Winegarner touts rural, ag experience in Congressional race

Republican congressional candidate Josh Winegarner paid a visit to Clarendon this week as he seeks to secure his party’s nomination for the general election.

The Spearman native stopped by the Enterprise to discuss his desire to serve the 13th Congressional District and to succeed US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), who is retiring at the end of his current term.

Winegarner has worked for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association for the last 14 years and prior to that worked for US Sen. John Cornyn and former US Sen. Phil Gramm. For both senators he worked on constituent communications and served as a voice for agriculture, small business, and rural communities, he said.

Growing up in Spearman, Winegarner says he had a series of odd jobs before going getting his bachelor’s degree at McMurray University and the pursuing a graduate work at Hardin Simmons University. His father was a John Deere implement salesman, and his mother was a school nurse. All of his life experience now make him a good choice to represent this area in Washington, he said.

“I have practical experience on how policies and regulations affect our area,” he said. “I’ve worked on those issues.”

Winegarner and his wife have two kids, ages 7 and 9, and live between Canyon and Happy. The couple raise a small herd of Angus cattle, and Mrs. Winegarner serves on the Canyon ISD school board.

“Mac’s leaving huge shoes to fill,” Winegarner said, “and he’s done a good job. My reputation of trust is a huge benefit [in Washington]. These folks know me and know I’m an honest broker.”

Wine garner said he never aspired to run for elected office, but in talking to other people to try to find a successor to Thornberry, he kept being encouraged by others to run himself.

“That and about three church service messages in a row – about using your gifts to help others – convinced me to take a look at it,” he said.

With the support of his wife and children, he joined the race, but Winegarner says it’s important to his family that his kids not be raised in Virginia.

“We want to stay in Randall County, so I’ll be back all the time,” Winegarner said. “If people see me at Allsup’s and have a concern or think I’ve done something stupid, they can tell me.”

Politically, Winegarner says he’s similar to the other Republicans running for the position. He wants to see the border wall completed, wants the border secured, and immigration reformed while still allowing for laborers to come to America. He hopes to serve on the agriculture committee and to continue Thornberry’s work to strengthen the armed forces and serve veterans. He also wants to get more of Texas’ tax dollars back for local transportation projects and work on incentives to improve rural quality of life.
What separates him from the other candidates, he says, is his experience.

“I have a better handle on the struggles of rural communities and agriculture issues,” he said.

Winegarner also plans to work hard to protect the interests of Bell Helicopter and the Pantex Plant, and he says that he can work with people of differing opinions but that he won’t compromise on gun rights, abortion, or his faith.