22 Facts About Steve Watkins

Steve Watkins served as the US representative for Kansas's from 2019 to 2021.

Steve Watkins is a member of the Republican Party, and was succeeded by Jake LaTurner.

Steve Watkins is a graduate of the following military schools: Ranger, Airborne, Sapper, Air Assault, and Pathfinder.

Steve Watkins was stationed at Fort Richardson in Alaska in 2000.

Steve Watkins began running dogs in Alaska in 2000, and competed in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Steve Watkins finished in 58th place in 2015, ninth from last, and almost four days behind the top three mushers.

Steve Watkins did not finish the race in March 2018, having dropped out at Unalakleet, 261 miles from the finish in Nome.

Steve Watkins spent five years on active duty with the United States Army.

Steve Watkins told reporters his injury was a "tipping point" propelling him in the direction of "a more conventional life".

Steve Watkins was endorsed by US Representative Roger Marshall from Kansas Congressional District 1.

In October 2018, the Associated Press published a story questioning a number of details of Steve Watkins' claimed background, including a debunked assertion which he had made on his website that he had been praised by outfitter Guy Cotter for his leadership among climbers on Mount Everest after the Nepal earthquake.

Five weeks before the 2018 general election, the Kansas City Star reported that Steve Watkins had claimed to have established a corporation when he had actually only consulted with the corporation long after it had been incorporated.

Steve Watkins' campaign described the accusations as "fake news", and Steve Watkins himself called them "baseless opinions from people who don't know me".

Steve Watkins owned two homes in Alaska, but did not own a home in Kansas.

Steve Watkins stated that the party's misgivings about his candidacy were due to his "outsider" status.

On October 23,2019, Steve Watkins was one of about thirty House Republicans that intruded upon that day's confidential hearing in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility where Republican and Democratic congressional members had been taking testimony from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper.

Steve Watkins had permission to enter the secure room as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Between October 1,2019, and March 31,2020, Steve Watkins spent $400,000 in taxpayer-funded radio ads and mailed communications to his constituents.

In December 2019, Steve Watkins was accused of voter fraud and election perjury after the Topeka address he listed as his place of residency on his voter registration turned out to be a UPS Store.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay and county sheriff Brian Hill investigated whether Steve Watkins had broken state law.

Steve Watkins is alleged to have voted unlawfully in a November 2019 Topeka City Council race and to have attempted to mislead a sheriff's detective.

In March 2021, Steve Watkins agreed to enter a diversion program and defer prosecution for six months; if he successfully completes the program the charges will be dropped.