Jon Buchwald

[{"question": "Ballotpedia survey responses", "answer_html": "<p>See also: <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a></p>\n<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-xs-10 col-md-6 col-xs-offset-1 col-md-offset-3\"><p><a href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\"><img align=\"middle\" alt=\"Candidate Connection\" src=\"https://cdn.ballotpedia.org/images/8/88/Candidate_Connection_Logo.png\" width=\"90%\"/></a></p></div></div>\n<p>Jon Buchwald completed <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a> survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Buchwald's responses.</p>\n<p><span class=\"expand-all\">Expand all</span> | <span class=\"collapse-all\">Collapse all</span></p>\n<div aria-multiselectable=\"true\" class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-356114-2026-01-04\" id=\"heading-bio-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-bio-356114-2026-01-04\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWho are you? Tell us about yourself.\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-bio-356114-2026-01-04\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-bio-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tI am a true political outsider who is tired of seeing donor money skimmed and distributed to cronies, and the inability of the Democratic Party to make positive change. I am entering this race as an agent of change who is focused on Restoring the American Dream. Success should be within the grasp of hardworking people and not based on political gamesmanship. \r\n<p><br/>\r\nI'm a successful entrepreneur and Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Cox Business School at SMU and Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas. \r\n</p><p><br/>\r\nI co-founded Infrasoft Corporation that marketed civil engineering technology in 30 countries and was acquired by Bentley Systems. We went public under the ticker symbol BSY.\r\n</p><p><br/>\r\nMy background further includes 18 years of global consulting in high tech and healthcare.\r\n</p><p><br/>\r\nI hold a MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Computer Science from the University of California at San Diego.\r\n</p><p>There are two keys to Restoring the American Dream:\r\n</p><p>1) Putting money into working people's pockets through affordable and accessible healthcare, education and housing.\r\n</p>\n2) Treating the pursuit of happiness as a human right. All Americans should have be able to live the life they choose, marry who they want, maintain their health, make a fair wage and afford a home.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-356114-2026-01-04\" id=\"heading-key-message-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-key-message-356114-2026-01-04\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tPlease 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?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-key-message-356114-2026-01-04\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-key-message-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><ul><li>It's time to Restore the American Dream that's been slipping away from so many people. The K-shaped economy where the top 10% get richer and bottom 90% get poorer not only is unfair but unsustainable. I will resolve this by ensure that everyone is able to earn a fair wage, maintain their health, and afford a home. People say these are unattainable objectives but this is not true. They have become unattainable due to a lack of economic balance, lowered educational standards and a system that increasingly favors those of extreme wealth. This can be fixed and I will take steps to remedy this situation.</li><li>While affordability is hugely important when talking about healthcare and housing, accessibility is often forgotten. Affordability without accessibility is no better than a lack of affordability. Unfortunately, the far right has been taking steps to make healthcare, housing and education less and less affordable. This is not sustainable and increases the divide between those who have and those do not. My plans for healthcare, housing and education address both affordability and accessibility, which are required in order for people to have an opportunity to achieve the American Dream.</li><li>Our system of campaign finance is horribly broken, and enables people to grift. One of the reasons that I entered the inherently dirty world of politics is to show that you don't have to be a grifter in order to win and affect positive change. The cronyism and outright theft of donor money through funneling to \"consultants\", \"fund raisers\" and \"campaign managers\" is truly disgusting. I hope that you will support my outsider campaign and my effort to clean up both politics and the Democratic Party.</li></ul></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-356114-2026-01-04\" id=\"heading1-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse1-356114-2026-01-04\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading1-356114-2026-01-04\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse1-356114-2026-01-04\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tAffordable and accessible healthcare<br/>\n<p>Affordable and accessible housing<br/>\r\nAn economy where people don't live paycheck to paycheck<br/>\r\nEducation that readies our children for the real world<br/>\r\nTransparent use of AI, and consumer protection<br/>\n</p>\nA cleaner political system\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div></div>\n<div class=\"small\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><p><i><b>Note:</b> 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.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"small\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><p><i><b>Note:</b> Buchwald submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on January 4, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"text-center\" style=\"margin-top: 30px\"><button class=\"btn btn-default showResponses text-center\">Show past responses</button><button class=\"btn btn-default hideResponses text-center\">Hide past responses</button></div>\n<div class=\"pastResponses\" style=\"display: none\"><p class=\"large-date\">\tDecember 29 submission</p><div aria-multiselectable=\"true\" class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-356114-2025-12-29\" id=\"heading-key-message-356114-2025-12-29\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-key-message-356114-2025-12-29\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-356114-2025-12-29\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\t\tPlease 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?