How does Representative Sage Steele sound? It reportedly sounds pretty good to Connecticut Republicans.
Daily Ructions reports that GOP donors in Connecticut and DC are looking at the former SportsCenter star as a viable candidate for the state’s 5th Congressional District. Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post has confirmed that “exploratory conversations have occurred.”
Steele has always been outspoken in her conservative politics. It made her a darling of Republicans in 2021 after she sounded off against ESPN’s vaccine mandate on Jay Cutler’s podcast.
She sued ESPN claiming the network violated her freedom of speech in forcing her to apologize for those comments and for making light of Barack Obama identifying as a Black man. The lawsuit was settled last month and Steele announced that she was leaving the network “so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely.”
Follwing her official exit, Steele’s first interview was with Megyn Kelly. She described examples of ways ESPN showed its liberal bias and her colleagues retaliated against her for not sharing them.
Dana Hunsinger Benbow of the Indianapolis Star reached out to Steele about the rumor.
“No comment on this,” Steele responded, “but I appreciate you asking.”
Connecticut’s fifth district includes parts of Fairfield, Hartford, Litchford and New Haven Counties. Jahana Hayes has won the district in each of the last three elections, but in 2022, her victory was very slim. The district has not been represented by a Republican since 2007.
