The world has changed since billionaire investor Greg Kidd first ran for Congress in Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District two years ago.

The U.S. is involved in a war with Iran, with fewer allies. At home, Gallop polling shows increased anxiety about healthcare, housing, inflation and foreign wars.

"So there's a sense of real fear out there that the country is on a terrible course," Kidd said recently on Nevada Newsmakers. "And this fear is not just in one party, it's across parties, it's the non-partisans. Things are way off course."

The state of the nation and world give the 2026 election a much more serious tone, Kidd said, as he again is running to win Nevada's 2nd congressional district seat.

"Well, look, everybody knows there's an affordability squeeze, but everybody
is also feeling this sense of -- wow -- 2026 is nothing like 2024," he told host Sam Shad.

There are other differences from the 2024 election for Kidd. He's now running as a Democrat, after running as a non-partisan two years ago.

His opponent from two years ago, U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, is also gone, recently opting for retirement after 15 years on Capitol Hill.

Amodei's retirement has also caused a political scramble, as 27 candidates have registered to run for his congressional seat.

"So on top of this being an open seat, there's a real sense that the country is at the crossroads," Kidd said.

"And people always say every election's important, but I don't think you have to look too far to see that this is really at a different order of magnitude," Kidd added.

Kidd sees a current decline of America's standing in the world.

"There's a seismic shift in the country, and we're now living in a world of America alone. America without," he said, adding the economy is heading "in the wrong direction."

"Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, everybody's going to be talking about how Nevada is losing out with all things that we really relied upon -- access to health care, issues like affordable prices ...for housing, gas. All those things are going in the wrong direction."

He alluded to President Trump without naming him.

"There were promises made and promises broken," Kidd said.

Deep pockets

Kidd will face six other candidates in the June 9 Democratic primary. The winner earns the Democrats' nomination and a shot at the Republican primary winner in the November general election.

Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District was created after the 1980 census. Republicans have won every CD-2 election since, a string of 44 years.

Kidd spent about $9 million on his campaign in 2024, according to FEC filings. Most of it was his own money.

This campaign, he said he plans "to spend what it takes to have a competitive campaign. And this time I'm running as a Democrat as opposed to nonpartisan. And so we'll just see what the math looks like."

If he wins the Democratic nomination, he'll have access to Democratic volunteers and organization -- political tools not at his disposal in 2024.

He's learned lessons from that 2024 experience, which netted him 36 percent of the vote. Already, he's made a $3,500 donation to the Washoe County Democratic Party.

"That was my introduction to Nevada, my first time running," Kidd said of the 2024 race. "This time around, we'll spend what it takes to be competitive."

On Settelmeyer, Benitez-Thompson

In the Democratic primary, former three-time Assembly Majority Leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson of Reno will probably be Kidd's most formidable opponent.

If he gets by Benitez-Thompson, he will most likely face James Settelmeyer of Douglas County in November. Settelmeyer, the former State Senate Minority Leader, has already received the endorsements of Amodei and Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Settelmeyer -- a fourth-generation Nevadan who runs a working ranch in Gardnerville, -- resigned last month as director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to run for Congress.

Kidd, however, sees Amodei's endorsement having positive and negative impacts for Settelmeyer.

"I think he's got a challenge," Kidd said of Settelmeyer. "He's going to have Mark (Amodei) helping him. But Mark was a go-along-to-get-along kind of guy. And everybody's got to look and see where has that gotten the state and the district, especially in this political environment we're in now.

"In November, we're going to be voting on whether go-along-to-get-along works for Nevada. It hasn't really worked in the last two years," Kidd said.

"We've got to ask ourselves, is that going to work going forward? And James (Settelmeyer) is going to have that inheritance. It's an advantage, but it's also a disadvantage," Kidd said.

"And all voters -- Democrats, non-partisans and Republicans -- are going to have to decide: Do you want to stay the course or try something different, given what the results have been in the last two years?" Kidd asked.

