Hilton at 10:30 a.m.Dayna Steele
It was during the Women’s March on Washington, one day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, that Steele said she was inspired to take action. Following a few months of research, including conversations with her family and voters in the district, Steele opted to challenge two-term Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Babin.
“I knew I had to do something,” Steele told OutSmart. “I just looked at what was happening to the country, and I knew I couldn’t ignore it. This is the most serious and important thing I’ve ever done.”
Steele said she was approached by Republicans about challenging Babin in the GOP primary, but opted to run as a Democrat instead.
“Two priorities I will not compromise on are pro-choice for women and LGBTQ rights,” she said, adding that her 21-year-old son Dack is experiencing discrimination for being gay for the first time in his life.
[…]
Steele graduated from Dulles High School and enrolled at Texas A&M University at age 16, working at the campus radio station. At 18, she left school for a career in professional radio and reigned for two decades as “the first lady of rock and roll” on Houston airways.
Even though she’s a Houston native and fifth-generation Texan, Steele said she didn’t become aware of the coastal area where she now lives until her early 30s.
“Once I found Clear Lake, I never left,” Steele said. “I fell in love with a NASA pilot and the area. I married that pilot, bought a house on the water, learned to water ski, and can now be found occasionally kayaking around Taylor Lake.”
Professionally, Steele went on to launch an online retail business specializing in space and NASA memorabilia. An early social media adaptor, she also became a successful author and national motivational speaker.
But it will take a lot more than social media savvy and superstar friends for a Democrat to win in the 36th District, which until now has voted solidly Republican. No Democratic candidate has captured more than 27 percent of the vote in the district, which was created after the 2010 Census.
Steele estimates it will cost $5 million, but believes it’s possible to flip the seat. She pointed to the district’s growing LGBTQ and Hispanic populations, as well as its large numbers of current and past federal employees, and water sports enthusiasts.
“I’m running as a Democrat, sort of a rebel one, but I’m really running as an American, putting country over party,” Steele said. “My heart is true and my passion is strong. We just have to get people to the polls next year.”
As you know, I’m delighted by this. The district is a huge challenge to say the least, but such challenges can’t be ignored. Here’s her campaign webpage. If you live in the district, get in touch and see what you can do to help out. Rock on, Dayna Steele!
To say that this district is a “huge challenge” is an understatement.
It will be fun watching her campaign though.
A district that elected Steve Stockman could elect anybody. I’m hoping name recognition will carry her; it’s worked some for the likes of Gene Kelly, Grady Yarbrough, Sam Houston and Dan Patrick.
You rock kind sir! Asking everyone to do this for me:
1. Donate and raise money from friends and family – send all to http://www.daynasteele36.com to donate. If they write a check or give cash – we must have contact information and employer. Also must be USA citizens.
2. Sign up for the coming daily campaign email and encourage others to do so as well via your email contacts and social media: bit.ly/daynaupdate
3. Make sure you have registered as a Steeleworker here: http://daynasteele36.com/volunteer
4. Put together a one sheet for me on talking points for your expertise – healthcare, education, jobs, oil & gas, LGBTQ, pro-choice – whatever your passion, school me!
5. Breathe – this is a going to be a long journey
*Note: mailing address for checks is:
Dayna Steele Campaign
957 NASA Parkway Suite 136
Houston TX 77058
She has specifically come out against Trump. That’s a losing position in her district, and all the incumbent has to do is point that out. Additionally, I don’t get her positions. She was inspired by the women’s march? She’s had a successful career in radio, despite dropping out of college. Exactly how has she been oppressed as a woman? How is her opponent oppressing women? How it Trump oppressing women? By opposing creeping Sharia? She’s a gay rights advocate. OK, Trump supports gay marriage and didn’t have to “evolve” to get there. Trump’s policies, if allowed to be implemented, would do much more to keep gays like her son safe in America than any candidate that opposed Trump. Remember Orlando? Trump’s trying to keep people like the family of that attacker out of the US. (Yes, I realize they are from Afghanistan, not one of the original ban countries.)
At one time, yeah, I could understand why gays would gravitate to the Dems, but, well, the times, they are a changing. After all, it isn’t the Trump supporters making the “****holster” derogatory comments about gays these days.
Bill, you need to go look at Mike Pence and some of his wacky beliefs. That alone is reason enough for LGBT people and their friends and family to eschew the GOP.
“She’s had a successful career in radio, despite dropping out of college. Exactly how has she been oppressed as a woman? ”
Some people have enough awareness to realize that their personal experiences aren’t necessarily everyone else’s experiences.
@Bill, Trump may not be overtly anti-gay, and probably doesn’t really give a crap about the issue, but the vast majority of Republican candidates would prefer that all of the LGBT crowd either crawl into a hole and disappear, or be burned on a pyre(I mean that literally, Dan Patrick would probably have an orgasm watching gays being incinerated). Gays have far more to fear from republican candidates than from some terrorist.
@Fly:
Agreed on Pence. He was added to the ticket simply to make sure the Moral Majority wing of the Pub party didn’t stay home on election day, in the same way LBJ was stuck on the Kennedy ticket to make sure Southerners voted Dem. You’ll have to worry about him in 2024, not now, and truly, I don’t see him as the nominee then, anyway. If Trump keeps going the way he has been, America will be looking for another populist….definitely NOT Pence. I wouldn’t vote for him.
@Ross:
Gays have far more to fear from Republicans than from terrorists? Really? When’s the last time a Republican tossed a gay off of a roof, or stoned a gay to death, or shot up a gay nightclub? Matthew Shepard is the last American gay that I recall was killed by a non Muslim for being gay in America, and I don’t recall the perps who did that dastardly deed affiliating themselves with Trump or with Republicans.
Did you see what happened in London, just today? Europe is under almost weekly attack, and it isn’t Trump supporters doing the killing. Gays have a lot more to fear from the Muslims, and the irony is, most of them support the same Muslims who would have them first against the wall if they could. And the 800 lb. gorilla in the room that we don’t want to talk about is, no matter WHEN we have a discussion like this, I’ll have another very recent Muslim terror attack to reference anecdotally.
Now, with respect to Dan Patrick, I partially agree. I believe he would rather see them just go back in the closet. I seriously doubt he would be happy to see them burned alive. (And here I thought I was the resident purveyor of outlandish hyperbole on this blog.) If you guys put up a Blue Dog that isn’t an in-the-tank SJW globalist, I’ll vote for that candidate against Patrick. If not, I’ll continue to cast my Libertarian protest vote. You need a Gene Green, or a Joe Manchin (sp?), and you should consider doing that, because there are lots of Pubs I know that aren’t crazy (pun intended) about Patrick.
Bill how much do the Republicans love Gay People? This much
By reading verses such as Romans 1:18-32 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1%3A18-32) before voting, and of course they tend to overlook their adultery and other mentioned sins in the bible verse.
We don’t have to love each other, we should tolerate each other.
I expect that there may be some decent Republicans and Libertarians.
@Bill, on a day to day basis, gays have far more to fear from Republicans than from terrorists. Terrorists may target gays for death from time to time, but the numbers of victims are very small. Many Republican politicians spend hours every day trying to develop ways to make gays second class citizens, either by denying them rights everyone else has, or by arguing that the gays are sinners, perverts, etc. My gay friends tell me it is much easier to deal with the prospect of sudden death through terror, given the rarity of such events, than it is to deal with the constant needling and picking away at respect and rights that Republicans do daily.