Steven Dowell
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Steven Dowell (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 31st Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on March 3, 2026.[source]
Dowell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Steven Dowell was born in Temple, Texas. He served in the U.S. Army from 2013 to 2021.
Dowell earned a high school diploma from Moody High School, a bachelor's degree from Baylor University in 2013, and a graduate degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide in 2021. His career experience includes working as a military officer and business strategist.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Texas' 31st Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
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2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Steven Dowell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Dowell's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Steve Dowell. I am a 35-year-old veteran, a Christian, a conservative before I am a Republican, a patented inventor, a businessman, a former police officer, a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, and a 5th generation Central Texan from a family with a 118-year farming heritage in our district. My first and last words to our current sitting congressman, are, “thank you for your service, sir.” Our district now includes the entirety of the Fort Hood military community (our nation’s second largest military base which represents a quarter of all firepower in the U.S. Army) and we have never had a veteran represent our district in D.C. since its creation over 22 years ago. I have spent my life serving soldiers, their families, planning and training for war with China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. I was in charge of Amazon’s Prime Day, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and Christmas morning’s multi-billion dollar deal inventory for North America for two years. I invented a storage container intended for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. I am the only candidate with over a year of experience working in D.C. And finally, during my military service I have officially represented the U.S. overseas in 17 different countries in both Europe and Asia--often times as the highest ranking soldier. My message for all of us: Let's not send someone to D.C. who is not ready to represent us on the world stage. I am ready, proven, and am already working for you. Send me.
- Reduce federal spending and the national debt.
- End the country club that has become our capitol by implementing Term Limits on Congress.
- Fix the VA.
All three of these efforts will take something that many say they can do, but that I believe only veterans are in the best position do actually execute, and that is to bring civility and sanity back to our Congress through integrity, transparency, courage, and my commitment to working across the aisle—by putting principles before politics.
While I plan to only focus on policies my constituents request, not personal interests—I do have substantial professional expertise in planning for war against China. What I am most passionate about is protecting America from foreign adversaries conducting intelligence or sabotage at home. I spent three years as a U.S. Army war planner in the Asia-Pacific and served as the Antiterrorism and Force Protection Officer for I Corps, overseeing force protection for 40,000 soldiers across the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and Asia. I support Texas’s 2025 ban on foreign adversaries buying farmland and believe similar, federally coordinated safeguards should apply to critical real estate and infrastructure near utilities, ports, and airports.
James Madison. Often referred to as the Father of the Constitution (though he rejected the title), James Madison earned my respect and role model status for me just last year in 2024 when I read "The Framer’s Coup" by Michael J. Klarman, which showed just how much compromise was required to form our Constitution—from no one more so that James Madison.
Despite the failure of the first convention in Annapolis and later consistent arguing and, at times, threats of invading each other’s’ states via the use of the states’ militias (national guards), James Madison continued to provide a framework for the ultimately successful Philadelphia convention by not only authoring the Virginia Plan but also by being one of two primary persons who convinced George Washington to attend and chair the convention.
Why James Madison’s efforts resonate with me is because his original Virginia Plan, while the primary architecture for our Constitution, was diluted, revised, and even twisted at times by other convention delegates, many times to their benefit and to Madison’s own detriment. At the end of the convention, we know some founding fathers in attendance did not sign the Constitution, and Ben Franklin had to verbally urge many delegates to sign despite their reservations—and though James Madison was not among those who refused, I believe that it seems only natural and realistic that the thought may have entered his head. Despite this, Madison signed with others and thus ushered the process to allow the states to ratify our current Constitution. This level of teamwork, selfless service, and principled willingness to compromise resulted in our Country today and we need similar values now. Honor, integrity, transparency, civility, and most importantly a passion for people—exhibited only through a history of service or sacrifice to the nation or one’s community. Not one’s personal success with money, business, or popularity. We do not need more entertainers or professional money makers or debaters in Congress—we need teammates, doers, and incorruptible patriots who are willing to put principles before politics, but who are able to make command decisions to proceed with governance and not get delayed or gridlocked due purely to disagreement. Find the compromise and get over it. Move on to the next task as requested by our voters.
In the U.S. House, it is to pass the federal budget on time, without delay, without an omnibus bill or earmarks, without needing continuing resolutions, and without adding to the deficit. Let’s start with that, then we can talk about ideals (which I do in my other answers elsewhere).
