Gabrielle DAyr

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Gabrielle D'Ayr

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 9, 2020

Education

Associate

College of San Mateo, 2003

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

1995 - 2000

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Gabrielle D'Ayr (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Nevada's 4th Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 9, 2020.

D'Ayr completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Gabrielle D'Ayr was born in Taipei, Taiwan. D'Ayr served in the United States Navy from 1995 to 2000. She earned an associate degree in English from San Mateo Community College in 2003. D'Ayr's career experience includes working in business administration, with certifications in project and program management and with a certification in risk management.

D'Ayr's organizational affiliations include:

• Be A Hero, activist
• Center for Popular Democracy, activist
• Clark County Democratic Party, 1st Vice Chair
• Democratic Socialist of America, member
• Endangered Species Coalition, advocate
• HRC, advocate
• League of Women Voters Southern Nevada, member
• March for Our Lives, advocate
• Moms Demand Action, advocate
• Moms Demand Clean Air, advocate
• NARAL, advocate
• Nevada Chapter of National Federation of Democratic Women, Vice President
• Nevada Now, advocate
• Our Revolution Nevada, member/former Board Secretary
• Planned Parenthood, advocate
• Progressive Democrats of America|WolfPAC Nevada, member/former Legislative Director
• Vet Voice Foundation, advocate

Elections

2020

See also: Nevada's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Nevada's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)

Nevada's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Nevada District 4

Incumbent Steven Horsford defeated Jim Marchant, Jonathan Royce Esteban, and Barry Rubinson in the general election for U.S. House Nevada District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Horsford (D)	50.7	168,457
		Jim Marchant (R)	45.8	152,284
		Jonathan Royce Esteban (L)	2.4	7,978
		Barry Rubinson (Independent American Party)	1.1	3,750

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 332,469
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Nevada District 4

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Nevada District 4 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Horsford	75.1	39,656
		Jennifer Eason	9.4	4,968
		Gabrielle D'Ayr	7.3	3,847
		Gregory Kempton	2.9	1,507
		Chris Colley	2.7	1,431
		George Brucato	2.7	1,424

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,833
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Nevada District 4

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Nevada District 4 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Marchant	34.7	15,760
		Sam Peters	28.1	12,755
		Lisa Song Sutton	15.1	6,846
		Charles Navarro	6.3	2,870
		Rebecca Wood	6.3	2,847
		Leo Blundo	4.2	1,923
		Rosalie Bingham	2.9	1,331
		Randi Reed	2.3	1,023

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,355
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Catherine Prato (R)
• Leo Dunson (R)

2018

See also: Nevada State Assembly elections, 2018

General election

General election for Nevada State Assembly District 12

Susan Martinez defeated Richard Fletcher and Mary Elizabeth Martinez in the general election for Nevada State Assembly District 12 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susan Martinez (D)	53.8	12,708
	Submit photo	Richard Fletcher (R)	43.1	10,172
	Submit photo	Mary Elizabeth Martinez (Independent American Party)	3.1	736

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,616
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Nevada State Assembly District 12

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Nevada State Assembly District 12 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susan Martinez	46.1	1,695
		Anat Levy	25.1	923
		Cinthia Moore	11.0	403
	Submit photo	Brandon Casutt	6.2	229
		Gabrielle D'Ayr	5.5	204
	Submit photo	Gregory York	4.4	162
		Walter Seip II	1.7	64

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 3,680
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Nevada State Assembly District 12

Richard Fletcher advanced from the Republican primary for Nevada State Assembly District 12 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Richard Fletcher

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Gabrielle D'Ayr completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by D'Ayr's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have simple values: truth, justice, integrity, honor. I am a woman, I am a U.S. Navy veteran like my father before me. I am an advocate, an activist and a citizen lobbyist. I currently serve as 1st Vice Chair for the Clark County Democratic Party and Vice President of the Nevada Federation of Democratic Women. I am a member of Veterans For Peace, Progressive Democrats of America, and Democratic Socialists of America, and consider myself a Populist.

