{{short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Brandon Steele | office = Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates | constituency = 29th district (2018–2022)<br>42nd district (2022–2025) | term_start = December 1, 2018 | term_end = December 18, 2025 | predecessor = Rick Moye | successor = John K. Jordan | birth_name = Brandon Steele | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|7|12}} | birth_place = Beckley, West Virginia, U.S. | spouse = Brianne Steele | children = 5 | party = Republican | education = Mountain State University (BS)<br>Marquette University (JD) }}
'''Brandon Steele''' (born July 12, 1981) is an American politician who served as a Delegate to the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2025. He is a Republican.
==Early life, education, and career== Steele was born in Beckley, West Virginia to Larry and Donna Steele. He received a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice at Mountain State University in 2004 and his Juris Doctor at Marquette University in 2013. In 2015, he was employed as a private attorney-at-law. In 2016, he was employed as a prosecuting attorney for Raleigh County. He also served in the United States Marine Corps.<ref name="MemberBio">{{cite web |title=West Virginia Delegate Biography: Delegate Steele |url=https://www.wvlegislature.gov/House/biography.cfm?member=Delegate%20Steele |website=West Virginia Legislature |access-date=8 July 2021|ref=1}}</ref><ref name="VoteSmart">{{cite web |title=Brandon Steele's Biography |url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/177733/brandon-steele |website=Vote Smart |access-date=8 July 2021 |ref=2}}</ref><ref name="Ballotpedia">{{cite web |title=Brandon Steele |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Brandon_Steele |website=Ballotpedia |access-date=8 July 2021 |ref=3}}</ref>
== Tenure and political positions ==
Steele served in the West Virginia House from 2018 until his resignation in December 2025.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coyne |first1=Coity |title=Del. Brandon Steele resigns from WV House, effective immediately |url=https://westvirginiawatch.com/briefs/del-brandon-steele-resigns-from-wv-house-effective-immediately/ |access-date=19 December 2025 |website=West Virginia Watch |date=December 18, 2025}}</ref>
=== Abortion === In July 2022, Steele attempted to pass a ban on all abortions, without exception for rape, incest, or the health or life of the mother, in the House of Delegates, though the ban ultimately did not pass.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Weisman |first1=Jonathan |last2=Glueck |first2=Katie |date=2022-08-05 |title=Republicans Begin Adjusting to a Fierce Abortion Backlash |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/us/politics/republicans-abortion-kansas.html |access-date=2022-08-07 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He opposed amendments on the proposed ban that would have allowed a narrow exception for rape or incest.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karbal |first=Ian |date=2022-08-03 |title=Inside the stalled GOP efforts to change WV abortion law |url=http://mountainstatespotlight.org/2022/08/03/inside-the-chaotic-week-when-west-virginia-republicans-efforts-to-ban-abortion-stalled/ |access-date=2022-08-07 |website=Mountain State Spotlight |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Coronavirus=== In March 2021, Steele tested positive for COVID-19. Steele experienced minor symptoms and took a leave of absence from the House of Delegates, though refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mistich |first1=Dave |title=West Virginia House Gov. Org. Chair Brandon Steele Tests Positive For Coronavirus |url=https://www.wvpublic.org/government/2021-03-21/west-virginia-house-gov-org-chair-brandon-steele-tests-positive-for-coronavirus |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=West Virginia Public Broadcasting |date=March 21, 2021 |ref=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Andrew |first1=Scottie |title=The Covid-19 Vaccines are Highly Effective, and the Chance of an Adverse Reaction is Rare |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/09/health/covid-vaccines-adverse-reaction-rare-trnd/index.html |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=CNN |date=April 9, 2021 |ref=10}}</ref> In addition, Steele was the lead sponsor of a bill that would provide a greater exemption from vaccine mandates for private and parochial schools and loosen other requirements for compulsory vaccination.<ref>{{cite web |title=House Bill 2271 |url=https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2021_SESSIONS/RS/bills/HB2271%20INTR.pdf |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=West Virginia Legislature |ref=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Turn Our Back on Medical Advancement? |url=https://www.montgomery-herald.com/opinion/why-turn-our-back-on-medical-advancement/article_4f41576c-af4b-11eb-ae83-036c27e90a49.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=The Montgomery Herald |ref=12}}</ref>
===Criminal code=== Steele led the effort to rewrite and modernize the West Virginia criminal code, which many believed to be outdated and ineffective. He was the lead sponsor of House Bill 2017, which would rewrite the code.<ref name="MemberProfile">{{cite web |title=Member Profiles: Delegate Steele |url=https://www.wvlegislature.gov/House/lawmaker.cfm?member=Delegate%20Steele |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=West Virginia Legislature |ref=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pierson |first1=Lacie |title=House Adopts Bill Rewriting WV's Criminal Code |url=https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/house-adopts-bill-rewriting-wvs-criminal-code/article_13d55837-3c73-5bb7-aa97-b21d48ff4fe1.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=The Herald Dispatch |date=April 5, 2021 |ref=13}}</ref>