At most, that I helped usher in the next era of cross-partisan, political cooperation of the United States that led to the permanent reduction and stabilizing of the national debt, normalizing term limits for members of Congress, and modernized the VA—and set America on a path to continued relative economic and governmental prosperity for the next one hundred years. At a minimum, that I achieved term limits for members of Congress within my first term in the U.S. House.
9/11. I was in 5th grade, in Moody, Texas. Our class watched the entire event live on the TV in the corner of the classroom while the teachers all stood and talked together in the hallway outside. We were told to color, which we hadn’t done since probably the 1st or 2nd grade. A classmate of mine made jokes when people started running from the collapse of the first tower—we were too young to realize what we were looking at, it just seemed like a movie. After my parents explained to me what had happened at home that day, I decided to join the military when I got old enough. And I did, when I commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army after graduating from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Now, I’m upset with how our veterans are being treated at the VA—after serving in the wars that followed 9/11. I grew up in the era when Americans were united together in the face of global terror. But our division and lack of civility in politics today has emboldened me to run for Congress and to bring that sense of teamwork and patriotism back without bullying each other. The call to serve never stops once it starts.
Selling fireworks at an American Fireworks stand outside of Temple, Texas during the summer between junior and senior year in high school. I only worked there for about two weeks, but I learned how to interact with people quickly but politely, in the extreme heat, and be responsible with lots of loose cash alone on the side of a busy highway. My first full-time, consistently paying job would be when I commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army after graduating from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
While the Senate provides continuity through longer terms and oversight of executive and judicial appointments, with equal voting power for small and large states, the House, with short two-year terms and population-based representation, reflects the nation’s most pressing and recent concerns. The Founding Fathers entrusted the House with the power of the purse; all federal revenue originates here. Early in the Constitutional Convention (in Philly), they even considered making the Speaker of the House as our President. Though rejected, the Speaker is still third in the line of succession, showing how much trust the Founders placed in the House.
The House is meant to be temporary, evolving every election. Today, this cycle feels short, but it acts as a check on executive power, since each president must work with two different House legislatures during one term. George Mason argued for the House to consist of ordinary citizens, not elites, to give the middle class its strongest voice. We need representatives who know their districts, understand leadership and compromise, and serve the people—not themselves.
The Founders designed government intentionally flexible so no single party, person, or ideal dominates. They envisioned leaders having their say, finishing their service, and returning home so the next generation could step up. The House is where America can flex its "will" most. Shorter terms force urgency, responsiveness, and teamwork. Despite today’s partisan chaos, this turnover ensures accountability and prevents stagnation.
The House is unique because it constantly evolves with the people’s will, provides the most direct accountability to government, and forces change and compromise with each election. No, but I believe the majority of elected leaders of our country, regardless of office, should have prior experience in either serving or sacrificing for our nation. Whether that’s through military or first responder service, advancing medicine, science, or technology for our nation’s benefit, or as a past state, local, community, or religious leader or servant—not a political party leader or volunteer—I believe serving, sacrificing for, and earning the trust of people broadly is the most important experience an elected official should have. Government and politics are people-driven institutions, and if you are not passionate about people—their names, dreams, pains, and stories—you have no business leading them. Even our incumbent congressman served as a judge before being the first representative elected to the U.S. House for our district in 2002. Our district has never had a representative who hasn’t served or sacrificed in some capacity.
If we elect a candidate who hasn’t served, we would be abandoning our district’s 22-year record of expecting service from our leaders. To those who haven’t yet served, I say: go manage a business, organize an event, create something new, or work as a legislative assistant so we can benefit from your passion—but don’t run for office for the title of “Congressperson” unless you are a proven, apolitical servant of the people. For those worried that leaders without prior government experience might struggle in Congress, I say that’s what staff and advisors are for—leaders surround themselves with those more capable and more expert than they are.
As a former Army officer and Amazon business leader, I know how to surround myself with people who are smarter and faster than I am. My passion is purely our people. That’s what true leaders do—build teams, listen, and serve selflessly. It’s what presidents do, it’s what generals do, and it’s what I do. Our national debt, driven by overspending, is our greatest challenge. If we do not reduce spending now, by 2034 we will face mandatory cuts to Social Security, veterans’ disability and benefits, and Medicare/Medicaid—unless income taxes rise, which I reject. Some have asked me, “isn’t China or Russia our greatest threat?” My military specialty was strategy and war planning against China and North Korea, and I know war and crises are always possible, but at times they are unpredictable. They only become our greatest challenge when they occur. Right now, our greatest challenge is the one we created—our overspending and the national debt.
