Shawn Steel, Republican National Committee member and husband to Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), says the party must “adapt or die” to Democrat ballot harvesting.
Speaking with Breitbart, Steel said his wife won reelection by utilizing ballot harvesting and making personable engagement within Korean and Vietnamese churches a central focus of her campaign.
Shawn Steel, husband of Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), who won reelection, said Republicans must "adapt or die" in California with respect to legalized ballot harvesting. https://t.co/rT1IBeLYiH
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) November 15, 2022
“It’s a different game because of ballot harvesting. Several states, they outlawed it in the last two years,” said Steel. “I don’t like it, but since that’s the rule in California, you have to adapt or die, and so we’ve adapted it. We’re not ashamed of it, because that’s explicitly the law.”
He also emphasized the importance of building relationships with community church leaders as a way to give immigrant voters “a great deal of comfort” about going to the polls.
“Now we have several generations, after three election cycles that [think to themselves], ‘Yeah, I can give it to this organization. I know they’ll take care of my ballot. I know they’re doing the right thing.'”
Steel pointed out how his wife was able to secure victory by using her opponent Jay Chen’s (D-CA) Chinese ties to her advantage.
In spite of (or because of?!) TV ads like this that critics have said are problematic, Korean American Michelle Steel (R) keeps her seat — in large part by appealing to Vietnamese American voters. #CA45 pic.twitter.com/RgIkYlNF25
— Melissa Chan (@melissakchan) November 15, 2022
“By knocking on 200,000 doors, campaigning in seven languages, and fiercely taking on the Chinese Communist Party … literally,” he began. “It was the most anti-communist campaign in America because her opponent was a proponent of the Confucius Institute and got his master’s degree at the University of Peking,”
With close to 80% of the vote in, Steel is forecasted to win reelection and continue representing California’s 48th congressional district.
