Steve Daines : Net Worth, Family, Wife, Education, Children, Age, Biography and Political Career

Steven David Daines is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the junior United States Senator for Montana since 2015. A Republican, he served as the U.S. Representative for Montanas at-large congressional district from 2013 to 2015. In 2014, Daines won Montanas open U.S. Senate seat. He was reelected in 2020, defeating the Democratic nominee, Montana Governor Steve Bullock. Before entering politics, Daines worked for Procter & Gamble and RightNow Technologies.

Daines was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Sharon R. and Clair W. Daines. The family moved to Montana in 1964. He was raised in Bozeman, where he attended school from kindergarten through college.

Daines graduated from Bozeman High School, where he served as student body president. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Montana State University. At Montana State, he became a brother of Sigma Nu.

Daines and his wife have four children. He enjoys mountain-climbing and has scaled Granite Peak and Grand Teton.

In 2009, his sister, Susan Marie Owenhouse, died of primary sclerosing cholangitis. Owenhouses husband was magician Jay Owenhouse.

On October 4, 2018, Daines announced that he would be walking his daughter down the aisle during her wedding on October 6. This was the same day the US Senate was scheduled to vote on the nomination of Federal Appeals Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the position of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to replace the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Daines did not vote, as the Republicans secured the necessary votes to confirm Kavanaugh. Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte offered Daines his private plane in the event he needed to fly to Washington D.C. Kavanaugh was confirmed 50–48.

Steve Daines Net Worth

Steve Daines Net Worth is $ 33 Million in 2021.

Steve Daines Family

Daines was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Sharon R. and Clair W. Daines.

Steve Daines Wife and Children

Daines and his wife Cindy Daines have four children.

Steve Daines Career and Achievement

In his senior year, Daines was one of the youngest delegates at the 1984 Republican National Convention. "I was a big fan of Ronald Reagan. He was the first president I got to vote for," he has said. Daines was also the president of MSU College Republicans. In 2007, he and his wife started a website, GiveItBack.com, which urged governor Brian Schweitzer to return the states $1 billion surplus to taxpayers. From 2007 to 2008, he served as Montana state chairman for Republican Mike Huckabees presidential campaign and as a national surrogate for Huckabee.

Business Career

Daines spent 13 years with Procter & Gamble. After seven years managing operations in the United States, he and his family moved to Hong Kong and China for six years, opening factories to expand Procter & Gambles Asian business. During his 2014 Senate campaign, Democratic opponents alleged that Daines had outsourced U.S. jobs to China. He stated that he created hundreds of jobs in Montana when he worked for RightNow Technologies.

In 1997, Daines left Procter & Gamble to join the family construction business in Bozeman. Three years later, he met Greg Gianforte, founder of RightNow Technologies, and was put in charge of running RightNows customer care division. Daines went on to become vice president of North America Sales and vice president of the Asia-Pacific division. During his tenure, the cloud-based software company became publicly traded and Bozemans largest commercial employer. Daines remained with the company until March 2012, when he left to campaign for Congress full-time.

2008 Gubernatorial Election

Daines ran for lieutenant governor of Montana in 2008 with Roy Brown, the Republican nominee for governor. They challenged incumbent Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer and his running mate John Bohlinger. Brown and Daines lost the election 65%–33%, winning only seven of Montanas 56 counties.

U.S. House of Representatives

2012 Election

On November 13, 2010, Daines announced he would run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jon Tester in 2012.

When U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg announced his intention to challenge Tester, Daines dropped out of the Senate race and announced his candidacy for the House seat Rehberg was vacating. He won the three-way Republican primary with 71% of the vote. In the general election, Daines defeated Democratic state senator Kim Gillan, 53%–43%. He won 48 of the states 56 counties.

U.S. Senate

2014 Election

In July 2013, Daines attended a NRSC fundraiser in Washington, prompting speculation that he would run for Max Baucuss soon to be vacant U.S. Senate seat. In the second quarter of 2013, he disclosed raising $415,000 in campaign funds, fueling more speculation. On November 6, 2013, Daines announced his candidacy.

In February 2014, Baucus resigned from the Senate to accept a post as U.S. ambassador to China. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, appointed lieutenant governor John Walsh to the vacant Senate seat for the remainder of Baucuss term. Walsh had already declared his intention to run for the Senate in 2014, and it was suggested that his appointment might give him the advantage of incumbency, improving Democratic chances of holding the seat.

Daines won the Republican primary on June 3, 2014, with 83.4% of the vote against Missoula state representative Champ Edmunds and political newcomer Susan Cundiff. Walsh won the Democratic primary with 64% of the vote.

In August 2014, Walsh withdrew from the race following the publication of a New York Times article that accused him of plagiarism in a paper written as part of his masters degree work at the U.S. Army War College. With only 50 days until the election, a special convention called by the Montana Democratic party nominated Butte legislator Amanda Curtis.

Daines won the general election with 57.8% of the vote to Curtiss 40.1%.

2020 Election

Daines was reelected in 2020, defeating Bullock with 55% of the vote. Democrats outspent Republicans by $19 million on the race, $82–63 million; it was one of the most expensive Senate races in the 2020 cycle.

Tenure

117th Congress (2021–Present)

Before the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count, Daines said he would object to certifying the electoral count over unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. He was participating in the certification when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. During the attack, he tweeted "I condemn any kind of violence and intimidation. This is unacceptable." Daines changed his mind on objecting to the certification during the attack. He also called the insurrection "a sad day for our country" and said, "destruction and violence we saw at our Capitol today is an assault on our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and must not be tolerated." He called for a peaceful transfer of power. The Billings Gazette electoral board called for Daines to apologize to Joe Biden for his role in opposing the certification. Daines rejected calls for Trump to resign or be impeached in the wake of the attack.

During the Biden administration, Daines sought to block Deb Haalands nomination as Interior Secretary.