Yes, and I have signed a pledge to not serve more than three terms (6 years) in the U.S. House. While the Senate provides both a level of continuity—via longer terms—and federal oversight on the executive and judicial branches via confirmation hearings and the ability for small and large states alike to have equal voting power (two senators per state), the U.S. House—with its short two-year terms, and population based representation—is itself a direct reflection of not only the most recent and pressing concerns of the people but also the majority of our nation as a whole. I once heard the colloquialism, “If the Senate is a country club, then the U.S. House is a truck stop.” It’s just my opinion, but I believe the truckers on the road will have more intimate insight and understanding of what is going on across our country than the elite country club members—no offense to the Senators. And just like in a truck stop, frequent turnover is important, at least in the U.S. House, to keep direct accountability to our entire government; as our people, their ideas, and needs of the nation change.
I am for term limits and also fitness for office tests (i.e., maximum age limits). As of August 2025, the average age of the oldest third of Congress is over 75. The oldest current member is 91 years old. Sadly but predictably, several members in recent years have died in office from natural causes in their 80s, laying bare the need for not only term limits but maximum age limits. Not only because their wisdom eventually becomes more necessary and critical than their physical presence, but also because some cannot physically complete the job at the pace and with the fervor needed to serve the People. They paved the way for the rest of us, so we should honor and respect them by stepping up to the plate of serving in government earlier and often. I will vote in favor of Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) Joint Resolution (S.J.Res.1, Jan. 2025) setting term limits for Congress—a max of 3 terms (6 years) for House Representatives and a max of 2 terms (12 years) for Senators. Additionally, if the bill still exists by my first term, I will propose an amendment to the existing bill (or a new bill entirely) adding maximum age limits for eligibility for any elected office at the federal level—the max age being indexed to the U.S.’s national life expectancy (by gender) plus 2 years. This will ensure leaders broadly are physically and mentally capable of serving. And when elected leaders must depart due to age it will open the door for younger generations who are eager and willing to do their part, and as they finish their own terms they can then also swiftly return back home to work in their communities after a job well done—the way our Founding Fathers intended.
No answer or representative is perfect, and I do not know every detail or every record of service for any individual, but one person in particular caught my admiration in the past year or two. Representative (AZ-2) Eli Crane. I began admiring Eli Crane after listening (on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast) to his experiences running for office and as a freshman congressman in the U.S. House. Particularly, how Rep. Crane believes in voting directly how his constituents, his people, would like to vote on measures and not his party. While it has been some time since I listened to the podcast episode, what I remember most was Rep. Crane’s recounting of going head-to-head with former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, and how despite being told to vote along party lines, Rep. Crane decided instead to urgently set up a call with a few community leaders back in his constituency to ask for their advice and consultation on how to vote in the U.S. House. I also recall that after doing this, Rep. Crane was either pulled from committee positions, or, was at least threatened to have future campaign donations diverted due to his decision. I found the entire story pure in his conviction to represent his people before politics or parties and it is in part why I believe we need more veterans in congress today, because we understand how to serve and listen to all of our people and have the backbone to choose the hard right over the easy wrong.
If our people are calling us to push for certain priorities—then those priorities can never be pushed aside in favor of an inherently immaterial body that exists primarily through governance, e.g. political parties. Rather, we must take our lead from and work for the physical and real body that matters most—our people.
The reason why I am running is a compilation of both my personal witnessing of events here locally and that of people who have come forward to tell me the truth about their experiences at our VA. I was injured this summer after an accidental hearing loss incident while practicing long-range shooting at my family farm. My VA disability is already related to hearing loss. After presenting at the VA in Temple, TX, I was discharged from the ER twice over 12 days without any treatment. In that time, I saw a veteran leave the ER hunched over in excruciating back pain after waiting 4 hours with no care. I saw veterans yelled at by VA staff. I was yelled at by VA staff. The nurse who helped me was written up by the same staff member who yelled at me. Lastly, there was a veteran crying in the pharmacy line because he couldn’t afford both medication and groceries that month. I’ve now been told by constituents that they’ve had to wait over 3 months for urgent appointments, can’t reach a human on phone lines, that PTSD and suicide prevention support groups lost funding at American Legion Post 133 in Temple, and that veteran family members have died while waiting in the ER. I met amazing staff and advocates at the Temple VA, but these stories forced me to dig into who our congressman and VA director were and ask other veterans if they’d experienced the same. They have. I’ve reached out to the Temple VA director four times since July 2025 and the Inspector General’s office—no response. I did, however, get a reply from our congressman's office, advising me to give the executive branch more time.
