Midterm Election Defeat
Republican Marty O'Donnell has lost his bid for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District at the U.S. midterm elections despite a last-minute endorsement from Donald Trump, putting his political future in doubt.
O'Donnell is best-known to gamers as the composer of the original Halo games and Destiny at Bungie, but following his retirement from video games, he launched a career in politics and a bid for Congress. This year, O'Donnell launched a campaign to unseat Nevada's 3rd Congressional District Democrat incumbent Susie Lee with Trump's support.
Unfortunately for O'Donnell, he lost the vote 38.6% to Lee’s 59.1%, with 146,863 voting for Lee and 95,845 voting for O'Donnell. The result followed a tweet endorsement from Trump, in which the former president called O’Donnell an America First patriot.
Here’s Trump’s tweet in full:
Marty is running against Susie Lee, a true Radical Left Extremist who does not represent the Values of Southern Nevada. Susie Lee wants Open Borders, Men playing in Women’s Sports, Transgender for Everyone, Defund the Police, and she wants to take away your Second Amendment, meaning, your guns. She voted AGAINST the Biggest Tax Cut in History, and fought ferociously to knock out Rural Healthcare, a big factor in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.
In contrast, Marty O’Donnell is a World Class Composer and Entrepreneur who knows the America First Policies required to Create GREAT Jobs, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote NO TAX ON TIPS, Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, and Champion our Nation’s Golden Age. As your next Congressman, Marty will fight tirelessly to Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Strengthen our Brave Military/Veterans, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.
Marty O'Donnell has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. GET OUT AND VOTE FOR MARTY — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!
Social Media Reaction
Following the win, Lee tagged O'Donnell in a post declaring: Enjoy your retirement. The message included a video of Halo fans singing the iconic monk chant from the game alongside a previous 2024 post from O'Donnell where he stated he never wanted to be a politician.
Enjoy your retirement @MartyTheElder https://t.co/vH8KwKWrdl— Susie Lee (@SusieLeeNV) November 4, 2026
O’Donnell responded to the post by stating that his opponent lacked class.
Alongside a broader rejection of Republican policies in the midterms, local factors such as declining Canadian tourism significantly impacted O'Donnell's district.
Musical Background at Bungie
Collaborating with Michael Salvatori, O'Donnell composed the score for numerous Bungie games, from 1997's Myth to the classic sounds of Halo: Combat Evolved, concluding his tenure with his work on 2014's Destiny.
O'Donnell was fired from Bungie in 2014, leading to a legal dispute over withheld pay. Bungie later initiated a separate legal dispute with O'Donnell in 2021 after the composer shared unreleased Destiny music online.
In subsequent years, O'Donnell established the game development studio Highwire Games, which worked on the VR title Golem in 2019 and the shooter Six Days in Fallujah.
Following his second defeat in Nevada in two years, O'Donnell's political future remains uncertain.
Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.
