Daniel Stephen Rodimer (born May 22, 1978), also known by his
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Dan Rodman, is an American retired
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
, former football player, and former political candidate. In 2006, he signed a one-year developmental contract with
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
.
Rodimer won the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
primary for
Nevada's 3rd congressional district
Nevada's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district occupying the area south of Las Vegas, including Henderson, Boulder City and much of unincorporated Clark County. The district was initially created after the 2000 census.
It was ...
in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
. He lost narrowly to Democratic incumbent
Susie Lee
Susie is a female name that can be a diminutive form of Susan, Susanne, Suzanne, Susannah, Susanna or Susana.
Susie may refer to:
Songs
* "Susie Q" (song), a 1957 song by Dale Hawkins, covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968)
*"Wake U ...
in the November 2020 general election. He has garnered endorsements from
President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
,
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
, the
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
(NRA), and the
National Right to Life Committee
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
Since the 1980s, NRLC has influen ...
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at the
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...
, where he was a member of
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...
fraternity. Rodimer attended the
Ave Maria School of Law
Ave Maria School of Law is a private Roman Catholic law school in Vineyards, Florida. It was founded in 1999 and is accredited by the American Bar Association. The school is perennially ranked as the "most conservative" and "most devout" law scho ...
in
Vineyards, Florida
Vineyards is a census-designated place (CDP) in Collier County, Florida, Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,883 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Naples, Florida, Naples–Marco Island, ...
, where he graduated in 2013.
Career
Rodimer played semi-pro football for the Tampa Bay Barracudas and in the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
. He also worked as a personal trainer.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2007)
Rodimer got into wrestling by becoming a contestant in the 2004 Tough Enough competition.
On July 12, 2006, Rodimer was signed to a developmental contract with
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
and was assigned to
Deep South Wrestling
Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South w ...
. His first match came on September 7, when he defeated
Heath Miller
Earl Heath Miller Jr. (born October 22, 1982) is a former American football tight end who played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons from 2005 to 2015. Miller played college football fo ...
. On September 24, he had his first televised match in DSW as Dan Rodimer, defeating Tommy Suede.
Rodimer spent the first half of 2007 wrestling primarily in
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg.
O ...
, WWE's other developmental territory. He feuded with
Atlas DaBone
Richard Young (born May 12, 1975) is an American retired professional wrestler and former football player. He is best known for his work with WWE performing under the ring name Ricky Ortiz.
Young spent time in the XFL, the Canadian Football ...
throughout February and March.
Rodimer made his debut on ''
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
'', beating Eugene. He then returned to OVW. Daniel appeared on Heat twice more that year. Rodimer was then transferred to the new
Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
territory. However, he was released from his contract on August 22, 2007.
Political career
In 2018, Rodimer ran for
Nevada State Senate
The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the previ ...
. He lost to Valerie Weber in the primary election by 142 votes, despite outspending her nearly two-to-one.
In 2019, Rodimer announced his bid for
Nevada's 3rd congressional district
Nevada's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district occupying the area south of Las Vegas, including Henderson, Boulder City and much of unincorporated Clark County. The district was initially created after the 2000 census.
It was ...
. He lost to incumbent
Susie Lee
Susie is a female name that can be a diminutive form of Susan, Susanne, Suzanne, Susannah, Susanna or Susana.
Susie may refer to:
Songs
* "Susie Q" (song), a 1957 song by Dale Hawkins, covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968)
*"Wake U ...
in the general election.
In March 2021, Rodimer announced his candidacy for Texas's 6th congressional district special election. He was noted for dramatically changing his accent and persona in his campaign ad compared to his run in Nevada the previous year. He placed eleventh in the crowded jungle primary, attaining 2.6 percent of the vote share.
Rodimer cast doubt on the integrity of the
2020 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
**C ...
, saying "I think that we had some serious issues with this election and we've got to make sure that doesn't happen again," in response to whether he believed the election was "stolen". Rodimer also said of the storming of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, "On January 6, people come to me all the time, they say, 'Big Dan Rodimer, what would you have done differently?' Well, you know what? I wouldn't have been hiding under my desk like all the other folks. I would have been out there, walking to the very, very front, top of the stairs saying, 'hey, the fact is we are all Americans. We want fair and free elections."
Personal life
Rodimer resides in
Mansfield, Texas
Mansfield is a suburban city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area. The city is located mostly in Tarrant county, with small parts in Ellis and Johnson counties. Its location is approximately 30 miles f ...
, where he moved with his family in 2021. Prior to this, the family lived in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, where Rodimer was a member of the
Clark County School District
The Clark County School District (CCSD) is a school district that serves all of Clark County, Nevada, including the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Boulder City; as well as the census-designated places of Laughlin, Blue D ...
Safety Advisory Committee in 2018.
Assault accusations
Rodimer has been accused three times of
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
but has no convictions. After an arrest on charges of battery in 2010, Rodimer entered a deferred prosecution agreement. In that agreement he admitted to committing the offense, and upon completion of a six-week
anger management
Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...
training course the charge was dropped. He was also accused of assault in 2011 and 2013, according to records from the
Collier County
Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...
Sheriff's Office; however, in both cases no charges were filed.