Politics

Tea party activist Niger Innis considering congressional run

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Niger Innis, a well-known black tea party activist, is seriously contemplating a Republican run for a U.S. House seat in Nevada in 2014.

Reached by The Daily Caller on Thursday, Innis confirmed his interest in running for Nevada’s 4th congressional district seat currently held by freshman Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford.

The 45-year-old conservative activist and Nevada resident is the chief strategist for TheTeaParty.net and national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the organization led by his father Roy Innis. He’s also appeared frequently as a talking head on cable TV.

Innis, who played a role on former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s campaign in 2012, told TheDC that he’s set up an exploratory committee, has been speaking with campaign consultants and is raising money.

“It is time to make Congress functional and effective again,” his exploratory website states. “If Niger ran for Congress, he’ll work to make that happen with a common sense, conservative approach to doing what is best for you, your family and our country.”

If all goes well in raising money and organizing both local and national support, Innis will pull a trigger on a run, he said.

According to an invitation obtained by TheDC, Cain, billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Jeb Bush, Jr., and Nevada state GOP activist Amy Tarkanian were among those who attended a fundraiser for the Innis exploratory committee on Tuesday night.

The district covers a large geographic across Nevada, including both Las Vegas and  a number of rural counties.

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