Retired Las Vegas police officer running for Congress

A retired law enforcement officer and veteran hopes to continue serving his community — this time in Congress.

Las Vegas resident Keith Hanoff joins a growing list of Republican candidates who hope to defeat longtime Democratic Rep. Dina Titus in Nevada’s 1st Congressional District. Other candidates include state Sen. Carrie Buck, ex-felon Bobby Khan and former Assemblyman Jim Marchant.

Hanoff thinks his background and service set him apart from the other candidates.

“I really like to help people, and I believe once I get up to Congress, it’s not about politics, it’s about serving the community,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Hanoff worked for the Metropolitan Police Department for 16 years as a patrol officer, detective and sergeant, and he helped start Metro’s homeless outreach team, he said.

Born and raised in Las Vegas, Hanoff graduated from Bonanza High School and joined the Marine Corps. After, he went to UNLV and earned a degree in anthropology, he said. His life changed at 15 when his father was murdered. Hanoff said he could have gone two different directions, but his wrestling coach encouraged him to go into a life of service.

After retiring from the police department in February, Hanoff decided to run for Congress to combat the “defund the police officer movement,” he said.

“Running for Congress, I might actually be able to make a difference in stopping this, because we see that on the streets,” he said. “As an officer, a lot of these left-leaning policies really don’t help the community. Sure, they make it easier for the person to get out of prison or jail, but it doesn’t help on the back end to keep the community safe.”

If elected, he said, his priorities would include protecting the Constitution, protecting families and protecting the border, which he said are all intertwined. Protecting the Constitution protects everybody, and protecting the border ensures criminals aren’t entering the country, which boils down to helping families, he said.

The biggest issue facing Nevadans is the economy, Hanoff said, adding excessive spending in Washington D.C. increased inflation. He thinks the “no tax on tips” policy will help, and he’d like to work toward keeping the country’s energy prices down through energy independence and dominance.

Hanoff said he supports term limits and supports laws banning trans people in sports. If elected, he’d also like to help ease law abiding citizens to carry firearms, though he supports keeping firearms away from someone who has committed crimes.

He also thinks communication needs to improve.

“I think I can bring people together and listen to both sides while staying true to the Constitution,” Hanoff said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.