\t\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-key-message-356114-2025-12-29\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-key-message-356114-2025-12-29\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><ul><li>I am running for Congress to restore the American Dream that so many people feel is slipping away.</li><li>Let's put money back into working people's pocket, through good paying jobs, access to affordable healthcare, and a Real World Ready educational system. These are three pillars of a thriving middle class that can achieve the American Dream.</li><li>Let's treat the pursuit of happiness as a human right. You should be able to live the life you choose, and have the financial stability, good health, education and surrounding infrastructure that's required to do it.</li></ul></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-356114-2025-12-29\" id=\"heading1-356114-2025-12-29\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse1-356114-2025-12-29\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-356114-2025-12-29\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\t\tWhat areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?\t\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading1-356114-2025-12-29\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse1-356114-2025-12-29\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\t\tFinancial stability<br/>\n<p>Access to affordable healthcare<br/>\r\nEducation for the real world<br/>\n</p>\nWorld class infrastructure\t\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class=\"small\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><p><i><b>Note:</b> 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.</i></p><p><i><b>Note:</b> Buchwald submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on December 29, 2025.</i></p></div></div>", "answer_text": "See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection\n\nJon Buchwald completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Buchwald's responses.\nExpand all | Collapse all\nWho are you? Tell us about yourself. I am a true political outsider who is tired of seeing donor money skimmed and distributed to cronies, and the inability of the Democratic Party to make positive change. I am entering this race as an agent of change who is focused on Restoring the American Dream. Success should be within the grasp of hardworking people and not based on political gamesmanship. I'm a successful entrepreneur and Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Cox Business School at SMU and Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas. I co-founded Infrasoft Corporation that marketed civil engineering technology in 30 countries and was acquired by Bentley Systems. We went public under the ticker symbol BSY. My background further includes 18 years of global consulting in high tech and healthcare. I hold a MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Computer Science from the University of California at San Diego. There are two keys to Restoring the American Dream: 1) Putting money into working people's pockets through affordable and accessible healthcare, education and housing. 2) Treating the pursuit of happiness as a human right. All Americans should have be able to live the life they choose, marry who they want, maintain their health, make a fair wage and afford a home. 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? It's time to Restore the American Dream that's been slipping away from so many people. The K-shaped economy where the top 10% get richer and bottom 90% get poorer not only is unfair but unsustainable. I will resolve this by ensure that everyone is able to earn a fair wage, maintain their health, and afford a home. People say these are unattainable objectives but this is not true. They have become unattainable due to a lack of economic balance, lowered educational standards and a system that increasingly favors those of extreme wealth. This can be fixed and I will take steps to remedy this situation. While affordability is hugely important when talking about healthcare and housing, accessibility is often forgotten. Affordability without accessibility is no better than a lack of affordability. Unfortunately, the far right has been taking steps to make healthcare, housing and education less and less affordable. This is not sustainable and increases the divide between those who have and those do not. My plans for healthcare, housing and education address both affordability and accessibility, which are required in order for people to have an opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Our system of campaign finance is horribly broken, and enables people to grift. One of the reasons that I entered the inherently dirty world of politics is to show that you don't have to be a grifter in order to win and affect positive change. The cronyism and outright theft of donor money through funneling to \"consultants\", \"fund raisers\" and \"campaign managers\" is truly disgusting. I hope that you will support my outsider campaign and my effort to clean up both politics and the Democratic Party. What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Affordable and accessible healthcare Affordable and accessible housing An economy where people don't live paycheck to paycheck Education that readies our children for the real world Transparent use of AI, and consumer protection A cleaner political system\nNote: 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.\nNote: Buchwald submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on January 4, 2026.\nShow past responses Hide past responses\nDecember 29 submission 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? I am running for Congress to restore the American Dream that so many people feel is slipping away. Let's put money back into working people's pocket, through good paying jobs, access to affordable healthcare, and a Real World Ready educational system. These are three pillars of a thriving middle class that can achieve the American Dream. Let's treat the pursuit of happiness as a human right. You should be able to live the life you choose, and have the financial stability, good health, education and surrounding infrastructure that's required to do it. What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Financial stability Access to affordable healthcare Education for the real world World class infrastructure 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. Note: Buchwald submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on December 29, 2025."