This one was a no-brainer…
Citizen Outreach’s 2025 “Conservative of the Year” award recipient is: Dave Gibbs.
Dave ran the campaign – via Repair the Vote PAC – to get a photo ID initiative on the ballot in Nevada in 2024.
Opponents – including Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar – fought him tooth and nail. Took him to court, tied him up in bureaucratic red tape, and flooded the media with misinformation.
When Dave tried to get the initiative on the ballot in 2022, Repair the Vote got sued in an effort to keep voters from voting on it.
The legal proceedings dragged out. Ultimately, the courts ruled in Dave’s favor.
But by the time the decision was announced, it was too late to make a structural change in the required “description of effect” and still collect enough signatures to qualify for the 2022 ballot.
Undeterred, Dave re-filed the petition for the 2024 election. Got sued again. Won again.
But this time the decision was rendered with enough time to collect the required number of valid signatures.
By law, Repair the Vote had to collect just over 102,000 valid signatures. Dave and his team almost doubled that, collecting over 185,000.
The signatures were verified, and the initiative was placed on the ballot. It was Question 7 and read simply…
“Should the Nevada Constitution be amended to require voters to either present photo identification to verify their identity when voting in-person or to provide certain personal information to verify their identity when voting by mail ballot?”
My small part in the overall effort was in helping Dave and the initiative’s attorney, David O’Mara, draft the “Arguments for Passage” notice that was included on ballots explaining why voters should vote for it.
Opponents fought like honey badgers trying to defeat Question 7, but in the end 73 percent of voters voted “YES!”
Huge, huge, HUGE victory for conservatives who have been fighting for years to clean up Nevada’s elections by limiting the potential for voting fraud.
But we can’t count our chickens yet, because this baby hasn’t quite hatched.
Since Question 7 is a constitutional amendment, it will have to pass a second time in 2026 to take effect – unless the Democrat-controlled Nevada Legislature, seeing the writing on the wall, implements a photo ID requirement during the current session.
Fat chance.
So Dave & Company’s work isn’t done. They have reason to be optimistic about Question 7’s prospects in 2026, but they’re not taking any chances. The fight goes on.
More on Dave, in case you don’t know him…
He holds a bachelor’s degree in military history from the United States Air Force Academy (1979) and had a 29-year career in the U.S. Air Force (1974–2003), where he served as a pilot and commander, flying aircraft like B-52s and remotely piloted vehicles.
His professional experience also includes roles as a systems analyst and program manager in defense-related firms after retiring from the military.
Politically, Dave’s been active in Nevada’s political scene for years.
He’s a former chairman of the Clark County Republican Party – which alone qualifies him for sainthood – and continues as an active member of both the Clark County and Nevada Republican Central Committees.
He’s also served at president of the Nevada Republican Club, as a GOP congressional candidate in 2018, and as campaign manager for Republican Tony Grady’s bid for lieutenant governor in 2022.
So, yeah, Dave’s no flash in the pan. He’s been around for a while. But like a fine wine, he’s only gotten better with age.
Which is a good thing for Nevada voters who – because of his efforts and those of his team – will soon have a better protected, more secure election system thanks to his leadership.
As such, Citizen Outreach is proud to honor Dave Gibbs as 2025’s “Conservative of the Year.”
