David Steelman

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David Steelman is an American politician from the state of Missouri. Steelman holds a bachelors degree in economics from the University of Missouri, and graduated first in his class from the University of Missouri Law School in 1978.

Steelman, a Republican, was elected to his first term in the Missouri House of Representatives in 1978 at the age of 25 (under the state constitution, the minimum age for a state representative is 24). Steelman was re-elected in 1980 and 1982, and was chosen by his colleagues to serve as minority floor leader. Steelman did not seek re-election in 1984 and returned to the practice of law in his native Rolla, Missouri. Steelman’s House colleague, William L. Webster, was elected Attorney General of Missouri in 1984 and re-elected in 1988, and Steelman eventually went to work for Webster as an assistant attorney general.

Webster vacated the Attorney General’s office to run (unsuccessfully) for governor in 1992, and Steelman filed to succeed him. In the Republican primary, Steelman faced assistant U.S. Attorney John Hall, a moderate Republican who previously had worked for former U.S. Senator John C. Danforth and for then-Governor (now U.S. Senator) Kit Bond. Danforth campaigned aggressively for Hall, while Steelman attacked Hall’s relative liberalism and his Harvard pedigree. Steelman won the Republican primary handily but lost the general election to Jay Nixon, 51% to 45%. The general election featured Nixon and Steelman both engaging in frequent personal attacks against one another, which surely contributed to 4% of voters casting their ballots for the Libertarian candidate.

Steelman has not sought elective office since 1992, and has returned to his private law practice. His wife, Sarah Steelman, a former Missouri State Senator, was elected to the Missouri State Senate in 1998, and was re-elected in 2002. In 2004 Mrs. Steelman was elected State Treasurer, a statewide position. Mrs. Steelman is widely regarded as a likely future candidate for Governor of Missouri.

http://www.steelmanandgaunt.com/Bio/DavidSteelman.asp