Substack Entry by Former Campaign Operative Targeting One of Greg Kidd's Strategies Makes Waves in Local Democratic Circles

A recent Substack post making waves in local Democratic circles was titled "Why I Resigned" by Merleyn Bell, previously working for the Teresa Benitez-Thompson CD2 northern Nevada congressional campaign, and driven to the exits by another favorite in that race’s Democratic primary the massively self-funded Greg Kidd "running ads driving Nevadans to a donation page hosted on the Nevada State Democratic Party’s own ActBlue account."

Her Substack called The Reluctant Revolutionary explains that on that page "the party’s page, Kidd appears in his own voice, identifying himself as a candidate for CD2, asking for contributions, and pledging that his campaign will match donations up to $100,000."

Bell previously served as an elected Democrat from 2018 to 2022 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives before moving to Nevada. Her Instagram now describes herself as a "candidate coach teaching the next generation of leaders how to successfully run for office."

"NVDems is not the passive recipient of a donation. They are the publishing platform for a primary candidate’s fundraising appeal, in the middle of the primary they allege to be neutral in," she wrote in her Substack.

"Think about that. A candidate in a contested Democratic primary is using the state party’s own donation infrastructure to introduce himself to Democratic voters, build his name ID, and convert donors into a relationship with his campaign, while routing the dollars to the party as the price of admission. Neither Kidd nor the party is hiding it. It is published, in his own words, on their own page."

We wrote emails to the WashoeDems this morning for a comment about her Substack as well as to the Greg Kidd campaign but have not heard back as of publication.

"I think any candidate who comes to the political arena with self-serving intentions is a danger," Bell told us during a follow-up phone interview today, speaking of Kidd, a wealthy crypto entrepreneur.

Her Substack pointed to large donations he has recently made to the Nevada State Democratic Party and the Washoe County Democratic Party, saying he himself could afford to write even more generous checks if he simply wanted to, rather than telling economically struggling voters he will match their donation.

"That is not a fundraising strategy. That is an insult. It’s a slap in the face to every Nevadan who has answered a Democratic canvasser at their door, taken a Democratic robocall during dinner, opened a Democratic fundraising email, and been told that their party understands what they are going through," she wrote.

"I feel that the Democratic Party at the current moment is making such shortsighted decisions that it makes it hard for me as a voter and a lifelong Democrat to continue to support them without saying anything," she told us in our phone call today. "It's lunch money to him. And to me, it's a real slap in the face to say to hardworking Nevadans, well, you donate first this time and then I'll put in matching funds. If you want to give the money, give the money, then we can have a conversation about what money we as a party are willing to accept."

Bell says she would love having conversations with party leadership about this, even if no longer an insider, “to open up a dialogue with their members and with the voting public about what transparency and accountability looks like.”

The New Haven born, Brown and Yale educated Kidd lists himself as living in Crystal Bay on his LinkedIn. He ran in 2024 for the same seat as a nonpartisan candidate while previously being a registered Republican. In that election, he was soundly defeated by the now retiring Republican incumbent Mark Amodei, despite spending over $9 million of his own money on his failed campaign.

Kidd's recent FEC filings also show he likes to stay at the Best Bet Motor Lodge, pay the This is Reno linked Conrad Communications for event productions ($8,500 in March and $4.800 in January) as well as massive checks to BGB Productions and Six One Four Strategies.

One dropped out candidate Josh Hebert accused Kidd at a forum in Elko of having a "massive conflict of interest" if he ends up in Congress "trying to get the regulations that he needs for the financial revolution that he wants to launch," concerning all his crypto endeavors. Kidd who was sitting right next to him didn't respond.

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