I was born in Taiwan and moved 5 weeks later to Guam. Then Hawaii, then Wenatchee, then Maryland then England, all before I was 3; it gave me a broad perspective early on. My elder sister was hard of hearing with a greater than 50% loss in both ears. That was challenging for my parents, and I went to her schools in order to tutor her at home. My family life taught me the value of having a supportive family, getting a good education, resilience, tolerance, and putting the needs of others before your own.

My background is in business administration. I'm a certified program and project manager, and from 2015-2017 was the Program Manager for the Antimicrobial Resistance Program. During my career I gained a broad skill set: strategy, planning, problem solving and stakeholder engagement, which will help me in serving my constituents.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• My first responsibility is to my constituents, to represent their voices in Congress and legislate in their best interests.
• I understand the uniqueness of NV04 and will serve the rural counties and urban county equally.
• • Universal healthcare and Environmental justice are critical concerns to you. Education and Economic development are critical concerns to you. Criminal Justice and Immigration reform are critical concerns to you. I hear you and I will support the legislation that will deliver the results you are looking for

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

-Healthcare Reform

-Electoral Reform [money in politics]
-Education
-Criminal Justice Reform
-Immigration Reform
-Human Rights

-Economic Injustice

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My early influences were Hobbes (Leviathan) Locke (Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Two Treatises of Government) & Rousseau (The Social Contract) but I couldn't commit to any of them entirely. In each of their works I found some the that just didn't quite work for me. I would characterize my political philosophy as Idealistic pragmatism, which is not the practical idealism of Gandhi but more akin to what Secretary Rice spoke to in regards to foreign policy. We should, every day, attempt to reach the ideal in whatever we do, accept that may only get close, and try again the next day, to reach that ideal.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, open-mindedness, compassion and responsiveness. A representative is entrusted to speak for the people, to use the knowledge of people's concerns and priorities to make decisions about what laws to pass, to understand that their personal agenda must take a backseat, to do the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people they serve, objectively and impartially.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have always had a really strong work ethic and that coupled with my unyielding belief that a Representative's job is to serve her constituents means I will dedicate myself entirely to this purpose. Over the course of my professional career I have developed a number of different and complementary skills that will help, including problem solving, networking, influencing, taking the lead in the absence of leadership, stepping back to take a supporting role when needed. As a program manager, I understand how essential stakeholder engagement is and know how to communicate to multiple stakeholder groups. At the end of the day, it's about getting things done for the people.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Actually representing the people they serve. Proposing, supporting and voting for legislation that constituents call for. Communicating openly and transparently with constituents about matters under discussion

What legacy would you like to leave?

First and foremost, that the people in District 4 felt that they had been well represented and their individual lives improved. With respect to specific legislation, I want to be part of a Congress that sees universal healthcare passed, that sees reparations passed, that sees a 28th amendment to the Constitution that gets money out of politics and the ERA finally ratified, that sees immigration reform and DACA recipients that no longer fear deportation. I want to be part of a Congress that ensures the United States of America never, ever again puts children ~ any children ~ in cages.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My mother was a childcare giver and at 13 I started cleaning houses for the families of those children. I did that until I was 15. It allowed me to help provide for our foster sister.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My mother taught me to read very early and I was a voracious reader. For as long as I can remember, I have had two favorite books: Pride & Prejudice and a Tale of Two Cities. The former because I identified so strongly with Elizabeth Bennet, her strength, her will, her determination, her unwillingness to accept the role ascribed to her. The latter for it's final line: 'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.'

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

That's really hard. There's lot of comic book heroes that I somewhat identify with but I don't think there's any one character that I would want to be instead of who I am. Perhaps Claire Fraser because Jaime Fraser is exactly what I would want in a husband. (Outlander). Or perhaps I should create my own fictional character that is essentially me with wish granting powers?

