LAS VEGAS – EXCLUSIVE: A former Air Force pilot and business leader seeking to oust one of the country’s most vulnerable Democratic U.S. senators says the nation “can do better” with new leadership and get the U.S. back to operating like a great nation.
Fox News Digital sat down with Republican Nevada Senate candidate Tony Grady, who argued he has skills from his experience in the military to help Americans get through the “rough times” they’re facing and move away from the “wrong leaders” he says are running things now.
“I really don’t like what’s happening in the United States right now. We’re a great country, and we can do better,” Grady said when asked why he decided to run.
“I thought about it, and I realized that I have a unique skill set, meaning I have certain capabilities because of the life that the Lord has blessed me to live. And I want to bring those skills to helping our country over the rough times we’re in right now and get back to being and operating like the great country that we are.”
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Republican Nevada U.S. Senate candidate and former Air Force pilot Tony Grady. (Tony Grady)
Grady, who has never held elected office, ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Nevada lieutenant governor in 2022, coming in second to Stavros Anthony, who won the general election. Grady spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, including time as a unit commander and B-2 Stealth Bomber test pilot. He was also a FedEx pilot 20 years and later spent 11 years running a startup biotech business called Synerbotics.
He pointed to his military experience, particularly his test pilot experience, as evidence he has problem-solving skills to help the country face current challenges.
“I commanded the B-2 Stealth Bomber Test Squadron. In that test program, there were a lot of problems that we had to solve,” Grady said. “There are a lot of times that we have to test things that we don’t know what exactly is going to happen, but we have to find answers. And I think our country is there right now.
“There are many things that are going on that we’ve never seen before as the United States. And so I want to take that experience that I had looking into the unknown and to try to help us get back on track as a country.”
When asked why he thought Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, whom he hopes to unseat, had failed to fully represent the people of Nevada — a consistent swing state — Grady accused her of not visiting all the state’s counties and refusing to meet with a county law enforcement officer who visited Washington, D.C.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., speaks during a news conference in the Capitol Jan. 24, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“We have the wrong leaders if we have a leader that thinks that they can ignore their constituents,” Grady said. “And then, on the other side, we look at that Jacky Rosen is a rubber stamp for Bidenomics. Gas prices are 40% higher in Nevada than in the rest of the country. Nevada families are being strangled by inflation. So, Jacky Rosen is not exercising the leadership to help Nevadans. So, we need a change.”
Grady said his top policy priorities if elected to the Senate would be to get America back to energy independence by opening the Keystone pipeline and beginning to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), an oil-rich area in Alaska, and securing the southern border.
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“We have an economy that is oil based, and we need to use that energy to help our country,” Grady said. “We were energy independent before the Biden administration. We need to get back to that so that we are not dependent on our enemies for energy because we need the energy. But, more importantly than that, economically, when energy prices go down, everything else in the economy will go down and that will begin to eat away in inflation and take pressure off families.
“We don’t have a country if we don’t secure our borders. We need to secure the border immediately. We don’t need more legislation. What we need to do is get rid of the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and put someone in there who will uphold the laws that are on the books. We need to stop people entering our country illegally.”
He added that human trafficking was modern-day slavery and needed to stop immediately.
Tony Grady, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada and a former Air Force pilot (Tony Grady)
In the race for the Republican nomination, Grady is facing a number of candidates, most notably former U.S. Army veteran Sam Brown, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Senate nomination in Nevada in 2022 to unseat Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
Grady said he believes he is the best candidate in the Republican field to take on Rosen because of his experience in the military and leading a small business.
“I’m the only Republican in the field right now that has the ability to speak about military strategy with the military instrument of power, the foreign diplomatic instrument of power. … I understand businesses, and I understand regulation,” he said.
He added his marriage of 40 years and raising his four children add to his life experience.
Former U.S. Army Captain and Republican Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown. (Sam Brown for Nevada)
“My oldest decided then to go to Annapolis, and the baby went to West Point because they never listen,” he said with a laugh. “And the two in the middle — have one that’s a molecular biologist who now teaches high school science and one that runs a personal training business.
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“So, I could dote over my kids all day long. But the real reason I bring that up is my kids are successful. We need to elect leaders that know how to help young people be successful and want all American children to be successful. So, why am I the best? Because I have the broadest skill set to make the compelling argument that I can best represent Nevadans,” he added.
Fox has reached out to the Rosen campaign for comment.