# Marty O'Donnell Composer of the **Halo video-game soundtrack** (Bungie, 2001–2014) running in the 2026 Republican primary for [[NV-03-2026]] against four-term Democrat [[Susie Lee]]. **Trump endorsed O'Donnell on 2026-04-14** via [[Truth Social]] — calling Lee a "Radical Left Extremist" and praising O'Donnell on tax cuts and immigration. **Nevada Gov. [[Joe Lombardo]]** also endorsed him in April 2026. Self-funded campaign with **~$3M in personal loans**; Q1 2026 external raise **only $72K** but $2.7M cash on hand from self-funding. **Historical wrinkle**: O'Donnell publicly called Trump an **"idiot"** he **"loathes"** in 2016, saying he preferred Buckley-Friedman conservatives. Has now embraced the endorsement. Kotaku, PC Gamer, and Reddit gaming communities have flagged the flip — a running 2026 cycle meme. ## 2026 cycle - **Primary date**: 2026-06-09 (Nevada) - **2024 NV-03 history**: O'Donnell came **4th in the 2024 GOP primary** — his 2026 campaign represents a second attempt with Trump's endorsement this time - **Primary field (contested four-way)**: O'Donnell, [[Jeff Gunter]] (dermatologist, former US Amb Iceland), Tera Anderson (businesswoman, 4th in 2024 LV mayoral), Aury Nagy (neurosurgeon) - **General-election matchup**: Lee is 4-term incumbent, survived ~2-point margins in 2020/2022/2024. Polymarket prices Lee 78% (late April 2026) — Lean D per Cook / Sabato. - **Money dynamic**: Lee's $3.1M vs. O'Donnell's $2.7M 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. Self-funder vs. broad-coalition fundraiser diverges materially when ad rates spike in the fall. ## Background - Composer, Bungie (Halo: Combat Evolved through Halo 4); co-founder of Highwire Games - Emmy winner; credited with defining the Halo franchise sonic identity - 2016 political statements: called Trump an "idiot" he "loathes"; self-described Buckley/Friedman conservative - 2024: ran in NV-03 GOP primary, placed 4th - Age, exact residency and pre-political biography details NEEDS VERIFICATION ## Ideological positioning - Post-2024 reinvention: now MAGA-aligned despite 2016 Trump criticism - Self-funder with creative-industry background — unusual profile for a Trump-endorsed R - The endorsement itself is the content: Lombardo + Trump paired on a 4th-place 2024 finisher signals GOP confidence in the seat + willingness to back a non-conventional candidate over credentialed rivals (former Amb Gunter) ## Related - [[NV-03-2026]] — 2026 race file - [[Susie Lee]] — Democratic incumbent - [[Jeff Gunter]] — primary rival - [[Donald Trump]] — endorser (despite 2016 "idiot" comment) ## Sources - [Ballotpedia — Marty O'Donnell](https://ballotpedia.org/Marty_O'Donnell) - [Wikipedia — Martin O'Donnell (composer)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_O'Donnell)