From Halo to the House: Marty O’Donnell Takes Nevada Fight to Dallas Convention

Nevada Republican congressional nominee Marty O’Donnell took his campaign against Rep. Susie Lee to a national audience Thursday, using his speech at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas to introduce himself through an unusual combination of video-game music, 1980s nostalgia, economic populism and faith.

O’Donnell, the composer best known for his work on the Halo video-game franchise, appeared September 10 at the American Airlines Center as one of the Republican congressional candidates featured during the convention’s second night. He is challenging Democrat Rep. Susie Lee in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.

The roughly six-minute speech began far from standard campaign fare. O’Donnell briefly performed the recognizable vocal theme from Halo before telling delegates about another piece of his résumé: helping write the famous Flintstones Vitamins commercial jingle. The crowd joined him in singing “We are Flintstones kids,” according to reports from the convention.

From there, O’Donnell shifted to the economic message that has become central to his campaign.

“One good job used to be enough,” O’Donnell told the audience, arguing that a single income once allowed Americans to raise a family, purchase a home and build a comfortable life. He said rising costs had changed that equation and described his grandchildren as a major reason he entered politics.

“I’m running because of my grandkids,” O’Donnell said. “I look at those kids, and I think about the country they’re about to grow up in, and I decided that I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer.”

O’Donnell then turned directly toward Lee and national Democrats, repeatedly using the refrain “Democrats said no” while criticizing opposition to Republican priorities on taxes, border security and other issues. His campaign later posted excerpts accusing Lee of opposing tax relief for Nevada workers and arguing that Washington Democrats had blocked policies supported by voters.

He also called for larger Republican congressional majorities to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“We have to give this president bigger majorities in Congress so we can help him finish the job,” O’Donnell said.

The speech closed on a markedly philosophical note. O’Donnell argued that political freedom depends on objective truth and religious faith, ending with the line: “Without God, liberty collapses into power.”

The Dallas appearance gave O’Donnell one of his largest national platforms to date as he seeks to unseat Lee in one of Nevada’s closely watched congressional contests. Reuters photographed O’Donnell addressing the convention Thursday, while his campaign subsequently circulated the full speech online.

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