Winde held senior positions in the Democratic Alliance provincial parliamentary group. He was chief whip of the party's caucus before the 2009 election. After the 2009 election, the party became the majority party in the provincial parliament. Helen Zille became Premier and selected Winde to be the Minister for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism. Winde became Minister for Western Cape Minister for Economic Opportunities in May 2014. The Democratic Alliance chose him as their premier candidate for the 2019 election in September 2018. Zille moved him to the Community Safety department in November 2018.