Marty O’Donnell, a composer who worked withBungiefrom the firstHalogame up untilDestiny, is running for Congress. O’Donnell is campaigning to secure the Republican nomination in Nevada. If he wins the Republican primary, he’ll be up against incumbent Democrat Susie Lee this November.

In announcing his bid for Congress, fans of O’Donnell have been made aware of his political leanings, including his support for former President Donald Trump, which he confirmed toGamesBeat. In hisDiscordserver - which is linked to his campaign page but not centred around his Congress bid - fans are flooding O’Donnell with questions about a range of topics, including reproductive rights, the LGBTQ+ community, gun ownership, and foreign policy.

Text reads: Marty O’Donnell has taken the road less traveled to running for Congress. He earned his Master of Music Degree in Composition with honors from USC in 1981. Then, a few months later, Marty started his first career by founding the Chicago-based commercial music and sound production company O’Donnell/Salvatori Inc. He wrote and produced numerous film scores and the iconic Flintstones Kids and Mr. Clean jingles. In 1997, Marty embarked on his second career, producing music and sound de

So far, O’Donnell hasn’t answered many of these questions, which has left fans to fight amongst themselves. Right now, the Discord is arguing over migration and social issues, with some members openly fearmongering over migrants, and others sharing transphobic rhetoric. Some members have also expressed their frustration with the views O’Donnell has been public about, such as his strong support of Israel, and his vague pledge to uphold the “traditional family”.

“I’m tired of seeing the leaders of our country being influenced by the toxic divisions that are tearing apart our families and society,” says O’Donnell, speaking in a social media post that expands on some of his views. “It’s time for me to step up and do my civic duty. To give back and try and change things for the better. If not me, who? If not now, when?”

He goes on to explain that he’s concerned by the increased cost of living, with food and house prices rising much faster than wages across the United States. “And yet, who have we allowed to have the most influence over our government?” he continues. “Big corporate executives and big union bosses. Big tech, big pharma, big media, big whatever – all trying to control big government in Washington DC.”

However, this announcement then takes a turn to discuss migration. Here, he states that “security of [the] borders” would be a top priority, claiming that immigrants are receiving “handouts” from the government, but does not expand on what these are.

The last Halo game O’Donnell worked on wasHalo: Reachin 2010.

O’Donnell then expresses his support for “old fashioned” family values, saying that the “traditional family” is “critical for a child’s development and success”. Since he does not mention LGBTQ+ rights, some fans have feared that this is an attack on the queer community, particularly queer parents, but O’Donnell is yet to respond to this.

A short video accompanying the statement contains the same message, although it ends with the comment, “Less lawyers, more composers [sic]”. This is possibly a reference to O’Donnell’s legal battles with Bungie, which saw him win an unfair dismissal case but waslater found to be in breach of an injunctionthat prevented him from using material owned by Bungie for his own gain.