David Steelman is an American politician from the state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He served in the Missouri House of Representatives, including his time as minority speaker, and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Board of Curators.

Career

David Steelman earned a B.A. in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from the

, and graduated first in his class from the University of Missouri Law School in 1978. He is the son of the late Dorman L. Steelman, who served in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

, as a circuit judge, and as chairman of the

Missouri Republican Party The Missouri Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Missouri. Its chair is Nick Myers, who has served since 2021. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling the majority of Missouri's U.S. Ho ...

. 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). He was re-elected in 1980 and 1982, and was selected as minority floor leader. Steelman did not seek re-election in 1984, returning to the practice of law in his native

Rolla, Missouri Rolla () is a city in and the county seat of Phelps County, Missouri, United States. Its population in the 2020 United States Census was 19,943. It is approximately midway between St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. Its micropolitan sta ...

. Steelman worked as an Assistant Attorney General under former House colleague

William L. Webster William Lawrence Webster (born September 17, 1953) is an American lawyer, former politician and convicted felon from Missouri. He served in the Missouri House of Representatives and later as the 39th Attorney General of Missouri from 1985 to 199 ...

until Webster vacated the Attorney General's office to run unsuccessfully for governor in 1992, and Steelman ran to succeed him. In the Republican primary, Steelman faced Assistant United States Attorney John Hall, a moderate Republican who previously had worked for former U.S. Senator

John C. Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney, diplomat, and Episcopal priest who served as the Attorney General of Missouri from 1969 to 1976 and as a United States Senator from 1976 to 1995. A member of the ...

and for then-Governor

Kit Bond Christopher Samuel Bond (March 6, 1939 – May 13, 2025) was an American attorney and politician from Missouri. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from 1987 to 20 ...

. Danforth campaigned for Hall, while Steelman attacked Hall's relative liberalism and his

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

pedigree. Steelman won the Republican primary but lost the general election to

Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of governors of Missouri, 55th governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

, 51% to 45%. In 2014, then-Governor Nixon appointed Steelman to the University of Missouri Board of Curators. In 2021, governor

Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the 57th List of governors of Missouri, governor of Missouri, from 2018 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

demanded his resignation following concerns Steelman raised on conflict of interest activities by lobbyist

Steven Tilley Steven Tilley (born June 11, 1971) is a lobbyist and former Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives. He represented District 106 (Perry, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties) in the Missouri House of Representatives. A Republica ...

. As an attorney, Steelman has represented Tritium International Consulting in a case of unregulated gaming machines, and house speaker Dean Plocher in an ethics investigation.

Electoral history

Personal

Steelman has not sought elective office since 1992, instead focusing on his law practice. His wife,

Sarah Steelman Sarah Steelman (born Sarah Hearne; May 3, 1958) is an American Republican politician from Missouri and State Treasurer from 2005 to 2009. She recently served in the Office of Administration in Governor Mike Parson’s administration. She did n ...

served in the

Missouri State Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

from 1999 to 2005, as state treasurer from 2005 to 2009, and was a candidate for Governor of Missouri in 2008, until she lost the Republican primary. In 2012 she lost a bid for the US Senate in the Republican primary against Representative

Todd Akin William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 – October 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis ...

References

Sources

Steelman biodata
1950s births Living people American lawyers People from Rolla, Missouri Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives University of Missouri School of Law alumni 20th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly Year of birth missing (living people) {{Missouri-MORepresentative-stub