Ben Kieckhefer (born 1977) is an American politician who has served as the chief of staff to Nevada governor

Joe Lombardo Joseph Michael Lombardo (born November 8, 1962) is an American politician and law enforcement officer serving as the 31st governor of Nevada since January 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 17th sheriff of Clark County from 2015 ...

since 2023. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, Kieckhefer previously served as a member of the

Nevada Gaming Commission The Nevada Gaming Commission is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of casinos throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. In 1959, the Nevada Gaming Commission ("Commission") was created by the pass ...

from 2021 to 2023 and as a member of the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the previ ...

from the 16th district from 2010 to 2021. Born and raised in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Kieckhefer holds degrees from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

and the

University of Illinois Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois ...

. After college, he worked as a journalist covering the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislature in ...

for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

and the

Reno Gazette-Journal The ''Reno Gazette Journal'' is the main daily newspaper for Reno, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Gannett Company. It came into being when the ''Nevada State Journal'' (founded on November 23, 1870) and the ''Reno Evening Gazette'' (fou ...

. He served as communications director for Nevada governor Jim Gibbons and as the public information officer for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. He was also director of client relations for McDonald Carano, a

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

-based law firm. In 2010, Kieckhefer was elected to the Nevada Senate. During his time in the state senate, Kieckhefer served as assistant Republican leader from 2013 to 2018. He resigned in 2021 after

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 ...

appointed him to the Nevada Gaming Commission. After Lombardo defeated Sisolak in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, Kieckhefer was named as Lombardo's chief of staff. He resigned from the Nevada Gaming Commission to accept the appointment and was succeeded by former lieutenant governor

Brian Krolicki Brian K. Krolicki (born December 31, 1960) is an American businessman and politician. He was the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, from 2007 to 2015. As the Lieutenant Governor, he presided over the Nevada State Senate, chaired the Commission o ...

. Kieckhefer lives in

with his wife and four children.

References

1977 births Republican Party Nevada state senators Living people Politicians from Reno, Nevada Politicians from Springfield, Illinois DePaul University alumni 21st-century American politicians {{Nevada-politician-stub