Sometimes a political dust-up starts with a real issue. Other times, it starts with someone taking a victory lap they didn’t earn.
That’s what happened this week on X when Nevada state treasurer candidate Drew Johnson praised himself and his wife for “protecting women’s sports.”
The problem is that the story he told wasn’t quite true. And when someone pointed that out, the Johnsons turned it into a controversy that never needed to exist.
It began on January 24, when Drew posted about speaking to Washoe Republican Women and highlighted what he called his wife’s “amazing success” in protecting women’s sports in Nevada.
That might sound harmless. But for people who’ve followed Johnson’s career, it raised eyebrows.
Who Did the Work, Really?
Johnson’s wife, Sarah, worked as a paid staffer in the office of Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony.
The task force to protect women’s sports was Anthony’s initiative. Sarah carried out assigned duties. That’s what staffers do.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Government runs on staff. But claiming personal leadership and sacrifice is a different story.
That’s where the pushback came in.
When I joked in response that Drew forgot to take credit for the sun rising, his primary opponent Jeff Carter weighed in.
Carter criticized Drew’s habit of inserting himself into the center of an issue and making himself out as a hero, especially when real families and real kids are the ones paying the price.
Kinda like “stolen valor.” Or jumping into the front of a parade organized by others and claiming to be leading it.
Carter pointed out something else.
The Johnsons don’t have children, so they don’t experience firsthand what parents go through when their daughters lose scholarships, records, or fair competition to boys in girls’ sports.
That wasn’t an insult. It was context.
How the Johnsons Made It a “Personal Attack”
Almost immediately, Drew and his allies claimed Carter had “attacked” Sarah for not being able to have children.
That accusation spread fast. It also wasn’t true. Carter said nothing of the kind.
He never mocked infertility. He never insulted Sarah personally. He never raised the issue until Johnson himself made his wife the centerpiece of his political bragging.
If you bring your family into campaign messaging, people are going to respond to the claims you make. That’s not cruelty. That’s politics.
Several critics scolded Carter for “bringing family into it.” But Carter’s response was simple:
Johnson brought it up first and has a history of attacking fellow Republican opponents in primaries, blaming others for his losses, and taking credit for someone else’s work.
That history matters.
The Government Job Angle
Johnson also claimed his wife “lost her career” because Democrats defunded her office as retaliation for her work on women’s sports.
That leaves out important facts.
The Nevada Office of Small Business Advocacy had been targeted for elimination in earlier legislative sessions.
And from a conservative point of view – which Drew claims to hold when it doesn’t affect him personally and financially (how convenient) – it never should’ve existed at all.
Nevada already has private and nonprofit groups that help small businesses without growing government.
Eliminating a redundant state office isn’t punishment. It’s fiscal responsibility – something Drew claims to support . . . when it doesn’t affect him personally.
What really seems to be driving the anger is something else: After Sarah’s government job ended, no one found her another taxpayer-funded position.
That’s not persecution. That’s how limited government is supposed to work.
What This Says About Leadership
Nevadans are dealing with real issues. High costs. Failing schools. Public safety concerns. They want leaders who focus on results, not self-promotion.
Carter spoke from the perspective of a former athlete and a father. That’s relevant when talking about girls’ sports.
Acknowledging lived experience isn’t an attack. It’s honesty.
The Johnsons chose to inflate routine staff work into a heroic narrative. When challenged, they tried to shut down criticism by falsely accusing opponents of “cruelty.”
That’s not accountability. That’s misdirection. A lie, really.
This didn’t have to be a controversy. It became one because the Johnsons couldn’t stand being corrected.
Drew, especially, doesn’t take criticism very well and often flies off the handle in a self-righteous hissy fit.
It’s an ego thing . . . and his is quite big.
Nevada voters deserve straight talk, not manufactured outrage.
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