===Gun control=== Steele was the lead sponsor of House Bill 2694, which prevented state police from complying with federal authorities on matters related to gun control. Steele framed the bill as essential to the Second Amendment, stating, "[e]ither you like gun rights or you don't." The bill was later amended by the West Virginia State Senate to specifically inhibit the ability of local law enforcement from complying with gun control executive orders issued by Joe Biden.<ref name="MemberProfile" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kabler |first1=Phil |title=Senate Judiciary Amendment Dramatically Changes Bill Limiting Enforcement of Gun Laws |url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/senate-judiciary-amendment-dramatically-changes-bill-limiting-enforcement-of-gun-laws/article_07029859-a9d8-5f99-bc9c-ffe5d4ba872a.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=West Virginia Gazette-Mail |date=April 7, 2021 |ref=15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Beck |first1=Erin |title=Session is Over. Here's What Passed, What Didn't |url=https://www.register-herald.com/news/session-is-over-heres-what-passed-what-didnt/article_26641266-707a-5923-9283-4d33cd7401ae.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=The Register-Herald |date=April 12, 2021 |ref=14}}</ref> Steele had an "A+" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund as of 2020 and received their endorsement in his campaign.<ref>{{cite web |title=NRA-PVF {{!}} Grades {{!}} West Virginia |url=https://www.nrapvf.org/grades/west-virginia |website=nrapvf.org |publisher=NRA-PVF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103185705/https://www.nrapvf.org/grades/west-virginia |archive-date=November 3, 2020 |language=en-us |url-status=usurped}}</ref> He also had a 93% rating from the West Virginia Citizen's Defense League, a local gun rights organization, as of 2018.<ref name="VoteSmart" />
===Worker's rights=== Steele voted for Senate Bill 11, a bill that would make it more difficult for employees to strike. He had a 0% rating from the West Virginia AFL–CIO as of 2020.<ref name="VoteSmart" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Steven Allen |title=W.Va. Senate sends message: Public worker strikes illegal |url=https://www.timesleaderonline.com/news/west-virginia-news/2021/02/w-va-senate-sends-message-public-worker-strikes-illegal/ |access-date=9 July 2021 |website=The Times Leader |ref=15}}</ref>
==Elections== ===2018=== In his first primary, Steele defeated fellow Republican Zachary Meador by nearly a 2–1 margin, securing 66.26% of the vote to receive his party's nomination.<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 Primary Election: House of Delegates 29th District |url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/WV/74487/Web02-state.195772/#/cid/2525 |publisher=West Virginia Board of Elections |access-date=8 July 2021 |ref=4}}</ref>
In the general election, Steele defeated incumbent Democrat Rick Moye with 52.34% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 General Election: House of Delegates 29th District |url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/WV/92360/Web02-state.222648/#/cid/2600 |publisher=West Virginia Board of Elections |access-date=8 July 2021 |ref=5}}</ref>
===2020=== In his first primary since defeating the incumbent Moye, Steele ran unopposed.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 Primary Election: House of Delegates 29th District |url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/WV/103231/web.259135/#/detail/1030 |website=West Virginia Board of Elections |access-date=8 July 2021 |ref=6}}</ref>
Steele's second general election was significantly less competitive, as Steele defeated Democrat Xavier Oglesby with 77.26% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 General Election: House of Delegates 29th District |url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/WV/106210/web.264614/#/detail/1550 |website=West Virginia Board of Elections |access-date=8 July 2021 |ref=7}}</ref>
=== Committee assignments === *Government Organization (Chair)<ref name="MemberProfile" /> *House Rules *Small Business and Economic Development
==Personal life== Steele is married to Brianne Steele and has five children. He is a Protestant.<ref name="MemberBio"/>
===Legal Issues===
On January 7, 2025, an anonymous source released two 911 calls made by Steele's wife. The calls, from a December 23, 2024, incident, alleged that Steele was intoxicated and armed with weapons outside their residence in Mabscott. Steele was subsequently stripped of his chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee.<ref>{{cite web |last=Adams|first=Steven Allen |title=Del. Steele out as new West Virginia House Judiciary Committee chair |url=https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2025/01/del-steele-out-as-new-west-virginia-house-judiciary-committee-chair/ |website=The Parkersburg News and Sentinel |access-date=2 April 2025 |ref=8}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Brandon}} Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:Marquette University alumni Category:Mountain State University alumni Category:21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature