To: Interested Parties
From: Lindsay Reilly, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 10, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Cody Whipple
Steven Horsford is dedicated to fighting for the people who make Nevada work. Steven spent more than a decade leading the Culinary Training Academy, where he supported thousands of workers in the hospitality and other in-demand industries. Now in Congress, Steven has been a steadfast advocate for Nevada workers, families, and job creators.
As Nevada suffers under a “Trump Slump” characterized by tanking tourism numbers, sky-high prices, and fewer shifts and tips, Steven is fighting to create jobs and lower costs for Southern Nevada families. A leader on housing affordability, Steven is pushing to bring down housing costs and end Southern Nevada’s housing crisis “once and for all.” At the same time, Steven is working to make health care more affordable, get Southern Nevada small businesses the tariff refunds they deserve, and end a new tax on gambling losses that experts warn is “primed to hurt” Southern Nevada’s local gaming economy.
A longtime champion for No Tax on Tips, Steven knows Nevada’s tipped workers deserve more than temporary tax relief that expires in two years. While D.C. Republicans prioritize permanent tax cuts for billionaires – paid for by gutting Nevadans’ health care – Steven is fighting to permanently end taxes on tips. Steven wrote the bills to strengthen No Taxes on Tips while also eliminating the sub-minimum wage and putting guardrails in place to better protect tipped workers.
Steven is a tireless advocate for keeping communities safe. When the Trump Administration announced it would resume nuclear weapons testing, Steven immediately demanded answers and introduced legislation to keep Nevadans safe by requiring congressional approval for any such projects. Steven has also delivered meaningful investments in public safety, including funding to improve training for local police departments.
While Steven Horsford fights to lower costs for families and keep communities safe, carpetbagging Cody Whipple is a clear threat to an affordable, safe Nevada. Whipple supports permanent tax cuts for multi-millionaires like himself, paid for by ripping health care away from more than 100,000 Nevadans. As if supporting a cost-hiking agenda weren’t bad enough, Whipple is also an elitist who has disparaged veterans and law enforcement. Even local Republicans are rejecting Whipple because they know he is just flat-out wrong for Southern Nevada.
A Rubberstamp Republican Who Wants To Jack Up Costs on Nevadans To Pay For Tax Cuts For Himself
Shockingly out-of-touch, Cody Whipple is embracing D.C. Republicans’ cost-hiking agenda at the same time Southern Nevada “sheds thousands of jobs” and people are struggling to make ends meet. Whipple is all-in on the Big, Ugly Law and its permanent tax cuts for multi-millionaires like himself that are funded by the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in history. Whipple’s cuts could kick more than 100,000 Nevadans off their health care, including over 28,000 people in the Fourth Congressional District. Meanwhile, four Nevada hospitals are at risk of closing – which could create a ripple effect hurts every Nevadan, regardless of their health insurance. And while tax cuts for billionaires and multi-millionaires like Whipple are permanent, the Big, Ugly Law’s tax relief for tipped workers – roughly 40% of whom nationwide depend on programs cut under the Big, Ugly Law – expires in two years, is capped at $25,000, and is littered with loopholes that leave working Nevadans behind.
As if gutting health care weren’t bad enough, the Whipple-backed Big, Ugly Law also takes a sledgehammer to Southern Nevada’s already struggling economy through a new tax on gambling losses. As Whipple cheers it on, the Big, Ugly Law could make people pay taxes on money they actually lost, which could force gamblers underground, put Nevada jobs at risk, and cost the state significant revenue. Rather than do what’s right for Nevada, Whipple is making clear he’d be just another rubberstamp Republican if elected.
Unlike Whipple, Steven Horsford is fighting to lower costs for families, strengthen and make No Tax on Tips permanent, and make it easier for Nevadans to get the health care they need. Horsford will always stand with the people who make Nevada work.
An Elitist Who Disparages The Workers Who Keep Nevadans Safe
Cody Whipple is an elitist who mocks the people working to keep communities safe. Whipple said in leaked audio that law enforcement officers and military veterans are “not smart people” and that they “dilute the talent pool” when running for office, specifically citing the Republican governor of Nevada. Whipple doubled down later in the tape and said that “cops are street savvy but not intellectual people” – raising questions about Whipple’s commitment to supporting law enforcement.
Unlike Cody Whipple, Steven Horsford has a proven track record of standing with law enforcement and working to keep communities safe. Southern Nevadans know and trust Steven to prioritize their public safety.
Even Local Republicans Don’t Want Summerlin Cowboy Cody Whipple
Carpetbagging Cody Whipple doesn’t even live in Nevada’s Fourth Congressional District. Whipple explicitly stated in December 2025 that he “sleep[s] in Las Vegas nightly,” referring to his residence in Summerlin, a Las Vegas suburb that fits squarely in Nevada’s Third District. Whipple changed his voter registration from Summerlin to his “weekend ranch” in Hiko just shortly before running for office. As the Nevada Independent writes, Whipple likely made this move for “political” reasons, since “tiny agrarian Hiko (about a two-hour drive north of Las Vegas) fits with Whipple’s image as a cowboy-hat-wearing rancher better than suburban Summerlin, and may play better with GOP primary voters.” Whipple’s political calculus has been blasted by the Las Vegas Sun’s editorial board, which writes that his “residency games” raise questions about “Whipple’s honesty and integrity.”
