THE KEVIN STEELE THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW

AN Op-Ed by Matt Brightman

Every campaign is built on a story.

The question is whether it’s the whole story.

Kevin Steele wants Republican voters to believe he is a lifelong conservative outsider who suddenly decided to step forward and serve. That story begins to fall apart the moment you look beyond the television commercials. The Kevin Steele voters are meeting today is not the Kevin Steele who spent years building his career.

The Democrat

Public records show Kevin Steele spent more years registered as a Democrat than he has as a Republican. That is not an opinion. That is a fact.

When Donald Trump was transforming the Republican Party and millions of conservatives were fighting to elect him in 2016, Kevin Steele was still a registered Democrat. Maybe even voted for Hillary??

Today, his television commercials are filled with images of President Trump and messaging carefully crafted to leave voters with the impression that he is President Trump’s candidate. Republican voters deserve to know the difference between supporting President Trump’s agenda and actually earning President Trump’s endorsement.

Those are not the same thing.

As of today, President Trump has not endorsed Kevin Steele. Also, as a side note, it has come to my attention he likely won’t , because of his seat shopping and what he did in his CFO race. As a Republican, I cannot help but ask what changed.

Was it conviction? Or was it convenience?

The Republican Party didn’t change. Donald Trump didn’t change. Kevin Steele did. Republican voters deserve an honest answer.

The Healthcare Fortune

Kevin Steele didn’t build hospitals. He didn’t treat patients. He didn’t spend decades caring for sick families.

He built his fortune in the Medicare risk adjustment industry, a part of our healthcare system that has faced years of criticism from policymakers, watchdogs, physicians, and patients over the incentives it created and the costs it imposed.Thats what his Data Link software was designed to do , RISK ADJUSTMENT .

While American families battled insurance companies… While doctors fought prior authorizations… While seniors struggled through endless paperwork… While families worried whether treatment would be approved…

Kevin Steele built a fortune inside that system.

Families lived with the consequences. Kevin Steele profited from the system. That alone should give Republican voters pause.

The Seat Shopper

Then comes perhaps the most revealing chapter of all. Kevin Steele doesn’t appear committed to serving one community. He appears committed to finding one office, he ran for State Representative. Then, he pursued statewide office. After which, he returned to the Legislature. Now he wants to represent Florida’s 14th Congressional District, a district he has never called home.

One office after another.

One political opportunity after another.

District lines changed.

Political opportunities shifted.

Kevin Steele shifted with them.

That isn’t the record of someone devoted to serving one community. It looks like someone searching for the next available seat. Leaders don’t shop for districts, they earn the trust of one.

The Candidate Who Didn’t Show Up

When Republican voters finally had the opportunity to hear directly from every candidate seeking to represent them, Kevin Steele wasn’t there. Debates are job interviews. Candidates ask voters for trust. The least they can do is answer questions.

Instead, Kevin Steele relied on expensive television commercials and glossy mail pieces to tell voters who he wanted them to believe he was. Money can buy advertising. Money can buy consultants. Money can buy television time. Money cannot buy character. Money cannot buy commitment. Money cannot buy authenticity.

The Real Kevin Steele

Taken individually, each of these facts raises legitimate questions. Together, they paint a picture very different from the one Kevin Steele’s campaign is trying to sell. A former Democrat. A millionaire who built his fortune inside one of the most controversial corners of the healthcare industry. A candidate who has pursued office after office as political opportunities changed.

A man who skipped one of the most important opportunities to answer questions from Republican voters while flooding the airwaves with commercials that seem designed to imply a relationship with President Trump that does not exist.

Campaigns can create an image. Television commercials can tell a story, but they cannot rewrite history. Florida’s 14th Congressional District deserves a representative who has demonstrated conviction before it became politically convenient. It deserves someone committed to serving a community, not searching for the next political opportunity. It deserves authenticity over ambition.

Kevin Steele has spent millions trying to convince Republican voters he is one of them. Before you cast your ballot, ask yourself one simple question:

Are you voting for the Kevin Steele in the commercials… or the Kevin Steele the commercials don’t want you to know about?