Richard McArthur (born 1943) is a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly. First elected in 2008, he was defeated in his 2012 primary bid for 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 ...

, but he regained his Assembly seat in 2016. McArthur represents the 4th district, which covers parts of the northwestern

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Stat ...

Biography

McArthur was born in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...

, in 1943, growing up in

Fair Oaks, California Fair Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento, California, Sacramento–Arden-Arcade, California, Arden-Arcade–Roseville, Calif ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in economics from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, and served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

as a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

captain from 1966 until 1972. McArthur worked as a

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

special agent, and now is retired. McArthur was first elected in 2008, defeating Craig Ballew and two other candidates. Deciding to run for the state Senate rather than reelection to the Assembly in 2012, he faced fellow Assemblyman Scott Hammond in the Republican primary. Hammond, who was seen as more moderate than McArthur, won the primary by nearly 14 points and went on to win the general election. McArthur sought reelection to his old seat in 2016; it had been vacated by

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 ...

, who unsuccessfully ran for 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 ...

. He won a three-way Republican primary and narrowly won the general election.

Personal life

McArthur and his wife, Trish, have 2 children: Kimberly and Michele, and five grandchildren.

Political positions

McArthur supports the right to keep and bear arms. He advocates for deportation of

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

residing in the state of Nevada. McArthur opposes legalization of recreational marijuana, expressing his opposition to

Nevada Question 2 (2016) Cannabis in Nevada became legal for Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, recreational use on January 1, 2017, following the passage of Question 2 on the 2016 United States elections, 2016 ballot. The first licensed sales o ...

, which legalized recreational marijuana in the state. He was rated the most conservative member of the Assembly by the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...

in 2011.

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Campaign website

Legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McArthur, Richard 1943 births Living people Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Republican Party members of the Nevada Assembly People from Fair Oaks, California People from Lake Forest, Illinois Politicians from Las Vegas University of California, Davis alumni 21st-century American politicians