Not a take-a-shot guy

Kidd also vowed to run a clean campaign, saying he is not one to take shots at his opponents.

"I'm not a take-a-shot kind of guy," Kidd said. "I pretty much work with everybody. I'm not from the system. I'm not an insider. I've worked with Democrats and Republicans and nonpartisan all my life and will continue to do so. So taking a shot is not my style.

"You can win in sports or you can win in business without having to take shots at people," Kidd said. "You just have to do your job and do it well."

Kidd did not comment on Benitez-Thompson much, only saying, "I think her candidacy is great. I think, actually, all the candidates have their hearts in the right place.

Kidd, who lives in the Crystal Bay area of Lake Tahoe, also recognized Benitez-Thompson's lifelong residency in Nevada. Kidd, meanwhile, is a transplant.

Benitez-Thompson was Miss Nevada in 2002 and was third runner-up (4th place finish) in the 2003 Miss America pageant. She has a graduate degree in social work from the University of Michigan, paid for by her Miss Nevada/Miss America scholarships.

"There's about 70 percent of us that live in Nevada came here for love, we loved it (Nevada), but we had to come here," Kidd said. "We weren't lucky enough to be born here. And so I can't pretend that I was born here.

"We weren't on the Mayflower," he joked, "So we're going to have to make up for it by basically loving Nevada."

Instant influence in Congress

Settelmeyer said recently on Nevada Newsmakers that he would be willing -- if elected -- to remain in Congress for a decade, in order to move up the congressional pecking order to strengthen Nevada's influence in the U.S. House.

Amodei, in his years in Congress, became a member of the influential Appropriations Committee. He was also awarded the chairmanship of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, which holds influence for federal funding for immigration and national security.

Kidd also said he would be willing to serve a long time. However, he quickly pivoted to his idea that he could be influential in Congress from the get-go.

Kidd said he has experience lobbying members of Congress for the Federal Reserve. He worked as a senior analyst in the payments division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2002 to 2004, according to various reports.

"I would say that to actually have an impact, you could do the seniority approach. But other folks, in other ways, can have an impact right away," Kidd said.

"You don't have to do the committee chairmanship role to have an impact... (You can have an impact) just by working with the other folks that are already there, as I've done, even when I'm not in office.

"I mean, I come from the Fed (Federal Reserve) and so we're working behind the scenes all the time to find bipartisan agreement between Democrats and Republicans, working with the folks that are already senior (members).

"And there you become a subject-matter expert and advocate, whether that's something like the Postal Banking Act to bring financial services to rural Nevada or something like I did for the payments industry to basically help get checks eliminated in the country," Kidd said. "And that was Republican and Democratic behind-the-scenes work with Congress to get that through."

The Happy Warrior

The term "The Happy Warrior" has been used for some famous Democrats in the past century. Former New York Gov. Al Smith, who lost the 1928 presidential campaign by a landslide, was given the nickname by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1924 for his tenacious, cheerful fighting style in politics.

Later, Hubert Humphrey, a longtime U.S. senator from Minnesota and vice president from 1965 to 1969, was also given the "Happy Warrior" nickname for his cheerfulness and strident support of progressive causes.

Is Kidd a happy warrior? He acknowledged he might be able to do more behind the scenes, politically, with his wealth than he would running for office.

But he's having so much fun running for Congress.

"OK, I haven't kissed any babies yet but actually, I'm having the time of my life," Kidd said.

"I have to say, I really enjoy the people part of this job," he added. "I have worked behind the scenes before, but I'm kind of a up-front guy too, and I like meeting the people and being direct -- and not an indirect agent of their will. And I fell in love with Nevada.

"Remember my campaign last time?" Kidd said, referring to 2024. "(My campaign slogan was) 'Free, fair and wild.' This (Nevada) is kind of like the New Hampshire of the West Coast. There it's, 'Live Free or Die,'