Greg Steube

William Gregory Steube (born May 19, 1978) is an American Republican politician from Florida and the U.S. Representative from Florida's 17th congressional district, serving since January 3, 2019. The district stretches across a large swath of south central Florida, from the outer suburbs of Sarasota and Fort Myers through the Everglades to the shores of Lake Okeechobee. Prior to his election to Congress, he served as a member of the Florida Senate for two years, representing Sarasota County and western Charlotte County. He previously served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the Sarasota-Manatee area from 2010 to 2016.

Steube was born in Bradenton to Brad Steube, who served as Sheriff of Manatee County. He attended the University of Florida, receiving a degree in Animal Science in 2000, and then his Juris Doctor from the Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 2003. Also while at UF, Steube was a brother of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.Following graduation, Steube joined the United States Army, where he served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps from 2004 to 2008, he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

When State Representative Ron Reagan was unable to seek re-election in 2010 due to term limits, Steube ran to succeed him in the 67th District, which was based in southern Hillsborough County, eastern Manatee County, and northern Sarasota County, stretching from Apollo Beach to Fruitville. He received an endorsement from United States Congressman Vern Buchanan, who declared that Steube was "extremely knowledgeable of the district and the district's issues." In the Republican primary, he faced Jeremiah J. Guccione and Robert McKann, whom he was able to easily defeat, receiving 53% of the vote to Guccione's 28% and McCann's 19%. He advanced to the general election, where he faced Democratic nominee Z. J. Hafeez and independent candidate John M. Studebaker. Both candidates opposes offshore oil drilling off the coast of the state, supported solar energy, and favored medical tort law reform "that they [felt would] increase access to health care for Floridians." In the end, Steube defeated both his opponents in a landslide, winning 68% of the vote to Hafeez's 27% and Studebaker's 5%.

Following the reconfiguration of state legislative districts in 2012, Steube's district was renumbered as the 73rd District. The district was pushed further into Sarasota County while losing its share of Hillsborough County. He won the renomination of his party unopposed, and moved on to the general election, facing only Bob McCann, who had previously run against Steube in the Republican primary in 2010, but was instead running as an independent candidate. Steube and McCann disagreed over whether the state should expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with Steube opposed and McCann in favor, and over whether the state should fund charter schools, with Steube in favor and McCann opposed. Steube earned the endorsement of the Bradenton Herald, which praised him for his "strong first term and his qualifications," specifically calling him out for working to put two constitutional amendments on the ballot that provide tax exemptions to the spouses of deceased military veterans and property tax relief to low-income seniors. Ultimately, Steube once again defeated McCann, overwhelming him with 74% of the vote and winning his second term in the legislature. In 2014, Steube was re-elected to his third term in the legislature without opposition.

In 2016, Steube ran for the Florida Senate seat vacated by Nancy Detert, who was term limited. He defeated four other candidates in the Republican primary, receiving 31% of the vote, and won the general election against Democrat Frank Alcock, 59 to 41%.

Elections

2018 general election

Steube ran for the Republican nomination for Florida's 17th Congressional District in 2018, a seat that was being vacated by Tom Rooney who declined to seek re-election. He won the Republican primary on August 28, 2018. In the general election on November 6, 2018, he defeated Democrat Allen Ellison, who replaced the original Democratic nominee April Freeman after she died unexpectedly in September.

Tenure

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law
  • Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship
• Committee on Oversight and Reform
  • Subcommittee on Government Operations
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships

• 6 weeks prior to the 2018 election, Steube's Democratic opponent, 54 year old April Freeman, was found dead. As of January 2019, the cause of death is unknown.

https://coed.com/2018/09/24/april-freeman-cause-of-death-how-did-april-freeman-die/ A democratic replacement, Allen Ellison, was appointed. However, ballots were already printed. Rather than reprint, Ellison's name was left off of the ballot. https://us.blastingnews.com/world/2018/09/april-freeman-congressional-candidate-in-florida-dies-suddenly-002728501.html

LGBT rights

Steube opposes the Equality Act, a bill that would expand the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He urged Congress members to vote against the bill, although he did not vote on it.