The ‘Mean Girls’ Treatment
For months now, Alex Rodrigues has been telling me he wants to run for Political Director of the Clark County Republican Party. Every time he calls, I try to talk him out of it. Not because he’s unqualified. Far from it. It’s because I hate watching passionate young people get fed to the wolves.
This week proved my point perfectly. A group called Win Clark County sent out an email with Alex’s picture. They chose an unflattering shot where he looks slouchy.
Then they added this nasty caption:
“I have no idea, no team, I am not a registrar, never led a campaign… But I know how to win elections: just copy what winners do and build relationships. What else!”
While the punctuation is questionable, at least part of that is true: Alex does know how to build relationships. As he puts it:
“I try to work with people I have disagreements with, I think that’s one thing that stands out about me, I’m willing to put differences aside and work to find a common ground.
Regardless of who the next chair is, I’ll be happy to work with whoever is elected next cycle.”
This email is exactly the kind of high school ‘mean girls’ behavior that drives good people away from politics.
Limited government conservatives should care about this story for one simple reason: we keep losing races because we eat our own instead of supporting people who actually want to do the work.
My Track Record
The Clark County Republican Party has been a mess for years. In the last election, I fought to get decent leadership. The candidate I worked with, John Bruchhagen (“Johnny Bru”), won vice chair after conceding the chair race to give his opponent, Jill Douglass, a fighting chance against incumbent Jesse Law.
In his position as vice chair, he was treated so poorly that he eventually resigned. Now Johnny has created a new math curriculum that helps other teachers educate better. That’s probably an upgrade from being a political punching bag.
Meanwhile, current chair Jesse Law faced stalking charges for allegedly putting a GPS device on his ex-girlfriend’s car. Remember those Vinco Ventures shareholders I platformed to tell their story about being defrauded? The DOJ just indicted multiple Vinco executives for securities fraud, including Theodore Farnsworth, who pleaded guilty.
Jesse was on that board when it all happened.
I was right on all counts: It turns out that Jesse was unstable and dangerous in relationships, that the company he was on the board for was defrauding shareholders, and that our strategy of conceding to Jill was deflating because she wasn’t strong enough to beat him.
But nobody wanted to hear it. Their hubris wouldn’t let them see what was obvious to anyone paying attention. I’m a decent forecaster, and people ignore these warnings at their own peril.
Alex’s Real Record
Let me tell you what Alex has actually done. He paid attention lightly to politics but wasn’t involved until 2020. Like many, the lockdowns woke him up.
When Governor Sisolak locked down our state, Alex got involved with Fight For Nevada. He organized anti-mask rallies on the Las Vegas strip and walked into stores without a mask as civil disobedience, while everyone else was scared.
He volunteered for multiple candidates in 2022 and 2024, including Joey Gilbert for Governor, Sharelle Mendenhall for U.S. Senate, and Erica Neely for school board, and later in AD9.
But here’s what really matters. Alex got tired of Republicans being soft. So he and his friend Cyrus self-funded their own PAC and started making attack signs against Democrats.
Those signs worked. Michael Naft had a $2 million budget but barely beat Ryan Hamilton, who only spent $100,000. The margin was just 3,065 votes. Alex’s 17 hit signs exposed how Naft voted for the Formula 1 race mess and did nothing about homeless people sleeping in our parks.
Steve Yeager had a $740,000 budget but won by only 800 votes. Alex’s 10 signs called him “Sleazy Steve Yeager” for voting for the gas tax hike. They even put a mask on his face in the picture.
Why Experience Matters
Alex has a detailed plan to fix common campaign mistakes based on real experience.
First, he wants to stop rookie candidates from making basic errors like not having proper voter data:
“I had a candidate just drop off a stack of flyers at my place while I’m not home, and I never got a spreadsheet list of what doors to go to.
I pulled voter data from the county website, and I went to every registered Republican in my neighborhood for these candidates, but not every Republican votes in the primary in my district, so I wasted time, flyers, and someone else’s money.”
Second, he wants professional help for campaigns:
“Any consultant that can’t win in November, we have to get candidates to stop hiring them, go with someone that has won before, or do not run.”
Third, he thinks we can win anywhere by focusing on everyday issues:
“Some seats that are heavy blue like AD3, AD10, AD15, AD20, it might be very difficult to win now, but that doesn’t mean it’s not winnable for the future. There is no such thing as a non-winnable seat.”
He even thinks they can take out establishment Democrats:
“I think we can even take out Tick Segerblom with the dirt we have on him we’ve collected over the years, pound him on the homeless, hosting drag queen events with little kids at our libraries, Formula 1 race mess construction disaster.”
Most importantly, he wants Republicans to fight back:
“Democrats attack us, why don’t we fight back? Do you let the school bully push you to the corner? No, you fight back.”
What Comes Next
The Clark County Republican Party will choose new leadership in July. Alex is running against other candidates, including Guadalupe Reyes and Eva Sara Landau.
Alex wants to build relationships with Libertarians to keep third parties out of close races:
“I’m friends with Jeff Hurley, Adam Haman, and Travis McGlothin. They want a relationship, they don’t like Democrats taking the majority, but they have a party to run, they want to talk to Republicans.”
While others burn bridges, Alex builds them:
“I’ve seen some people in this party just burn bridges, bad-mouthing talented consultants, candidates, donors, even voters.”
What Conservatives Can Do
If you live in Clark County, pay attention to this race. Ask candidates what their actual plan is to win elections. Support people who are willing to fight and have actually done the work.
Most importantly, stop the ‘Mean Girls’ behavior. We wonder why young people don’t want to get involved in conservative politics, then we treat them like garbage when they try to help. The Democrats built a machine under Harry Reid by supporting their people and working together. Meanwhile, we’re busy tearing each other down over petty nonsense.
Alex Rodrigues isn’t asking for a participation trophy. He’s asking for a chance to prove that fighting back works. Maybe it’s time we let him try, before we drive away everyone willing to do the real work.
This article was written with the assistance of AI.
Read our related coverage:
Transparency, Fundraising, and Victories: Win Clark County Team Promises Fresh Leadership
Eva’s Mission: Build a Stronger, Smarter GOP Machine in Clark County
