Halo composer Marty O’Donnell loses race in US midterms

O’Donnell ran for the US House of Representatives as a Republican, but has lost to his Democratic rival Susie Lee

Halo composer Marty O’Donnell loses race in US midterms

Marty O’Donnell, best known in the gaming community for working as a composer on various Bungie projects, has lost his race in the US midterms.

O’Donnell ran as a Republican in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional district, attempting to secure a seat in the House of Representatives. However, the race has been declared for Democrat Susie Lee, who holds onto her seat.

O’Donnell’s political ambitions have attracted widespread attention, particularly in the gaming community, because of his work on the Halo series. He worked with Bungie on Halo from the first game, up until Halo: Reach. After this, he also worked on Destiny, before being fired by Bungie in 2014. O’Donnell would go on to bring a lawsuit against Bungie over his dismissal, which was settled in arbitration a year later.

In recent years, O’Donnell has become increasingly vocal about his politics, particularly his support for Donald Trump. In 2024, he ran in the Republican primary, hoping to go against Susie Lee, but was unsuccessful. He would go on to win the 2026 Republican primary for the midterms, finally getting his chance to go against the Democratic incumbent. He was even officially endorsed by President Trump.

However, he is one of many Republicans to lose out in the midterms this year. While votes are still being counted at the time of writing, the race in Nevada has been declared for Lee. O’Donnell has secured roughly 38% of the vote, with 86% of votes reported.

Lee’s social media page has celebrated the win with a video that includes one of O’Donnell’s compositions for the Halo series, telling him to “enjoy [his] retirement.”

O’Donnell’s bid for Congress wasn’t the only crossover between the gaming industry and politics this year. Controversially, the Trump administration has made a habit of putting out political ads and posts that use imagery from games such as Halo and Pokemon, often AI-generated. Halo co-creator Marus Lehto and Master Chief actor Steve Downes have both spoken out against Halo’s inclusion in this material.