# Jeff Gunter Dermatologist and **former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland** (2019–2021, first Trump administration) running in the 2026 Republican primary for [[NV-03-2026]] against four-term Democrat [[Susie Lee]]. Came **2nd in the 2024 Nevada Senate GOP primary** before pivoting to this House race. Trump **passed over Gunter and endorsed video-game composer [[Marty O'Donnell]] on 2026-04-14** despite Gunter's prior Trump-administration service — a notable snub given O'Donnell's 2016 "idiot" comment about Trump. ## 2026 cycle - **Primary date**: 2026-06-09 (Nevada) - **Four-way R primary**: Gunter, O'Donnell (Trump- and Lombardo-endorsed), Tera Anderson (businesswoman), Aury Nagy (neurosurgeon) - **General-election structure**: Susie Lee has survived three consecutive ~2-point margin races (2020, 2022, 2024). Cook Lean D. Polymarket Lee 78%. - **Path**: Gunter's credibility path was the Trump-administration-alum lane; Trump's O'Donnell endorsement takes that away. Remaining pitch is his Iceland ambassadorship credential + party establishment-ish positioning against the self-funder O'Donnell. ## Background - Dermatologist; private practice - **U.S. Ambassador to Iceland, 2019–2021** — first Trump administration appointee - Ran in **2024 NV Senate GOP primary** — placed 2nd - Residence / Nevada specifics NEEDS VERIFICATION - Prior federal political experience limited to ambassadorship ## Ideological positioning - Mainstream Republican with first-Trump-term administration credential - The passed-over candidate in a contested primary where Trump endorsed a less-credentialed rival is an awkward position — Gunter's national-security credibility does not cleanly transfer into a 2026 GOP primary where Trump's preference is the dominant signal - A useful marker for "former Trump-admin alum" as a coalition faction that does not automatically get Trump's 2026 endorsement ## Related - [[NV-03-2026]] — 2026 race file - [[Susie Lee]] — Democratic incumbent - [[Marty O'Donnell]] — Trump-endorsed primary rival - [[Donald Trump]] — endorsed O'Donnell over Gunter ## Sources - [Ballotpedia — Jeff Gunter](https://ballotpedia.org/Jeff_Gunter) - [Wikipedia — Jeffrey Ross Gunter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Ross_Gunter)