Former Lt. Gov. of Texas Ben Barnes has kept an active profile despite retiring in the political several years ago. He is now an active philanthropist who seeks to advance various advocacies for education, political reform and the arts. He has also been a political consultant in his home state of Texas.

Barnes started his political career at a very young age. He won in an upset victory for the state representative in Texas and has also worked for the State’s Health Department prior to that. It was in this job at the Health Department where Former Lt. Gov. of Texas Ben Barnes made his first significant step and ascension in the Texas political arena. Unraveling irregularities in the department’s financial statements, Barnes was instrumental in starting reform from within the Health Department. This act catalyzed his decision to enter Texas politics.

He became the Chairman of the Rules Committee which was one of the inclinations of his rapid rise in the Texas Democratic Party. Just a few years after his state representative election, Barnes became the youngest State Speaker of the House in 1965. In 1969, he started his first term as Lieutenant Governor of the State. He served two terms as Lieutenant Governor.

After his political career, Former Lt. Gov. of Texas Ben Barnes has been a staunch supporter of organizations like the Genaustin, an empowerment network for girls in Texas, the Austin Community Foundation and Texas Civil Rights Project.