Pahrump businessman Matt Sadler has filed to run as a Republican for the Nevada Assembly District 36 seat.
He hosted his official campaign kickoff Jan. 15 at the Bob Ruud Community Center.
Sadler’s campaign kickoff was a success, he said, adding that he was quite humbled by the show of support that he has received.
“It was encouraging, the crowd was definitely energetic,” Sadler said. “It was a loyal bunch of people, new faces, old friends, it was great. If you’d walked into the event, you’d think I’d hired staff or something. So many people who were attending decided to just put on a T-shirt to help serve food and do whatever they could to help. Once it got going, I didn’t have to lift a finger and it was fantastic.”
Sadler is no newbie when it comes to campaigning. He’s run twice for public office when he was a resident of Las Vegas.
“I ran in Assembly District 18 in 2016 and again in 2018, just before I moved here,” Sadler said.
He failed to win the 2016 primary, but ended up winning the 2018 primary. He lost in the 2018 general election but said he hopes this year will be the one in which he is able to represent the people of Nevada at the state Legislature.
“I think in a district like ours — which probably arguably one of the most conservative districts in the state — I just think we need stronger, more principled, conservative leadership. Honestly, if there was a better candidate, if there was a more conservative choice, I’d be backing them. I wouldn’t be putting myself in the race. So that is why I am jumping in,” Sadler said.
About Sadler
A 44-year-old lifetime Nevadan, Sadler was born and raised in Las Vegas. He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and later met and married his wife. He is the father of three children and operates a local bail bonds company, which he originally started in Las Vegas before expanding into the valley in 2014.
He moved his family to Pahrump in 2018.
Sadler said he is first and foremost a pro-life candidate.
“In the most general sense, me being as I am, I am unashamedly and unapologetically pro-life. In any way that I can assert myself in that, to be an advocate for the unborn, that’s what I plan to do. Whether it’s advocating a heartbeat bill type of measure or anything I can do to champion the overturning of Rowe v. Wade, that would be my No. 1 goal. That is where my heart is at,” Sadler said.
“Beyond that, we have witnessed in the past year or two that the First Amendment, especially in our rights to express our religious faith, has kind of been under attack,” Sadler said. “There was a concerted effort to almost shut down churches and their activities, which is a clear violation of our constitution. And the way to tackle that most effectively is to come together to make a veto-proof law that states that the governor cannot continue these perpetual states of emergency, that it has to be brought to the Legislature, that they have to be called and that a law, voted on by the Legislature, has to codify that. Policy-wise, that is one of the first priorities of mine, for sure.”
Sadler said the most important thing for voters to know about him is that he will bring authenticity and consistency, and vowed to never waver in his conservative values.
“I know it is impossible to please everyone, so although an assemblyperson does represent everybody, it’s an impossible thing to advocate for differing points of view to the same extent. So it has to fall in line with my core convictions or I can’t back it up,” Sadler said. “I’m not completely rigid, I am not beyond discussion, but ultimately, I have to follow by convictions. A lot of politicians don’t follow that route, they kind of toe the line and stick in the middle. That won’t be me.”
Sadler said he also wanted voters to know that he does not have further political aspirations and does not view the Assembly as a stepping stone into higher politics.
Sadler will be running against incumbent Assemblyman Greg Hafen II and fellow businessperson Melissa Blundo in the 2022 Republican primary, which is set for Tuesday, June 14.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com.