Whipple’s voter registration and residency outside NV-04 has drawn sharp rebuke from Nevada Republicans. The Nye County Republican Central Committee called on Whipple to end his congressional campaign, arguing that his candidacy “exposes the Republican Party to credible accusations of voter fraud” and that he is “a bad candidate who should drop out.” Nye County Republicans aren’t the only locals to reject Whipple. Multiple county parties, including the Lyon County Republican Central Committee, Esmeralda County Republican Party, and the Lincoln County Republican Party, endorsed his Republican primary opponent.
Meanwhile, Steven has deep roots in NV-04 and consistently delivers for Southern Nevada families. Steven has already helped thousands of Nevada families get help from federal agencies, closing cases on behalf of Southern Nevadans and returning millions back to taxpayers. Southern Nevadans know and trust Steven Horsford, and that’s why they’ll enthusiastically re-elect him to Congress this November.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
The Hill: Rep. Horsford introduces bill to eliminate taxes on tips [The Hill, 9/17/24]
Fox 5 Las Vegas: Las Vegas Culinary Union says it backs congressman’s TIP Improvement Act [Fox 5 Las Vegas, 2/18/26]
Las Vegas Sun: Horsford looks for an opening to address Clark County housing crisis [Las Vegas Sun, 5/19/25]
8 News Now: Horsford bill would redirect money from Argentina deal to healthcare [8 News Now, 11/18/25]
Nevada Current: Horsford slams bill that does zip on insurance costs but lets GOP senators sue the government [Nevada Current, 11/12/25]
8 News Now: Horsford takes up tax fight for gamblers, introducing FULL HOUSE Act [8 News Now, 1/12/26]
CNBC: Democrats seek to force refunds after Supreme Court blocks Trump tariffs [CNBC, 2/23/26]
NBC News: How Trump’s tax law boosts the wealthy and leaves behind some workers he promised to help [NBC News, 4/9/26]
LA Times: This Las Vegas Republican had high hopes for Trump. But a ‘Trump slump’ made life worse [LA Times, 10/19/25]
“In short, he’s living through the worst combination of inflation and economic malaise he’s experienced since he began waiting tables after finishing high school. Las Vegas lives on tourism, the industry irrigated by rivers of disposable income. The decline of both has resulted in a painful downturn that hurts all the more after the pent-up demand and go-go years following the crippling COVID-19 shutdown.”
Nevada Independent: Vegas tourism is down. Some blame Trump’s tariffs and immigration crackdown [Nevada Independent, 8/19/25]
Las Vegas Sun: Our choices for primary election season in Nevada [Las Vegas Sun, 5/29/26]
“[Whipple] and his family live in Summerlin, but he changed his voter registration and filed for his candidacy as a resident of Hiko, where his weekend ranch is located. While not illegal, these types of residency games make us question Whipple’s honesty and integrity.”
Nevada Independent: Home is where the heart is [Nevada Independent, 12/9/25]
“Cody Whipple… is registered to vote at an address in rural Hiko, which is in the district where he is running and where his family ranch is located. But public records show he lives in Summerlin in the 3rd District, represented by Rep Susie Lee’s (D-NV).”
360 News Las Vegas: NV-CD4 (R) Candidate Cody Whipple says “Cops Not Smart People” [360 News Las Vegas, 2/14/26]
“The video, which was provided to 360 News shows Whipple stating that former police officers and military veterans lack the intellectual background necessary for elected office and that they ‘dilute the talent pool”, he directly criticized Governor Joe Lombardo and Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald.”
PATH TO VICTORY
Voters in Southern Nevada know Steven Horsford’s track record fighting and delivering for working families. Whipple, meanwhile, is starting the general election as a complete unknown in an election year marked by a “Trump Slump” in Southern Nevada, souring attitudes towards Trump and Republicans, Democrats dominating on the generic ballot, and Democrats overperforming in congressional special elections by 17 points. As voters learn more about Whipple’s cost-spiking policies and district-shopping for a congressional seat, they’ll make sure he never gets a job in Congress. Republicans’ struggle with Latino voters in Nevada will also be a challenge for Whipple. Roughly one in four registered voters in NV-04 are Hispanic or Latino, a group that data shows is unhappy with Republicans’ cost-spiking agenda.
Multiple independent race raters list Nevada’s Fourth Congressional District as “Likely Democrat,” underscoring Steven Horsford’s strong support in Southern Nevada. With nearly 35,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans and a long history of electing Democrats up and down the ballot, NV-04 is primed to send proven fighter Steven Horsford back to Congress. |
