Helgelien announces bid for Congress in ’24
Former Nevada state Senator Elizabeth Helgelien announced Wednesday her run for U.S. Congress against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in 2024.
Her campaign video shows her carrying a rifle and walking outside, with Nevada mountains behind her, as another video shows gas prices, the Chinese “spy” balloon and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-wyo. In the video Helgelien says the government is filled with “empty promises,” and she pledges to “walk the walk.”
“For too long weak leadership has crippled our nation,” said Helgelien, who was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday, in a post on Twitter. “Politicians who want a title and paycheck, but don’t know what it’s like to run a business, and don’t know what it’s like to fight have lied to us. Today I’m stepping back into the fight.”
Helgelien, a Republican, was the youngest person elected to the Nevada state Senate in 2010 at the age of 27. Helgelien, whose last name then was Halseth, resigned from the state Senate in 2012 after a messy divorce and child custody battle. She participated in Maxim’s “Hot 100” photo contest and was also profiled in Maxim in 2012.
She had to move out of state because she said she could not find a job, but she returned and mounted a bid for state Senate again in 2018. She lost during the Republican primary to Valerie Weber. In 2021, she was in the national spotlight when her daughter was charged with murdering Helgelien’s ex-husband. Helgelien now runs a real estate business with her husband, Tiger Helgelien, who himself lost a race for Clark County School Board in 2020.
Helgelien is currently the only Republican to announce a run in the 3rd Congressional District against Lee, who won re-election in 2022 by about 4 percentage points.
According to Helgelien’s campaign website, she wants to focus on the economy and inflation by removing red tape and lowering taxes. Other important issues listed include funding police, holding “soft-oncrime” judges and district attorneys accountable, and finishing building the wall on the southern border to stop illegal immigration.