A Fighter for Freedom: Honoring John Tsarpalas and a Career Built on Conservative Conviction
He didn’t grow up in Nevada. But John Tsarpalas spent years making it a better place.
Now, as he steps back from the front lines, it’s worth taking a good look at everything the man has built.
From Chicago to the Conservative Movement
Tsarpalas got his start in the 1980s in Illinois, back when fighting for limited government wasn’t exactly popular in the Land of Lincoln.
He joined the Illinois Libertarian Party and even served on its State Central Committee.
By the ’90s, he’d moved into the Republican tent, drawn in by Steve Forbes’ presidential campaign and the idea of a flat tax that treats every American the same.
In 1996, inspired by Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America, he got serious about electoral politics.
He ran five campaigns in Democrat-leaning Illinois districts and got his candidates elected every time.
That kind of track record gets you noticed.
In 2005, he was tapped to serve as Executive Director of the Illinois Republican Party. He trained at the RNC’s Campaign College, the RNC Field Management School, and the Leadership Institute.
But Tsarpalas wasn’t just a party guy. He was a movement guy.
When Congress started disappointing conservatives, he went a different direction and started building institutions instead of just winning elections.
He led the Sam Adams Alliance, doing activist education in more than 10 states.
He founded or co-founded the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, Think Freely Media, the Haym Salomon Center, and Midwest Speaking Professionals.
These weren’t vanity projects. They were tools to spread conservative ideas and hold government accountable.
Finding His Home in Nevada
Eventually, this former Chicagoan traded the Midwest for Las Vegas. And Nevada got lucky.
As President of Nevada Policy, Tsarpalas brought the same disciplined, results-focused approach he’d honed over 30 years.
He wasn’t interested in just talking about limited government. He wanted to prove it works. And his biggest wins speak for themselves.
In 2024, Nevada voters were asked to approve Question 3, a ranked choice voting scheme backed by out-of-state money and sold as a “reform.”
Tsarpalas and Nevada Policy dug into the details, educated voters across the state, and made a clear case against it.
Nevadans said no. It wasn’t luck. It was preparation and plain-spoken persuasion.
He also led the charge against a proposed expansion of the film tax credit, what critics called the “Hollywood Handout.”
While proponents promised jobs and economic growth, Nevada Policy ran the numbers and found the fiscal math didn’t add up.
The expansion was stopped. Taxpayers kept their money.
Building People, Not Just Policy
One of Tsarpalas’s quietest but most lasting contributions is something you don’t always see on a scorecard. He developed people.
When he hired Kaeley Cook years ago as an Office Manager, she had little policy experience. But he gave her the opportunity and the expectations that come with real leadership.
She grew into Chief of Staff and Vice President of Finance, and when Tsarpalas announced his transition to President Emeritus, the Nevada Policy board independently reviewed the candidates and chose Cook to lead the organization forward.
That’s what good institutions do. They don’t crumble when a leader moves on. They’re built to last.
Reagan Legacy Award
Tsarpalas has spent more than three decades doing the unglamorous, essential work of the conservative movement.
He’s trained activists, founded nonprofits, stopped bad legislation, and built an organization that will outlast his day-to-day involvement.
And that’s exactly why Citizen Outreach has chosen Tsarpalas to receive the Reagan Legacy Award, honoring him among its 2026 Conservative of the Year recipients.
This honor recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a career-long commitment to the principles Ronald Reagan championed: limited government, individual freedom, fiscal responsibility, and the belief that America, and states like Nevada, work best when citizens are empowered and government stays in its lane.
John has lived that mission. Nevada is better for it. And it’s been an honor working with him and counting him as a friend.
P.S. In case you were wondering, the “T” is silent. 😊
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