Marty O'Donnell’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric Shapes Nevada House Race

Marty O'Donnell, the Republican candidate for Nevada’s Las Vegas-area House district, delivered a series of statements that link LGBTQ+ people with Islamists and Marxists and condemn Pride as a sin. In a June interview he warned, “Talk about an existential, existential threat,” and added, “We are on the cliff looking down into the abyss. And the abyss is Marxism, its anti-Western philosophy.” He later described Pride as “one of the seven deadly sins” and said, “I’m all for bringing back shame.” O'Donnell also told an AI chatbot that “Gay men are the most promiscuous,” questioning whether “we’re going to lose the words like sin, promiscuity, adultery.”

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The comments come as O'Donnell seeks to retain a seat he has held since 2019, a district whose outcome will influence control of the narrowly divided U.S. House. His anti-LGBTQ+ stance is part of a broader record that includes opposition to marriage equality, criticism of transgender identities, and calls to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics after a French drag performer appeared in the opening ceremony. In April 2025 he told a podcast that LGBTQ+ people had “co-opted” the rainbow, a symbol he described as “God’s promise,” and asserted, “We have to figure out a way to take those things back.”

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When asked whether he stands by the anti-LGBTQ+ comments, O'Donnell’s campaign declined to comment. No formal rebuttal or clarification has been issued by the candidate or his representatives.

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The Advocate compiled O'Donnell’s statements and highlighted their alignment with long-standing anti-LGBTQ+ tropes, such as the claim that queer people “recruit” children—a view echoed by Liberty University executive Ryan Helfenbein during a June 2025 podcast episode. The outlet also noted O'Donnell’s 2024 X post describing marriage as “a union of one man and one woman isn’t just a Christian definition,” despite the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

The Advocate

• “Talk about an existential, existential threat,” — Marty O'Donnell, Nevada Republican candidate

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• “We are on the cliff looking down into the abyss. And the abyss is Marxism, its anti-Western philosophy.” — Marty O'Donnell

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• “Pride is one of the seven deadly sins,” — Marty O'Donnell

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• “Gay men are the most promiscuous,” — Marty O'Donnell

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• “We have to figure out a way to take those things back,” — Marty O'Donnell

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• “It is an us-versus-them thing,” — Marty O'Donnell

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