DREW JOHNSON

NAME: Drew Johnson

AGE:   47

PARTY AFFILIATION:   Republican

DAY JOB:  

Public policy analyst and government watchdog; Senior Fellow at the Center for Healthcare Affordability; Senior Fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research; columnist at Townhall and Newsmax; small-business owner.

EDUCATION: 

B.S., Political Science, Belmont University; Master of Public Policy, Pepperdine University

HOW LONG YOU HAVE LIVED IN NEVADA:  

13 years

WRITE A BRIEF (TWO TO THREE SENTENCES) SUMMARY OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD ENABLE YOU TO PERFORM THE DUTIES OF THIS OFFICE:

I founded and led the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a state-focused public policy think tank, and have worked in government finance, tax and budget policy, and government accountability with organizations including the National Taxpayers Union, American Enterprise Institute, and Taxpayers Protection Alliance. Over more than 25 years, I’ve built a national reputation as a government watchdog, worked with lawmakers to improve efficiency and transparency, exposed waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars, and contributed to reforms credited with saving taxpayers more than $60 billion.

WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY IF ELECTED?

My top priority is fixing the current Treasurer’s Office’s two biggest failures. Unclaimed-property claims take an average of 91 days to review—even though state law requires the Treasurer to allow or deny a claim within 90 days—so I will automatically return funds when ownership can be securely verified. The Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship Program will go bankrupt next year without major reform, and I will rescue these scholarships without raising taxes so Nevada's most promising students can continue to benefit from them.

IN JUST A FEW SENTENCES: WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING OUR STATE, AND HOW WOULD YOU FIX IT?

Nevada’s biggest challenge is that too many Nevadans are working harder but falling further behind as housing, energy, taxes, and everyday expenses consume more of their paychecks. As Treasurer, I would focus on lowering the cost of government by improving Nevada’s credit rating, using my watchdog experience to expose wasteful spending and protect taxpayers from unnecessary taxes, investing state funds responsibly, automatically returning unclaimed property to its rightful owners, and pursuing lasting tax relief through proposals to eliminate the unfair state gas tax and the job-killing Commerce Tax.

CONSUMER PRICES, GAS PRICES, AND HOUSING COSTS ARE HISTORICALLY HIGH, WHILE WAGES HAVE NOT KEPT PACE IN NEVADA. WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO HELP NEVADANS WHO ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY?

As Treasurer, my first proposal will be to create a Nevada Permanent Fund that invests a portion of budget surpluses and state tax revenues from new lithium and critical-mineral development, and then uses the earnings to eliminate Nevada’s 23-cent state gas tax. The plan would save the average Nevada family about $200 a year and fully fund our roads without cutting other programs or services.

WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF AI, AND THE PROLIFERATION OF DATA CENTERS? WHAT ROLE DO YOU SEE NEVADA TAKING IN EACH?

Nevada should be a leader in AI and data-center development, but that growth must be responsible. Gov. Lombardo’s executive order protecting water resources and preventing data centers from shifting power and infrastructure costs onto existing ratepayers is a step in the right direction. Data centers should never receive taxpayer handouts, and local communities should ultimately decide whether—and where—they are built.

IN ONE SENTENCE: WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING VOTERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU?

I grew up in a trailer watching my mom work two jobs to keep food on the table, later lived in my car while starting a business, and those experiences taught me the value of every dollar—and led me to a career protecting taxpayers’ money.

YES OR NO: WILL YOU ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION, WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE?  

Yes