In 1993 he was elected to Omagh District Council and became its youngest member and in 2004 was voted Vice Chairman.

In July 2010, he complained about a display of bunting inside an Omagh bank that celebrated a success by the Tyrone GAA team.

Buchanan accused the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) of being a political and Irish republican organisation.

[2] On 25 October 2013 Buchanan told school children attending a public event that homosexuality is an 'abomination'.

[4][5] He is the DUP candidate in West Tyrone in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.