Sarah Steelman

For the similarly named Pennsylvania politician, see Sara Steelman.
Sarah Steelman
44th State Treasurer of Missouri
In office
January 10, 2005 – January 12, 2009
Governor Matt Blunt
Preceded by Nancy Farmer
Succeeded by Clint Zweifel
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 16th district
In office
January 6, 1999 – January 10, 2005
Preceded by Mike Lybyer
Succeeded by Frank Barnitz
Personal details
Born Sarah Hearne
May 3, 1958
Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) David Steelman
Alma mater University of Missouri Business School (M.A.)
University of Missouri (B.A.)
Profession Economist
Website sarahsteelman.com

Sarah Steelman (born Sarah Hearne; May 3, 1958) is an American Republican politician from Missouri and State Treasurer from 2005 to 2009. She did not run for re-election as State Treasurer in 2008, having run for Governor, and was succeeded in office by Democrat Clint Zweifel on January 12, 2009. She was listed in a 2008 article in the New York Times as among seventeen women who may someday run for President of the United States.[1] On November 29, 2010, Steelman announced she would run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.[2] She was defeated in the Republican primary by U.S. Representative Todd Akin.[3]

Early life, education, and economics career

Sarah Steelman is the second wife of David Steelman, former Republican Leader in the Missouri House. Her father, John Hearne, is a senior partner in the Jefferson City law firm of Hearne and Green.[4] Her father-in-law is the late Dorman Steelman, a former chairman of the Missouri Republican Party.

She attended Jefferson City public schools before attending University of Missouri,[5] from where she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master of Arts degree in Economics. Prior to her election in 1998, Steelman served as deputy director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. She also worked as an economist for the Missouri Department of Revenue and as an adjunct professor of Economics at Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City.

Political career

State Senate

In 1998, Steelman ran against incumbent Democratic State Senator Mike Lybyer, a popular incumbent who was running for a fifth term. In his previous re-election campaign in 1994, Lybyer defeated State Representative Merrill Townley with 55% of the vote, despite the national Republican wave that year.[6] However in 1998, Steelman defeated Lybyer by a 58% to 42% margin.[7] Steelman represented Callaway, Osage, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Crawford, Texas, and Dent counties. In 2002, she won re-election with 71% of the vote.[8]

Steelman endorsed John McCain for president in 2000, and briefly considered running for the U.S. Senate in November 2002 against Senator Jean Carnahan, but instead she opted to run for re-election to her seat in the state Senate.

State Treasurer

In 2004, Steelman ran for Treasurer of Missouri. In the Republican primary, she won a plurality of vote (39%) and defeated State Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer, businessman Tom Klein, State Senator Anita Yeckel, Chaplain Al Hanson, businessman Will Pundmann, and former State Representative Chet Boeke.[9] In the general election, she defeated Democrat Mark Powell, Mayor of Arnold, Missouri, with 51% of the vote.[10] She became the second woman elected to that post, succeeding Nancy Farmer.

Although several leaders in the Missouri Republican Party (including former Governor Matt Blunt, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, former House Speaker Rod Jetton, and former U.S. Senator Jim Talent) had indicated their support for Mitt Romney in 2008, Steelman reportedly was "leaning toward McCain again in 2008."

Steelman was the first major convert[11] to "Divest Terror", a Terror-free investing strategy of the Center for Security Policy that enjoys some national following. As Steelman implements it, the program invests in funds that divest assets in North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Sudan.[12] In her capacity as an ex officio board member of a pension system for Missouri government workers, she requested similar divestments from countries on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.[13] However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Steelman's personal investments failed to comply with this policy.[14]

2008 run for Governor

On the morning of January 22, 2008, Steelman announced that she would seek a second term as State Treasurer, but changed her mind when Governor Matt Blunt announced he would not seek reelection later that same afternoon. Following Blunt's announcement, Steelman announced she would run for Governor.

Steelman ran against Republicans Kenny Hulshof, Scott Long and Jen Sievers, losing to Hulshof's 194,616 votes with her 176,847.[15]

Steelman taught a class titled "Leadership and Changing Public Policy" during the Fall 2009 semester at Missouri State University.[16]

2012 run for U.S. Senate

Steelman was the first Republican to file. The incumbent, Democrat Claire McCaskill, ran for her second term. Steelman faced U.S. 2nd district Congressman Todd Akin and St. Louis businessman John Brunner in the August 2012 primary. Akin officially declared his candidacy May 17, 2011. Minor candidates included Mark Memoly, an Author, ATB Executive, and Retired Ford Motor Company Manager, and Mark Lodes.[17] On July 17, 2012, Steelman's candidacy was endorsed by the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Steelman lost the primary election finishing a close third with 29% of the vote, to Akin's winning 36% and Brunner's 30%.[3] Akin lost the general election by a wide margin.

References

  1. ↑ Zernike, Kate (2008-05-18). "She Just Might Be President Someday". New York Times.
  2. ↑ "Sarah Steelman for U.S. Senate 2012". sarahsteelman.com. November 29, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Election Night Reporting". MO Secretary of State. August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Website Disabled". Hearnegreen.com. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
  5. ↑ Official Manual State of Missouri 2001-2002. Matt Blunt, Secretary of State. p. 136.
  6. ↑ "MO State Senate 16 Race - Nov 08, 1994". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  7. ↑ "MO State Senate 16 Race - Nov 03, 1998". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  8. ↑ "MO State Senate 16 Race - Nov 05, 2002". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  9. ↑ "MO Treasurer - R Primary Race - Aug 03, 2004". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  10. ↑ "MO Treasurer Race - Nov 02, 2004". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  11. ↑ Jonathan Alter. "Before We Bomb Iran...". Newsweek, October 22, 2007.
  12. ↑ Sue Asci. "'Terror-free' investing draws public pension plans". InvestmentNews, October 15, 2007.
  13. ↑ Jason Rosenbaum. "50 Years of Investing". Columbia Tribune, October 6, 2007.
  14. ↑ Jake Wagman. "Steelman owned stocks she spurned". St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Official Election Returns, State of Missouri August 2008 Primary Election, Tuesday, August 05, 2008". Missouri Secretary of State. August 21, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "Todd Akin announces Missouri Senate bid". RollCall.com. 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2011-05-28.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Nancy Farmer		 Missouri State Treasurer
2005–2009 		Succeeded by
Clint Zweifel