I don’t blame our congressman personally, but he chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Veterans Affairs. He’s served since 2002—since I was 12. I’m now 35. It’s time to thank him for his service and elect our first veteran to Fix our VA, implement Term Limits, and reduce our national debt. These things I’ve been called to do, and I will see them through.
I don’t believe, I KNOW compromise is necessary to policymaking. I never accomplished any mission, solved any soldier or military family issue, or understood the root cause or center of gravity of any problem in business without first talking to people—lots of people. People directly involved in the situation at hand, people invested in the results of those situations, and people who may have an opinion on the situation—even if it does not affect them directly. This is all distilled into a single word: Trust.
Trust is only enabled and built with others through an environment that fosters Integrity, Civility, and Courage—which all naturally lead to understanding one another, and ultimately a Compromise. Compromising does not mean quitting, giving up, or conceding. Compromise to me means teamwork, trusting our fellow Americans, giving others a chance to come to the table and add value or voice protest to policy, and finally committing to serving all of our people through a vote—even if others aren’t willing to compromise themselves. But, I will not let a stalled mission to seek compromise gridlock or delay our government—and I will make command decisions to proceed if others can’t or aren’t willing, as that is the mission given to us by the people—but I will always give compromise the first chance.
While I will listen to and debate any suggestion in Congress, my non-negotiables tend to be related to any proposed amendments to the Bill of Rights (first through the tenth amendments). Because the U.S. House has the constitutional duty of managing our country’s revenue and budget, I’ve made my top priority to reduce the national debt, which is driven by overspending. If we don’t act now, by 2034 we will face mandatory cuts to Social Security, veterans’ disability and benefits, and Medicare/Medicaid—unless income taxes rise, which I reject.
The U.S. holds $37 trillion in federal debt, surpassing our national GDP, with no binding rule to cut it. PAYGO law was intended to keep budgets deficit-neutral but is routinely ignored. My Incremental Debt Down Act would require Congress to reduce the prior year’s deficit by 5% annually (inflation/population adjusted) and lower debt-to-GDP by 0.5% per year over five years. If targets are missed, a Sequestration Waterfall triggers automatic cuts—starting with non-essential discretionary spending. Beginning in 2028, the plan will achieve a surplus by Year 6 and reduces our debt to 70% of GDP in 13 years, while fully protecting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, VA, and disability benefits.
I am the only Republican candidate with professional experience maintaining and improving multi-billion-dollar budgets in business, thanks to my work leading all deal inventory for Amazon’s Prime Day, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and Christmas events across North America. Conducting incremental, data-driven, and index-based changes to multi-billion-dollar operations is one reason Amazon became the most successful e-commerce company in the world. Congress can learn from our best and brightest—adopting proven private-sector discipline to make government smaller, more efficient, and less reliant on taxpayer dollars. The U.S. House must use its investigatory powers to ensure transparency and protect the people by uncovering policy failures, crises, corruption, abuse of power, ethical violations, monopolistic abuses, or any topic deemed questionable by the people. I would like the U.S. House to currently prioritize diving aggressively into the Department of War, the VA, and our federal spending given that all revenue must originate in the House. In order for us to know where we can cut back, reduce, or optimize spending we need a robust investigative and audit process led by the House into all matters of spending (but in close partnership with DOGE)—none more so than our top drivers of federal spending being defense, the VA, and our mandatory spending of social security, medicare/medicaid, and disability.
Having intuitive knowledge and experience in this field having been present at its advent while working in big-tech (Amazon), I feel that the U.S. government should continue to allow the private-sector to develop the technology at lightning-fast speed while enforcing ethical guardrails. The people have made it clear that their concerns are whether the technology can be trusted with not plagiarizing copyrighted material, maintaining privacy of individuals, not being used to abuse our children or families, and ultimately whether it can be trusted to not be used against us in a more formal, state-sponsored attack. The fact that these are questions means they are possible, but once upon a time we also discovered nuclear weapons—and turned that into renewable energy. We once discovered flight, which was dangerous for a time—and now fly safely not only in the skies but in outer space. We have now discovered AI, and as America has always done, we have a duty to tame it, learn from it, and use it to better our nation and the world—and America should be the leader of that frontier.
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