# NV-03 (2026) — Susie Lee vs. TBD Republican (likely Marty O'Donnell) > [!success] Primary result — June 9, 2026 > **Susie Lee (D) 69.2%** (31,712) over James Lally 20.4% and two others. **Marty O'Donnell (R) 42.3%** (14,892) — a plurality win over Tera Anderson 24.1%, Jeff Gunter 19.5% and Aury Nagy 14.0%. > November: **Lee vs. O'Donnell**, plus **Jon Kamerath** of the Independent American Party. Cook: **Lean D**. > > The four-way Republican field this page flagged did exactly what four-way fields do: Trump's endorsement carried O'Donnell to a plurality, not a majority — 42.3% means roughly three in five Republican primary voters preferred someone else. ## Snapshot Nevada's 3rd Congressional District — Henderson and southern Clark County suburbs. Four-term Democrat [[Susie Lee]] has survived three narrow cycles (~2-point margins in 2020, 2022, 2024) and is the only Clark County Democrat Trump has been unable to dislodge in a district he has generally performed well in. In 2026 she faces **[[Marty O'Donnell]]**, the Halo video-game composer Trump endorsed on 2026-04-14, who emerged from a four-way Republican primary with 42.3%. Despite the race's national visibility, Polymarket priced Lee at 78% to hold pre-primary. **Cook: Lean D**. ## Incumbent — Susie Lee (D) Four-term Democrat (elected 2018; reelected 2020, 2022, 2024). Reelection margins consistent: ~2 points each cycle. **2024**: Lee 51.4% over Drew Johnson (R) 49% — roughly 2-point margin, one of the narrowest Democratic holds in the country. Notable that Trump performed well district-wide in 2024 even as Lee held. Strong individual brand (casino-worker family, philanthropy background). Running for fifth term. ## Democratic primary — June 9, 2026 Lee faces token primary opposition but is overwhelming favorite: - **Susie Lee** (incumbent) - **James Lally** — Physician - **Terrill Robinson** — Realtor, USMC veteran - **Brandon West** — Former 2018 NV Senate candidate No credible progressive challenge; primary expected to be a Lee coronation. ## Republican primary — June 9, 2026 (contested four-way) **Trump endorsement (2026-04-14)**: **Marty O'Donnell** — composer of the Halo video-game soundtrack. Self-funded with ~$3M in personal loans. Q1 2026 raise: only $72K, but $2.7M cash on hand from self-funding. Ran for NV-03 in 2024 and came 4th in the GOP primary. **Historical wrinkle**: O'Donnell publicly called Trump an "idiot" he "loathes" in 2016, preferring Buckley-Friedman conservatives. Has now embraced the endorsement. [Kotaku, PC Gamer coverage flagged the flip.] **Trump's [[Truth Social]] post**: called Lee a "Radical Left Extremist" who supports "Transgender for Everyone" and praised O'Donnell on tax cuts and immigration. **Other GOP primary candidates:** - **Jeff Gunter** — Dermatologist; former US Ambassador to Iceland (2019–21); 2nd in 2024 NV Senate GOP primary - **Tera Anderson** — Businesswoman; 4th in 2024 Las Vegas mayoral race - **Aury Nagy** — Neurosurgeon; 3rd in 2022 Board of Regents **Gov. Joe Lombardo** also endorsed O'Donnell (April 2026). Combined Trump + Lombardo pairing is unusual and signals GOP confidence in flipping the seat. ## Ratings - **Cook Political Report**: Lean D (Cook PVI D+1 as of 2025) - **Sabato's Crystal Ball**: Lean D (as of April 21, 2026 update) - **Inside Elections**: TBD - **Polymarket**: Lee 78% D / 22% R (as of April 2026) — meaningfully more bullish on Lee than the Lean D rating implies ## Key dates - **2026-06-09** — Nevada closed primary (both parties) - **2026-05-23 to 2026-06-05** — Early voting period - **2026-11-03** — General election ## Money (Q1 2026) | Candidate | Q1 Raised | Q1 Cash on Hand | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Lee (D) | $1.0M | **$3.1M** | 72.9% from individual donors; 133rd-highest Q1 raise in the House | | O'Donnell (R) | $72K | $2.7M | Cash from ~$3M personal loans, not new external fundraising | | Gunter/Anderson/Nagy (R) | TBD | TBD | Expected far behind O'Donnell | **Money dynamic**: Lee's $3.1M vs. O'Donnell's $2.7M is near-parity in liquid cash, but Lee's **$1.0M Q1 external fundraising vs. O'Donnell's $72K** is a 14x gap in donor-network firepower. O'Donnell is a self-funder; Lee is a broad-coalition fundraiser. These profiles diverge materially in the final stretch when ad rates spike. ## Intel notes - **NV-03 is one of 14 House districts** where Democrats are defending a seat Trump won in 2024. Lee has survived three cycles of this pattern — local service, casino/hospitality base, and constituent brand have insulated her. - **The O'Donnell backstory** is the meme: a video-game soundtrack composer, a previous Trump critic, self-funding $3M, and Trump pivoting to endorse him despite the 2016 "idiot" comment. Will be a running Kotaku/Reddit story; may depress GOP enthusiasm if local R activists see him as parachute-in candidate. - **GOP primary fragmentation risk**: Four-way primary with self-funder vs. former ambassador (Gunter) vs. local businesswoman + neurosurgeon. Even with Trump + Lombardo endorsement, negative spending could bruise O'Donnell before general. Lee's uncontested D primary means she saves cash and banks goodwill. - **Polymarket vs. Cook/Sabato**: 78% D on Polymarket is meaningfully bullish relative to Lean D consensus — markets weighting (a) Lee's three-cycle incumbent survival pattern, (b) Lee's donor-network depth, (c) the O'Donnell flip risk. - **Lombardo as secondary endorser**: Nevada GOP Gov. Lombardo has his own 2026 reelection coming; his O'Donnell endorsement aligns Nevada-GOP state apparatus with Trump's pick. ## Content leads - *The Halo Composer Running for Congress*: profile-ready + viral potential given the Trump-endorsed-former-critic angle - *Susie Lee's Un-Killable Formula*: hospitality-worker base + philanthropy brand + incumbent service — the blueprint for D survival in Trump-favorable suburbs - *Self-Funders vs. Donor Networks*: O'Donnell's $3M in loans vs. Lee's $1M Q1 external raise — when each profile wins ## Related KB entities - [[Susie Lee]] — incumbent - [[Donald Trump]] — endorser of O'Donnell - [[Joe Lombardo]] — NV Gov., endorser of O'Donnell - TBD: [[Marty O'Donnell]], [[Jeff Gunter]] — GOP primary candidates - [[2026 House Races Hub]] — hub ## Sources - [Cook Political Report — NV-03](https://www.cookpolitical.com/house/race/483481) - [Ballotpedia — NV-03 2026](https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada's_3rd_Congressional_District_election,_2026) - [NRCC — Trump endorses O'Donnell (2026-04-14)](https://www.nrcc.org/2026/04/14/%F0%9F%9A%A8-president-trump-endorses-marty-odonnell-for-congress/) - [Nevada Independent — Trump endorses in NV swing seats](https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/trump-endorses-gop-candidates-in-2-swingy-nevada-house-seats) - [Nevada Independent — Susie Lee leads fundraising](https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/susie-lee-helps-kick-off-2026-cycle-taking-the-lead-in-fundraising) - [Nevada Independent — Lombardo endorses O'Donnell](https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lombardo-endorses-marty-odonnell-in-nevadas-3rd-district-republican-primary) - [Kotaku — Halo composer Trump endorsement](https://kotaku.com/marty-odonnell-halo-trump-nevada-congress-endorsement-2000687591) - [Polymarket — NV-03 market](https://polymarket.com/event/nv-03-house-election-winner)