Andrew Thomas Matthews (born 1978) is an American politician serving as the 23rd Controller of Nevada since 2023. A member of the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Party, he previously served as a member of the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...

representing Nevada's 37th district.

Education and career

A graduate of

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, Matthews briefly worked as a sports writer before entering politics in 2005 as a campaign worker in New Jersey. Matthews has worked for the conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute since 2007, starting as the communications director and ultimately becoming president. He was elected to the Nevada Assembly in 2020 after defeating incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Shea Backus Shea Backus (born 1975) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the Nevada Assembly from the 37th district. Early life Backus was born in 1975 in Las Vegas, Nevada, a third generation Nevadan. After graduating from Ed W. Cl ...

, thus flipping the seat from Democratic to Republican. He previously ran for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in Nevada, but came in fourth in the 2016 Republican primary, finishing behind the winner

Danny Tarkanian Daniel George John Tarkanian (born December 18, 1961) is an American attorney, businessman and perennial candidate for elective office. A Republican, he has mounted unsuccessful campaigns for the Nevada Senate (2004), Nevada Secretary of State (2 ...

, as well as second place finisher

Michael Roberson Michael Craig Roberson is an American attorney and politician who served in the Nevada Senate from 2010 until 2018, representing the Nevada's 20th Senate district, 20th district. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Roberson was Senate ...

, and third place finisher

Michele Fiore Michele Ann Fiore (born July 29, 1970) is an American Republican politician serving as a justice of the peace for Nye County since being appointed to the position by the Nye County Commission in December 2022. She moved to Nye County in November ...

. He was then hired as executive director of a conservative PAC tied to former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. In 2018, Matthews worked for Adam Laxalt's campaign for Governor of Nevada, but Laxalt was defeated by Democrat

Steve Sisolak Stephen F. Sisolak (born December 26, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 30th governor of Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Clark County Commission from 2009 to 2019 and on t ...

, and Matthews then successfully ran for the

in the 2020 election. In 2022, Matthews chose not to run for reelection to the Assembly and instead entered the race for

Nevada State Controller The Nevada State Controller is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. Twenty-two individuals have held the office of State Controller since statehood. The incumbent is Andy Matthews, a Republica ...

. He was unopposed in the Republican primary, and faced Democrat

Ellen Spiegel Ellen Beth Barre Spiegel (born in 1962 in New York City, New York) is a businesswoman and American politician who was a Democratic member of the Nevada Assembly, first elected November 4, 2008, representing District 21 in Henderson for two years ...

in the November general election. Matthews won the election with 50.06% of the vote.

References

1978 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Nevada Assembly State Controllers of Nevada {{Nevada-politician-stub