Get To Know Erica Neely
If you’re a parent, homeowner, small business owner, or just someone tired of being ignored by Carson City, you need to know who Erica Neely is and why her fight is really your fight.
Because Erica isn’t running for office to climb a ladder. She’s running because she got tired of being stepped on.
Erica didn’t grow up with privilege. She was born in South Central Los Angeles to immigrant parents from Mexico and El Salvador. Spanish was her first language – and the only language spoken in their home.
Reading English didn’t come until Erica was sixteen. Not because she wasn’t smart. Because the school system passed her along instead of teaching her.
She remembers sprinting home to dodge gunfire. Watching friends disappear into teen pregnancy, gangs, and hopelessness. Seeing what bad schools and broken policies actually do to kids.
That matters. Because politicians who’ve never lived it don’t fix it.
She Was a Democrat – Until Mugged by Reality
Like in a lot of Hispanic families, Erica voted Democrat because that’s what “everyone else”did. That’s what the media said “people like her” were supposed to do.
Then she moved to Las Vegas to escape the growing problems and prices in California. Bought a home. Worked hard. Played by the rules.
And lost everything. The Great Recession wiped her out.
And when the politicians rushed to bail out banks and corporations, Erica got a hard lesson: Nobody was coming to save her family. That was the moment the fog lifted.
She realized the same policies she’d fled in California were being imported to Nevada. So she re-registered as a Republican and hasn’t cast a Democrat ballot since.
Not because someone told her to change. Because experience taught her to.
Fighting for Sophia
Erica married her husband, Laurence. Together they have six kids. They became foster parents. Nine foster children came through their home. Newborns. Toddlers. Preteens.
One of them was Sophia – born in a motel bathroom toilet on April 1, 2018.
Her 19-year-old mother, struggling with addiction and prostitution, didn’t realize she was in labor. Paramedics found the newborn blue, freezing, and barely breathing on a dirty bathroom floor. The baby tested positive for three drugs.
Ten days later, Sophia came to the Neelys’ home as a foster child seeking adoption. For two years, Erica and Laurence raised her as their own. Then the system turned against them.
A judge declared Sophia “property of the state.” Distant, out-of-state relatives who’d said “no” to taking her in four times suddenly wanted her. The court ordered Sophia removed from the Neely household.
But on Mother’s Day weekend, the relatives miraculously and unexpectedly withdrew. The court reversed its decision. Sophia stayed. Today she’s adopted, thriving, and home.
Navigating the adoption system was a nightmare – which fortunately had a happy ending. But that painful experience lives deep in Erica’s heart and drives her to fight for others.
From Soccer Mom to Mama Bear
With Sophia permanently adopted, Erica moved on. She coached youth soccer. Ran a tutoring business. Juggled work, kids, and bills like every other real family in District 9.
And then the public school system failed her.
Her bilingual child was labeled “behind.” Not because she was struggling. But because the system couldn’t handle a kid who didn’t fit neatly into its box.
Then came the bullying. Five kids cornered her daughter. Pushed her. Punched her in the face. Bloodied her nose.
And the school? No report. No calls. No accountability. That’s when something snapped. Not anger. Resolve.
Erica would come home and vent to her husband. About violence. About chaos. About parents being shut out. One night, Laurence stopped her. “Why are you yelling at me?”
That question changed everything. Because Erica realized something many people never do. Complaining doesn’t protect your child. Action does.
So she decided to pull her kids out of the Clark County school district and homeschool them.
But when the Legislature tried to force homeschool families to adopt the same failing curriculum Erica had escaped, she took action again.
David vs. Goliath – And Goliath Felt It
Erica ran for school board in 2022. Not as a politician. As a mom.
She spoke plainly about discipline. About reading. About safety. About kids falling through cracks while adults protected systems instead of students.
She lost that race. But she didn’t quit.
She watched Carson City Democrats kill school choice in 2023. Defund scholarships for low-income families. Side with unions over parents. And that’s when she had to make a decision: Fight – or leave Nevada.
She chose to fight.
In 2024, Erica Neely took on one of the most powerful Democrats in Nevada politics. The Speaker of the Assembly.
No machine. No million-dollar war chest. No insiders clearing the field. Just volunteers. Moms. Dads. Nonpartisan voters. People who recognized her as one of their own.
And she came within 2% of beating him.
Read that again. Twenty-to-one fundraising disadvantage. And she nearly knocked off the Speaker.
That doesn’t happen unless voters are hungry for change. Real change. So real, in fact, that the Speaker decided not to seek re-election rather than face her again in 2026.
What Erica Neely Means for YOU
Electing Erica Neely isn’t about left vs. right. It’s about right vs. wrong.
It’s about whether Carson City finally starts listening to parents instead of lecturing them.
It’s about safer schools, because she’s walked into principals’ offices and demanded answers.
It’s about accountability, because she’s lived through government failure and refuses to excuse it.
It’s about opportunity, because she knows firsthand what happens when systems trap families instead of lifting them.
And it’s about trust. You don’t have to wonder where Erica stands. She’s already stood where you are.
There’s a saying about mama bears. They may look calm. Polite. Ordinary. Until you threaten their cubs. Then all bets are off.
Erica Neely isn’t running to play politics. She’s running to protect kids who don’t have lobbyists. Parents who don’t have time for games. Families who don’t have inside connections.
She nearly shocked Nevada once. This time, the seat is open. And the only question left is whether voters are ready to send one of their own to Carson City.
Vision & Mission
Vision Statement: Empowering Las Vegas District 9 for a Thriving Future
Mission: To foster a vibrant and inclusive community where small businesses flourish, education is a cornerstone of opportunity, and every voice is heard and valued. Striving to make a positive impact on the future of Nevada. For the journey towards a better tomorrow, a better Nevada today.
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