About Dan

Statement

My name is Dan Elder, and I'm running for Missouri's 1st Congressional District. I'm running as a Republican, but I don't want to focus on party platforms, old stereotypes, or animosity towards other parties. I want to focus on the issues that matter and real solutions that we need to bring to Washington. My political ideology both separates me from my fellow citizens on both sides of the isle as well as unites me with them. I am fiscally responsible, in most cases even more so than
rank-and-file Republicans. At the same time I am incredibly socially tolerant, I value our rights as individuals more than many Democrats will. I'm hoping that my stances on these two main spectrums of political responsibility are where most of us lean. In short, we need to spend less and stop making laws that hurt people. St. Louis needs a new voice.

I've lived in the St. Louis area since I was 13 years old. I went to high school at Hazelwood Central in Florissant and graduated in 2001. Afterwards, I enlisted in the Missouri Air National Guard where I've been a member now for over 13 years and hold the rank of Master Sergeant. I have volunteered in support of local flood emergencies twice over the past decade. I was deployed in support of Operation Noble Eagle, the national air defense mission, in 2005. I was deployed to Southwest Asia twice since 9/11, once to the UAE in 2007 and once to Afghanistan in 2012. I've worked as a Department of Defense contractor overseas in that region for several years, as well. I've also worked at several other Defense agencies in the St. Louis area. I currently live in the Fox Park neighborhood of St. Louis City and am proud to call it home. Since becoming politically active after the 2008 elections, I've learned a lot about the issues facing our nation and discovered an ideology that has the answers to these issues. That ideology is found at the root of our system of law in the United States: our Constitution.

The Air Force has a set of core values that I take with me everywhere: Integrity First; Service Before Self; Excellence in All We Do. I believe these three principles, while very simple, are incredibly important for our elected representatives to live by. I think most of us know that the majority of Congress does not operate with these values in mind. I plan to go to Washington DC and remind everyone there that they took an oath to support and defend our Constitution, not their own bank accounts.

- Daniel Elder

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