Steve Perkins

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Steve Perkins

Libertarian Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Bowling Green State University, 2002

Personal

Birthplace

Bethesda, Ohio

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Steve Perkins (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio's 4th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Perkins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Steve Perkins was born in Bethesda, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree in industrial technology education from Bowling Green State University in 2002. Perkins' career experience includes working as an educator and an automotive technician.

Elections

2020

See also: Ohio's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Ohio's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (April 28 Republican primary)

Ohio's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (April 28 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Ohio District 4

Incumbent Jim Jordan defeated Shannon Freshour and Steve Perkins in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Jordan (R)	67.9	235,875
		Shannon Freshour (D)	29.3	101,897
		Steve Perkins (L)	2.8	9,854

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,626
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Chris Gibbs (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 4

Shannon Freshour defeated Jeffrey Sites and Mike Larsen in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 4 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shannon Freshour	47.5	18,078
		Jeffrey Sites	29.0	11,037
		Mike Larsen	23.5	8,944

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,059
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 4

Incumbent Jim Jordan advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 4 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Jordan	100.0	64,695

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 64,695
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Ohio District 4

Steve Perkins advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Ohio District 4 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Perkins	100.0	214

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 214
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Perkins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Perkins' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Steve Perkins was born and raised on a small dairy farm in SE Ohio just outside of a town without a stoplight. After graduating high school, he attended BGSU originally majoring in music, but graduated with a B.S. in Industrial Technology Education. He has taught high school, private college, the automotive industry and is a highly skilled automotive technician specializing in advanced electrical diagnostics and programming. He is a Lifetime Member of the Libertarian Party.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I'm running a campaign based on lies and dirty secrets...they just aren't mine.
• The constituents of District 4 deserve better than Congressman Jordan.
• The two major parties have made a concerted effort to keep Libertarians from being heard, you should ask yourself why.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Agricultural economics, The National Debt, Gun Rights, Taxation, Ending the drug war, Police reform,

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Dr. Milton Friedman economically, Congressman Justin Amash politically. No one did a better job of presenting the rational side of economics in to the common man than Friedman. Congressman Amash demonstrates many of the best characteristics that you SHOULD EXPECT from an elected official, regardless of the prevailing winds.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

"Economics in One Lesson"- Henry Hazlitt.

"The Law"- Fredrick Bastiat.  

ANYTHING by Milton Friedman on YouTube.

"The Road to Serfdom"- F.A. Hayek 

Thomas Jefferson in his own words
"Anarchy, State, and Utopia" -Robert Nozick

John Locke

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Independence. Belief in LIBERTY, not DEMOCRACY. An understanding of our Founders in more detail than cherry-picked quotes.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Independent thought. A fidelity to the Constitution, not the President. A firm belief that I DO NOT know what's best for my constituents in their individual lives and that I am there to PROTECT them from government not to be their tyrant.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

HUMILITY. There are 450,000 registered voters in Ohio CD4. I think there are probably 440,000 that are just as qualified to represent the district as I am.

A LACK OF LOYALTY. Representatives were not intended to be members of rival gangs.

What legacy would you like to leave?

A return to LIBERTY over PARTISANSHIP.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember in my youth the prevalence of the phrase "Oh well, it's a free country" when someone did something that was not in line with what you would do. Now we legislate our smallest of petty preferences on our neighbors. I contend this is why you no longer hear the phrase.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Atlas Shrugged. While Ayn Rand wasn't always right, and Atlas is overboard on purpose. Rand does a good job of explaining the way different people think and how they interact to implement their ideals. There is a reason it at one time listed by the Library of Congress as the the second most influential book, behind the Bible, almost 50 years after it was written. It is long, and sometimes boring, and written by a person who witnessed the Bolshevik revolution in Russia firsthand.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

I prefer to focus on mastering reality rather than imagination. Imagination is too easy to master.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

As a musician they ALL get stuck in my head.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Government.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The ability to serve as collective busybodies, fighting tooth and nail for the ability to tell you how to live, while not having to live under their own edicts, and forcing you to pay for it all. Or worse yet, financing it at your grandchildren's expense.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Absolutely NOT. It's extremely DETRIMENTAL. Upon being elected, they soon learn how to fleece their constituents. Time only increases their skills.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Not becoming a true democracy, with a tyranny of the majority, led by 535 would-be tyrants in Congress and fueled by tribal partisanship.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Ways and Means, Judiciary

If you are a current representative, why did you join your current committees?

NA

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Insignificant when despite having a 10% approval rate, incumbents have a 90% re-election rate.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

The best term limits are the ones given to us by example by George Washington. The second best would be constituents imposing term limits at the ballot box. The third best would be a Constitutional Amendment preventing them from ignoring the first two. Since the third shows to be extremely unpopular among elected officials, and the second showing to be unpopular among constituents, I will follow the first and serve no more than 8 years, as I am not a better man than George Washington.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

If elected.....I WOULD be the Libertarian leadership in the House by default.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Congressman Justin Amash. He considers himself an EMPLOYEE not a MASTER of his district. He shows up for every vote, and posts to social media an explanation for every vote he makes. He also frequently has town halls and truly tries to represent ALL of his constituents, not just those who share his party affiliation.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Farms that have been held by families in our state since the very founding of the state of Ohio, are losing those very same farms to economic policies by politicians that only know what a farm is by driving by on a paved road.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

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Ohio's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jon Husted (R)

Bernie Moreno (R)

Representatives

District 1

Greg Landsman (D)

District 2

David Taylor (R)

District 3

Joyce Beatty (D)

District 4

Jim Jordan (R)

District 5

Bob Latta (R)

District 6

Michael Rulli (R)

District 7

Max Miller (R)

District 8

Warren Davidson (R)

District 9

Marcy Kaptur (D)

District 10

Michael Turner (R)

District 11

Shontel Brown (D)

District 12

Troy Balderson (R)

District 13

Emilia Sykes (D)

District 14

David Joyce (R)

District 15

Mike Carey (R)

Republican Party (12)

Democratic Party (5)