On April 18, 2024, a fourth mayoral candidate, Steven B. Winters, filed to run for mayor in the November ballot. Winters joins a growing list of mayoral candidates running for the office. In addition to Winters, there are three others vying for the office. They are Marco Contreras, Cassandra Hernandez and Renard Johnson. At least three other individuals are rumored to be considering a run for the office. Two, Brian Kennedy and Joe Pickett are rumored to be considering throwing in their hat.
Little is known about the latest candidate, Steven Winters. Winters is a retired Command Sergeant Major from the US Army. He made an announcement at the Red Door Awards Dinner on February 16 about running for mayor. In July 2023, the El Paso Chihuahuas recognized Winters as a GECU “American Hero.” The Red Door Awards Dinner announcement, according to the Spanish language Diario, was made by El Paso’s Republican Party. The city’s mayoral race is non-partisan.
Although KVIA reported that Winters formally announced his run for mayor in February, and he filed his paperwork in April, Winters had already been talking publicly about running to be El Paso’s next mayor since 2023. A November 5, 2023 Youtube Trinitarian church interview shows that Winters had been considering running for mayor for some time.
The November 5, 2023 interview was conducted live during an event featuring Brandon Tatum. Tatum was participating in the “Call Me American” program, a project of Turning Point USA. Turning Point was co-founded by Charles J. Kirk. Turning Point USA is a conservative non-profit based in Phoenix, Arizona. According to the Washington Post (paywall), in 2020, the non-profit paid Arizona youth to post fake posts on social media promoting the organization. Facebook removed hundreds of accounts as well as the marketing firm, Rally Forge, for violating the site’s terms of service.
Kirk promotes the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory that argues America is being de-Christianized. Kirk has also called white privilege a myth, in addition to spreading misinformation about Covid-19.
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Brandon Orlando Tatum is a former Tucson police officer who appeared in a 2016 Trump campaign video that went viral. In addition to his conservative talk shows, Tatum founded Blexit, an organization encouraging Black voters to leave the Democratic Party. Blexit is part of Turning Point.
In the video interview, the host, Adam Lopez states that “El Paso is blue,” and that “the atmosphere of El Paso is not Christian.” Winters tells Lopez that El Pasoans do not understand that “they are not blue” and that “they are not Democrats.” Answering Lopez’ question about how Winters plans to deal with “our weak country,” Winters said that the solution is “to bring back strength back to the males” and to “end the attack on masculinity.”
Winters went on to state that the solution lies “in a two-parent household,” emphasizing that a two-parent household is “a man and a woman, okay I repeat a man and a woman.”
Calling Winters a “very important” candidate, Lopez tells Winters that his goal is to help “get out country back,” to “get our city governments back,” because his group is “draining the swamp everywhere” by “replaying them with leaders like” Winters.
There are several comments on the Youtube video accusing Winters of improperly taking undeserved credit for a military achievement and of abusive leadership. The comments could not be authenticated.
Awaken World Channel As MAGA Outlet
The Awaken World News Youtube channel shared Alina Habba’s news conference calling the Donald J. Trump conviction on 34 counts of felony crimes as a conviction from a “corrupt system.” Habba was Trump’s attorney during Trump’s trial where he was convicted of violating business and election laws to benefit his political campaign in 2016.
The Youtube channel has shared at least one other Trump-related video in the past.
Stay tuned to read what Joe Pickett told us about running for mayor later today.
I will be voting for you Steve Winters
This candidate did not say one thing that would lead anyone to think he is a serious, viable candidate for Mayor. His chauvinistic attitude shows a lack of the type of leadership needed for that position. As a military veteran, I find this trait to be out of step with our armed forces. What are his priorities vis a vis the office he seeks? The ‘interview’ lacked any answers and was a complete waste of time.