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Lavender's Blue

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Reconciling internal conflict around the sometimes opposite parts of my personality. Externally, coming to terms with not being able to reach the ideal. Also
coming to terms with judgments people sometimes make about me. I am a tall, smart women with opinions, which has not always been appreciated by others.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The House of Representatives was designed to represent the voice of every American and therefore, in contrast to the Senate represents a greater diversity of thought and opinion and an unique opportunity to explore different avenues by which we may reach consensus. In collaboration with the Senate, the House provides a vital part of our system of checks and balances to ensure the Federal Government does not devolve into an authoritarian regime. In theory, the length of the terms ensures that fresh thoughts and new perspectives are entertained to mitigate against the stagnation of laws and policy that no longer fit the needs of the people in an every-changing world.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. Not really. Not when "Politicians" have become their own class and not when there is no correlation between legislation and the will of the people. I think it is far more important to be honest, have integrity, be able to think critically and be willing to speak up and speak out. Our founding fathers intended that any citizen meeting the [very few] requirements stated in the Constitution should be able to run for Congress. They very specifically did not include any requirements around education or previous government or political experience. The people are charged with electing the person they believe will best represent them. In a farming state, that could well mean a farmer. Someone who intimately understands the needs of the community and can speak to how proposed legislation could affect the people of that state.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Without doubt, we need electoral reform we need to end the corruption and corrosive practices in Government. I refer to money in politics as a gateway issue. This is because despite the many issues that face us today (the environment, healthcare, immigration, criminal justice reform), none of them attack the very core of who we are as a country. The system is broken, and as such is a barrier to implementing solutions to the myriad other problems we do face. The system is broken, but it within our means to repair. We must elect representatives who are committed to making this a political priority. I know it is a priority for the people in NV04.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Yes, I believe serving on these committees and subcommittees will be in the best interest of my constituents based on the concerns and priorities I've been hearing from them.

-Committee on Natural Resources
-Committee on Veterans Affairs
-Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing & Urban Development
-Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
-Small Business Subcommittee on Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade & Entrepreneurship

-Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

No, not with the way we do things currently. Money is such factor in politics that it very much inhibits the amount of time legislators can actually spend on legislating. Additionally the current culture does not really allow freshman legislators to accomplish very much. The environment is very much one of "sit down and wait your turn". I believe that 3 years would better allow representatives to serve their constituents. Having said that, my opinion does not hold greater weight than those of this district.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Again, in the current climate, I support them. A democratic colleague once responded to my comment on this that we have term limits, they're called elections! The problem is money in politics. While this system persists, there really isn't any way to have "free and fair elections". Candidate viability is judged in terms of dollars, why? Candidates should be judged on issues and their character. Candidates are asking people to trust them, to trust that they will fairly and accurately represent the thoughts and concerns of the entire district and consider these when drafting, supporting and voting for legislation. Campaigns should not be about who the best salesperson is.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution. We have to get money out of politics and institute campaign finance reform. Money in politics is a gateway issue that prevents Congress from doing the people's business. I would also be interested in serving in leadership on both the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

There are many progressives Representatives that I admire currently, the person I would most want to model myself after is Congressman John Lewis. An amazing man, an amazing civil rights leader, he went through so much and overcame some much. Truly, he is an inspiration. He was known as the "Conscience of the U.S. Congress", I would like to be its compass.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Yes, there are many and they are heartbreaking, but they are not my stories to tell. The stories I hear are about loss and insufficiency, and I can't understand why this is so, why nothing has been done to resolve these issues because they are not out of our reach to fix. We are the United States of America and if we put our mind to it, there is nothing we can't do, but we must start our people. We must educate, enable and empower them. As representatives, we must own their problems and find solutions. We have to put the American Dream back on the table.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Footnotes

[show]

Nevada's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Catherine Masto (D)

Jacky Rosen (D)

Representatives

District 1

Dina Titus (D)

District 2

Mark Amodei (R)

District 3

Susie Lee (D)

District 4

Steven Horsford (D)

Democratic Party (5)

Republican Party (1)