Shawn Steel

Shawn Steel chaired the California Republican Party in the early 2000s, and was the organization’s leader in 2003 when it sparked the recall of Gov. Gray Davis. He was recently reelected to another four-year term as one of three California representatives on the Republican National Committee. As an attorney, Shawn Steel has represented Dana Rohrabacher, who was Orange County’s longest-serving member of congress. Rohrabacher’s ties to the Russian government led to him being dubbed “Putin’s favorite Congress member” — a label that contributed to his 2018 loss for re-election in the coastal Orange County 48th District. The seat went to Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda of Laguna Beach, ending Rohrabacher’s 15 terms in congress. Shawn Steel’s wife, Supervisor Michelle Steel, who is registered as chief financial officer at her husband’s law firm, is running against Rouda for that seat.