Let’s hop in the Wayback Machine and dial up March 2024.
With just a couple days before the close of filing for office, no one had stepped forward to challenge Democrat Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager in Assembly District 9.
Drew Johnson SHOULD have thrown his hat into that ring, but he was worried that Yeager would get mad and eliminate his wife’s government job.
So he decided to run for Congress instead.
Wanting to change things in our lousy education system, and not wanting Yeager to get a free pass, Erica Neely decided to take on Goliath.
By the time the primary in June rolled around, she’d raised only $377.18.
In mid-August, a mutual friend sent her to my campaign training program, and she and I started re-organizing her campaign together.
That included a strategy to get $100 or less donations so the donor’s name wouldn’t appear on Yeager’s radar screen since many people in politics were afraid of incurring his wrath if they gave to his opponent.
By the end of September, Erica had raised $28,321 – with over $2,000 in donations of less than $100. Impressive. But too little, too late.
It simply wasn’t enough to crank out mailers before mail-in ballots went out and early voting began.
But it was enough to pump out three mailers that hit in the final week before Election Day.
Again…too little, too late. HOWEVER, get this . . .
By the end of September, Yeager had reportedly raised a whopping $491,707.
17 TIMES WHAT ERICA HAD RAISED!
Nevertheless . . . after the smoke cleared . . . and the votes were counted . . . Yeager only won by 51-49%.
A political whisker, especially considering his money advantage.
So it didn’t surprise me one bit when Yeager announced on Monday that he was quitting and not running for re-election again next year against Erica.
But yesterday it got interesting again. Yeager’s hand-picked successor was announced. And it’s a doozy!
Ryan Hampton.
You might recognize Hampton’s name. He was a Democrat who ran for the Assembly last year. But not in Assembly District 9.
He ran in Assembly District 4. Reportedly raised $549,238 against Republican Lisa Cole. And . . . got . . . crushed. Cole bested him, 54-46%.
So now he’s “carpet-bagging” into AD9.
Made his announcement on social media yesterday with a slick but thoroughly uninspiring video – meaning his anointment was in the works well before Yeager announced he was pulling up stakes and moving out.
“Unfortunately for Hampton,” wrote John Burke of the Better Nevada PAC, “moving to a new district won’t hide his record of supporting dangerous policies that would put Nevadans at risk.”
Those policies include legalizing hard drugs – like fentanyl – and open borders.
Our Brittany Sheehan gave everyone the low-down on this guy yesterday. You can read it by clicking here.
So yeah, with sufficient funding – and I’m not talking about matching Hampton dollar-for-dollar – Erica could very well pick up this seat and flip it from “blue” to “red” next year.
And thanks to many of you reading this, she’s off to a great start.
In the last 48 hours since Yeager hung up his spurs, she’s raised over $6,000 from small-dollar donations.
That’s a helluva lot more than the $377.18 she raised before the primary in 2024. But it’s not enough.
There are some out there who still think money wins races and are afraid of Hampton’s ability to raise another half-mil this time around.
Sure, money’s important. But look at all the GOP candidates who had a boatload of money last year – many self-funded – who nevertheless went down in flames.
The truth is, it’s not the most money that wins, but the best campaign.
That includes having enough money to communicate the right message to the right targeted audience at the right time and using the right media.
And that’s NOT television!
Also, just think about all the GOP candidates who run for the first time and self-destruct on the campaign trail because they couldn’t take a punch and either couldn’t or wouldn’t throw one.
This reminds me of something veteran Republican strategist Roger Stone wrote in his book, “Stone’s Rule” . . .
“Running a losing effort teaches a candidate how the political system and the media work and prepare them to be a better candidate. Candidates who are afraid to lose are candy asses. . . .
“Losing sharpens a candidate’s candidate skills. A candidate whose performance does not improve after losing will be a habitual loser.
“A candidate who bounces back from a first-race loss and returns to the field a more skilled candidate, hungry enough to put themselves through another campaign grind, is the next best thing to an incumbent running either for reelection or for another public office.”
Like “brothel owner” Dennis Hof, who all the “experts” said couldn’t win.
Dennis lost his Assembly race in 2016, learned some lessons, made some changes, and came back to win the seat with 62% of the vote in 2018 . . . despite DYING three weeks before the election.
Erica’s cut from the same cloth.
She’s been laying the groundwork for a second run at this seat since the day after the 2024 election results were finalized.
She citizen-lobbied during the past legislative session, has been regularly penning articles on issues important to voters, actively using social media to boost her name ID, has been attending events all around the district, and…
Has written a book!
She’s in the process of doing final edits, laying it out, and designing a book cover.
It’s about the challenges people face trying to foster and adopt children – something she has first-hand experience with.
Bottom line: Erica’s paid her dues and learned her lessons . . . and is “hungry enough to put herself through another campaign grind.”
So instead of looking for a deep-pocketed GOP “Prince Charming” who can self-fund a campaign but has no campaign experience (and maybe a political “glass jaw”), Republicans should go “all in” on Erica in AD9.
She’s EARNED a second shot at this seat.
And for the record: Yes, I’m a senior adviser on her campaign.
But I’m volunteering my services pro bono. No fees and no commissions. 100% of your donations are going to her campaign. Not a penny in my pocket.
That’s how strongly I believe in her. And I hope you will, too.