}, {"question": "Campaign website", "answer_html": "<p>Buchwald's campaign website stated the following:\n</p>\n<div style=\"height:400px;overflow:scroll;border:1px solid gray;margin:20px;padding:10px;\">\n<table data-nosnippet=\"\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse; border: none;background-color: transparent; auto; ;\">\n<tbody><tr>\n<td style=\"border:none; color:#B2B7F2;font-size:35px;font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 10px 3px;\" valign=\"top\" width=\"20\">“\n</td>\n<td style=\"border: none; padding: 4px 10px;\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><b>I’m restoring the American Dream through a two-pronged approach:</b>\n</p>\n<ul><li>Putting money back in working peoples’ pockets</li></ul>\n<ul><li>Treating the pursuit of happiness as a human right</li></ul>\n<p><b>The policies that will help achieve these two lofty goals are…</b>\n</p><p><b>Primary Care Vouchers</b> as a foundation for a healthier America. Too many families skip basic care because they can’t afford the bill. Primary care vouchers remove that barrier so small health issues don’t turn into medical or financial crises.\n</p><p><b>Catastrophic Medicaid</b> because your health shouldn’t break you financially. One medical emergency shouldn’t wipe out a family’s savings. Catastrophic Medicaid steps in for the worst-case scenarios so people can recover without going bankrupt.\n</p><p><b>Doctor Loan Forgiveness</b> to encourage Medicaid acceptance. Communities are losing doctors because Medicaid patients pay less than private insurance. Loan forgiveness brings physicians back into underserved areas and restores access to care.\n</p><p><b>Peer-to-Peer Home Loans</b> to enable first-time homebuyers. Young buyers are being outbid by banks and investors. Peer-to-peer home loans let retirees finance home purchases directly, lowering prices and keeping wealth in the middle class instead of funneling it to Wall Street.\n</p><p><b>Enable Local Entrepreneurship</b> to grow our local economy. Small business owners shouldn’t need corporate connections to get started. Supporting local entrepreneurs builds homegrown jobs and keeps economic power close to the people.\n</p><p><b>Respect for Local Labor</b> because working Americas need a fair chance. Working people feel like the economy is stacked against them. Respecting and protecting local labor ensures families can earn a real living and build toward their future.\n</p><p><b>Predatory Student Loan Crackdown</b> because our future isn’t for profit. Too many young people are trapped by loans they didn’t fully understand. Cracking down on predatory practices protects students and restores education as a ladder up instead of a trap door.\n</p><p><b>Fair, Balanced, &amp; Streamlined Immigration</b> to build a stronger America. Families and businesses are stuck navigating a broken immigration system. A streamlined process is needed that honors dignity and continues to grow our economy.\n</p><p><b>AI Transparency</b> to keep communication real. People deserve to know when they’re talking to a machine. AI transparency rules protect trust, authenticity, and the integrity of public conversation.\n</p><p><b>Access to Affordable Healthcare</b> Because healthcare is a human right. Nobody should have to choose between paying rent and seeing a doctor. Affordable healthcare allows Americans the freedom to live without fear of medical debt.\n</p><p><b>Defeating Project 2025</b> A real plan for a free America. Project 2025 threatens personal freedoms and local autonomy. Stopping it protects civil rights and ensures Americans, not extremists, shape the nation’s future.\n</p><p><sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-quotedisclaimer_2-0\"><a href=\"#cite_note-quotedisclaimer-2\">[2]</a></sup>\n</p>\n</td>\n<td style=\"border: none; color: #B2B7F2; font-size: 35px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: right; padding: 10px 1px;\" valign=\"bottom\" width=\"20\">”\n</td></tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"cquotecite\" colspan=\"3\" style=\"border: none; padding-right: 4%\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal;font-size: smaller; float: right;\">—XCANDIDATENAMEX’s campaign website (XYEARX)<sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-3\"><a href=\"#cite_note-3\">[3]</a></sup></cite>\n</td></tr></tbody></table>\n</div>", "answer_text": "Buchwald's campaign website stated the following:\n“ I’m restoring the American Dream through a two-pronged approach: Putting money back in working peoples’ pockets Treating the pursuit of happiness as a human right The policies that will help achieve these two lofty goals are… Primary Care Vouchers as a foundation for a healthier America. Too many families skip basic care because they can’t afford the bill. Primary care vouchers remove that barrier so small health issues don’t turn into medical or financial crises. Catastrophic Medicaid because your health shouldn’t break you financially. One medical emergency shouldn’t wipe out a family’s savings. Catastrophic Medicaid steps in for the worst-case scenarios so people can recover without going bankrupt. Doctor Loan Forgiveness to encourage Medicaid acceptance. Communities are losing doctors because Medicaid patients pay less than private insurance. Loan forgiveness brings physicians back into underserved areas and restores access to care. Peer-to-Peer Home Loans to enable first-time homebuyers. Young buyers are being outbid by banks and investors. Peer-to-peer home loans let retirees finance home purchases directly, lowering prices and keeping wealth in the middle class instead of funneling it to Wall Street. Enable Local Entrepreneurship to grow our local economy. Small business owners shouldn’t need corporate connections to get started. Supporting local entrepreneurs builds homegrown jobs and keeps economic power close to the people. Respect for Local Labor because working Americas need a fair chance. Working people feel like the economy is stacked against them. Respecting and protecting local labor ensures families can earn a real living and build toward their future. Predatory Student Loan Crackdown because our future isn’t for profit. Too many young people are trapped by loans they didn’t fully understand. Cracking down on predatory practices protects students and restores education as a ladder up instead of a trap door. Fair, Balanced, & Streamlined Immigration to build a stronger America. Families and businesses are stuck navigating a broken immigration system. A streamlined process is needed that honors dignity and continues to grow our economy. AI Transparency to keep communication real. People deserve to know when they’re talking to a machine. AI transparency rules protect trust, authenticity, and the integrity of public conversation. Access to Affordable Healthcare Because healthcare is a human right. Nobody should have to choose between paying rent and seeing a doctor. Affordable healthcare allows Americans the freedom to live without fear of medical debt. Defeating Project 2025 A real plan for a free America. Project 2025 threatens personal freedoms and local autonomy. Stopping it protects civil rights and ensures Americans, not extremists, shape the nation’s future. [2] ” —XCANDIDATENAMEX’s campaign website (XYEARX) [3]"}]