With few to no debates and only scattered advertisements and social media posts amid the coronavirus pandemic, it can be difficult to distill what candidates stand for and what they’d like to do if they win the office. 

That’s why The Nevada Independent is taking a closer look at candidates in a few major races, sitting down for a one-on-one conversation and breaking down where they stand on a few of the most pressing issues of the 2020 election. 

Today: An interview with Nye County Commissioner and Republican candidate for Congressional District 4 Leo Blundo. 

Blundo, 35, was first elected to the Nye County Commission in 2018 and was among the first Republican candidates to throw his hat into the race for District 4 in 2019.

Still, Blundo has since lagged behind the leading contenders in the fundraising race. Though he has outraised two candidates, he trails five others. At the close of the first quarter fundraising period, Blundo reported just over $8,300 in cash on hand, or less than half of the next closest contender. 

---

WHY RUN FOR CONGRESS?

Saying he would be a congressman that wouldn’t “play politics,” Blundo said he had a passion to serve his community.

“I want to have an impact where we're going to leave not just my county or Nevada, we're going to leave America in a better position in better shape than when we inherited it in public office.”

Blundo said that he had a particular interest in pursuing “national CCW reciprocity,” or a policy under which all states would honor concealed carry permits, as well as immigration, health care, infrastructure and the creation of a “Yucca Mountain Dividend” not dissimilar to the Alaska Pipeline Trust, that would allow the stalled nuclear storage project to move forward. 

CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE AND RECOVERY

Referring first to the impact of the virus on small businesses, Blundo lamented the fact that the federal government did not seek to inject financial support into such businesses before the pandemic hit. 

“It's been unprecedented how we've neglected that segment of the market and we've never given them the opportunity to excel, to be able to expand, to be able to do something with their business,” Blundo said. “It took the coronavirus to, and President Trump for that matter, to move to these unprecedented phenomenal levels of investment in America's backbone.”

Blundo was critical of added “pork” — or spending he viewed as unnecessary — to coronavirus relief packages, saying specifically that Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi was “sneaking in” funds for Planned Parenthood as part of coronavirus relief legislation. 

On the issue of the continued expansion of federal unemployment funds, Blundo said it was “a form of socialism” and that it was time to “shut that off.”

“It was a temporary measure,” he said. “Everyone was stepping up to the plate and the federal government did step up to the plate. However, we're all going back to work. Casinos are going to reopen, restaurants are going to reopen, gyms are going to reopen.”

HEALTH CARE

Blundo said he would like to see a health care system that protects coverage for pre-existing conditions, but also supported the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and criticized the Medicare-for-All systems proposed by some Democrats. 

“You have insurance, you pay the copay, yet you always get an extra bill,” Blundo said. “I mean, things like that just need to stop. And I think it hurts Nevadans more than anything, because it's a very messy system. At the end of the day, it's about patient care, and they should always be getting the number one treatment, you should be in control of your own health care.”

IMMIGRATION

Blundo, whose mother was a legal immigrant who had to leave the U.S. for a time after her visa expired, said he could sympathize with the plight of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children. 

“America was built on the bedrock of immigration,” he said. “People come here for the American dream for a better life. However, over the decades, we've lost sight. We have a terrible immigration process.”

Blundo said that Congress has failed recipients of the DACA program, and that it was “frustrating and disheartening” that there has been no rectification for those “who had no choice” to immigrate but who continue to live in the U.S. and pay taxes. 

But he also said that the first solution must be securing the border with Mexico and building the president’s border wall, and that any adjustments to the legal immigration system outside the action already taken by the Trump Administration would be “putting the cart before the horse.”

 “Just like when you have a credit card when you spend money, ‘Hey, you know what, now I got to start making payments back? Well, I got to tighten it up, or else,’” Blundo said. 

BIPARTISAN COMPROMISE

Blundo said that “all these issues” maintained the potential for bipartisan compromise, but referred specifically to the issues of Yucca Mountain and immigration as well as the state's "bread and butter" issues of mining, tourism and gaming.

“Those are bipartisan as it gets,” he said.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Blundo said he disagreed little with the policies of the Trump White House and that his “heart goes out to the president” amid political attacks from his opponents. 

“I think he's doing everything in the best interest of the American people,” Blundo said. “It doesn't always come out clean and polished — there's always a complaint about his Twitter account. However, I hope people see he's doing everything he can to benefit the American people.”

Blundo also said he did not believe Congress “needs to compel anyone” to release tax returns, including Trump, who has been the subject of congressional scrutiny over his taxes ever since he refused to release them during his 2016 campaign. 

“In the old days, somebody did that, and it started there was and now it's become a political football again,” he said. “It's, if anything, an attempt to undermine the president, which is undermining the American people at this point.”

For more on the 2020 primary elections, including maps, fundraising roundups, race breakdowns and more, visit our 2020 Elections page.