R) | 19.2 | 15,077 |
| ✔ | | Jake Ellzey (R) | 13.8 | 10,865 |
 | Jana Lynne Sanchez (D) | 13.4 | 10,518 | |
 | Brian E. Harrison (R) | 10.8 | 8,485 | |
 | Shawn Lassiter (D) | 8.9 | 6,973 | |
 | John Castro (R) | 5.5 | 4,321 | |
 | Tammy Allison (D) | 5.4 | 4,240 | |
 | Lydia Bean (D) | 3.7 | 2,923 | |
 | Michael Wood (R) | 3.2 | 2,509 | |
 | Michael Ballantine (R) | 2.8 | 2,225 | |
 | Daniel Rodimer (R) | 2.7 | 2,088 | |
 | Daryl Eddings (D) | 2.1 | 1,654 | |
 | Michael Egan (R) | 2.0 | 1,544 | |
 | Patrick Moses (D) | 1.5 | 1,189 | |
| Manuel Salazar (D) | 1.4 | 1,120 | ||
 | Sery Kim (R) | 1.1 | 889 | |
 | Travis Rodermund (R) | 0.6 | 460 | |
 | Adrian Mizher (Independent) | 0.4 | 351 | |
 | Brian Stephenson (D) | 0.3 | 271 | |
 | Phil Gray (L) | 0.3 | 265 | |
 | Matt Hinterlong (D) | 0.3 | 252 | |
 | Jenny Garcia Sharon (R) | 0.2 | 150 | |
| Christopher Suprun (D) | 0.1 | 102 | ||
| Total votes: 78,471 | |||
| = 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
- Montgomery Markland (R)
- Asa Palagi (R)
- Katrina Pierson (R)
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Ballantine completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ballantine's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Arts in Jewish Studies, Economics and Anthropology. Working in banking, I furthered my education by studying Business Management at Elizabethtown College and began working in food manufacturing. With my new job, I traveled to countries like Indonesia, Singapore, India and Madagascar. I managed factories overseas and worked in a dozen more. After 16 years, I became disillusioned with Business and taught business and English in Vietnam. In 2012, I returned to the US to manage a small hotel in the Valley. The job market was weak and I returned to Vietnam after a year and taught until 2019 when I returned to the US. I worked at the Dallas Library for a year supporting business startups and entrepreneurs until Covid hit. In 2019, I began building up probably my 12th startup. I sell products online through Ebay, Etsy and Walmart. I am the sum total of my business experiences, my trave, work overseas, and the people I have met throughout my life. I support America and I believe we need to put America first. I believe small business needs to thrive. We make it thrive by putting the American worker first.
America must recognize the fact that our healthcare system is in crisis. The simplest fix is to extend Medicaid to those unemployed 30 days or more and extend Medicare to people aged 55 and up.
- We need to improve the competitiveness of small businesses and stop engaging in free trade with countries that practice slavery or pay workers slave wages.
- We need to put the American worker first through fair wage structures and more options for healthcare.
I cannot support the current rash of Executive Orders issued by President Biden that undermine our immigration system, our education system, and our ability to compete. Further, the movement to silence public discourse is an anathema to all Americans and I believe violates our 1st Amendment rights. Finally, the current bill HR1 moving through Congress will end free and fair elections by allowing non-citizens to vote, imposing mail-in-ballots (demonstrated globally to be a path for fraud), and putting the Federal Government in charge of elections a right reserved for the states. The encroachment of the Federal Government into every fragment of people's lives is an abomination and needs to be reversed.
I really like General Colin Powell. We played volleyball during the Iran Contra affair and I found him not only to be likeable but serious and honest.
I've just finished reading Dave Walker's book "America in 2040". His analysis suggests that the deficit and uncontrolled printing of money will force this nation from its position as the greatest nation to one of the least nations. For me, that is unacceptable.
It's essential that elected officials listen to their constituents and then work to address their needs. Further, an elected official is not paid to hide the truth or dissemble important information. The American voter is an adult and as such needs to be treated like one, not coddled like a simpleton. I believe straight talk, honest answers, and forthrightness are crucial to the relationship between elected officials and their constituents.
I'm a critical thinker, I tend to focus on facts rather than emotions, and I love my country.
All elected officials need to address the needs and desires of their community. Sometimes that means creating new legislation and other times, it means reversing legislation.
Lower costs for small businesses and economic security for the American worker
I interned in Governor Thornburgh's office at 17 to support his trip to Japan.
My first job was mowing lawns at the age of 8. I did this for three years and earned $5 per yard.
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. It's a simpler time where the characters are honest, direct, and motivated by their love of country and their fellow man.
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
I have a tendency to bluntness and looking to far into the future.
The members of the House represent the needs of the people directly. It is a House member's job to set aside his or her personal beliefs and unequivocally represent the voice of his or her constituents, their needs, and their desires. No other body provides the direct voice of the people, the way that the House does.
It seems that people change when they begin to work in government and in politics so as a cynic, I say no.
Our greatest challenge is the polarization of the people. If we cannot find unity before 2024 , then I fear that the nation will fly apart. Globally, the Chinese led by the CCP present the greatest economic and humanitarian challenge for American leadership and the business community.
Right now, the nation faces a healthcare crisis so I would like to serve on the subcommittee on Health. Further, I am passionate about education., so I would like to serve on the House Committee for Education and Labor.
I agree that representatives serve two years because that ensures that they represent their constituents and face their ire if they do not. I also believe that 6 terms should be the maximum for any representative to serve.
People start out with good intentions and then for some, things go bad. Over the years, there have been a number of leaders in Congress that I admired only to sour on them as time marched on. I have always admired Rep Phil Graham from my district because of his common sense approach to economics and policy while he served.
I haven't laughed in the last five years.
My first priority would be to propose legislation on climate emergencies. I would work with colleagues to pass a bill that empowers Governors during a climate emergency to set aside regulations both Federal and State for a period of 10 days allowing them to take action they deem appropriate to ensure the safety and well being of the affected communities.
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
2021 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 7, 2021
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
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)
