Benjamin Hornberger

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Benjamin Hornberger
Personal details
Political party Republican
Alma mater Bellwood-Antis School District

Benjamin Hornberger is an American politician. A Republican, he represents Antis Township in Blair County, Pennsylvania as a township supervisor. In addition to a successful bid for township supervisor, Hornberger ran for the United States House of Representatives in 2018, [1] and briefly hinted at a run for county commissioner in 2019. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Hornberger grew up in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States, and received his education at the Bellwood-Antis School District schools located in the upper half of Blair County. Following his high-school graduation, Hornberger enrolled in the United States Marines and served in different locations located throughout the United States. Following his tenure in the military, he returned to his home and branded himself as a relentless supporter of Donald J. Trump in both the 2016 Republican primary and the 2016 Presidential Election. [3] Hornberger's activism stemmed so far that foreign news agencies, such as AFP, interviewed him to provide insight to the grassroots work of the Trump campaign.

Political career

2018 U.S. House primary

After volunteering for Donald Trump in his successful 2016 election campaign against former secretary of state and First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton, Hornberger found it necessary to run for the U.S. House to support President Trump. Following the 2016 Republican Primary between U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster and challenger Art Halvorson in which Shuster, a fifteen-year incumbent, narrowly edged out Halvorson, [4] many political spectators viewed the House Transportation Chairman Shuster as vulnerable. Hornberger intended to hammer Shuster on his perceived lack of attention to the then-9th Congressional District in Pennsylvania, votes for bloated budgets, lack of transparency, and long tenure in office. [5] Hornberger initially intended to run in 2020, although announcing in 2017, but redirected his attention to the 2018 primary after Shuster announced his retirement from Congress. [6] The dynamic of the race also shifted as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the 2010 Congressional maps as unconstitutional and redrew the map. The 9th district became Pennsylvania 13th Congressional District, consisting largely of the old 9th but shifted eastward.

In the 2018 primary, Hornberger competed with Altoona dermatologist John Joyce, Pennsylvania State Senator John Eichelberger, former Congressional candidate Art Halvorson, Pennsylvania State Representative Stephen Bloom, veteran Douglas Mastriano, former Congressional candidate Travis Schooley, and business owner Bernie Washabaugh II. Following a heated and contentious primary, dermatologist John Joyce won with 22.0%, or 14,828 votes. Hornberger finished last with 1.8%, or 1,195 votes. [1] Criticism revolved around his age falling short of the Constitutionally required 25 minimum age requirement to serve in the U.S. House.

2019 run for Blair County Commissioner

In December 2018, Benjamin Hornberger announced his intention to seek the office of Blair County Commissioner. While he held a small rally at a local pizza shop in Altoona, Pennsylvania, he decided to back out of the race once 2019 started and never officially circulated a petition for nomination.

2021 Antis Township Supervisor race

In 2021, Hornberger announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for a seat on the Antis Township Board of Supervisors. He faced off with media creator Chris Forshey, Lance Kustaborder, and business owner J. Steven Winterstein. In the May primary, Hornberger emerged victorious with 41.4%, or 433 votes. [7] Despite a successful primary, Hornberger lost the general to J. Steven Winterstein, who received enough write-in votes in the primary to appear as a Democrat on the November ballot. Hornberger received 48.7%, or 749 votes, compared to Winterstein's 51.3%, or 790 votes. [8]

2023 Antis Township Supervisor race

In 2023, Hornberger again announced a run for Antis Township Supervisor, with the aim to take out incumbent Bob Smith. In March, however, Hornberger faced a petition challenge due to his failure to complete the financial disclosure statement on his petitions and was promptly removed from the Republican primary ballot. [9] Despite this, Hornberger filed as an independent for the same seat and won an upset victory in the fall, besting Smith by 7.5%, or 152 votes. [10] Given the election held two openings to vote for, the top vote getter was Republican George Bell with 40%, or 1,002 votes.

Hornberger officially joined the board of supervisors in January 2024. He rejoined the Republican Party in the spring of 2024, returning the Antis Township board to a unanimous Republican board.

Electoral history

2018 Republican primary election: U.S. House of Representatives, District 13 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican John Joyce 14,82822.0%
Republican John Eichelberger 13,31119.8%
Republican Stephen Bloom12,23118.2%
Republican Douglas Mastriano 10,50915.6%
Republican Art Halvorson 10,32315.3%
Republican Travis Schooley 3,0364.5%
Republican Bernie Washabaugh II 1,9132.8%
Republican Benjamin Hornberger1,1951.8%
2021 Republican primary election: Board of Supervisors, Antis Township [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Benjamin Hornberger43341.1%
Republican J. Steven Winterstein 33531.8%
Republican Christopher Forshey 21820.7%
Republican Lance Kustaborder 646.1%
2021 General election: Board of Supervisors, Antis Township [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic J. Steven Winterstein 79051.3%
Republican Benjamin Hornberger74948.7%
2023 General election: Board of Supervisors, Antis Township [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican George Bell1,00240%
Independent Benjamin Hornberger82032.8%
Republican Robert Bob Smith 66226.5%


Controversies

While attending an anti-antifa rally at the Gettysburg battlefield, Hornberger [11] (at the time 23 years old) shot himself with a revolver. In the moment, he had the gun secured in a holster on his belt. The gun went off while in the holster after Hornberger accidentally hit the gun with a flagpole. When emergency services arrived, he was said to be in 'good spirits.' [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Benjamin Hornberger". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  2. ↑ "Hornberger eyes commissioner post". altoonamirror.com. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  3. ↑ "Ben Hornberger: one of Trump's army of volunteers". RFI. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  4. ↑ "2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania", Wikipedia, 2025-01-04, retrieved 2025-04-04
  5. ↑ Hook, Jim. "Shippensburg man shot at Gettysburg rally this summer aims to boot Shuster in 2020". Public Opinion. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  6. ↑ "House Transportation Chairman Shuster to Retire". The Eno Center for Transportation. 2025-04-03. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  7. ↑ "Summary Results Report MUNICIPAL PRIMARY May 18, 2021" (PDF). www.blairco.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-07-25.
  8. ↑ "Summary Results Report Municipal Election November 2, 2021" (PDF). www.blairco.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-09-25.
  9. ↑ "Judge pulls 3 candidates from ballots". altoonamirror.com. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  10. ↑ "BLAIR COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Municipal Election November 7, 2023" (PDF). www.blairco.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-04-20.
  11. ↑ https://www.eveningsun.com/story/news/2017/07/01/man-accidentally-shoots-himself-leg-gettysburg-national-military-park/446020001/
  12. ↑ https://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/07/patriot_shot_in_leg_gettysburg.html
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