The Daniel Halseth Story
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Daniel Halseth’s dining room looks like a war room at the Pentagon – computer screens and gadgets everywhere. The computer whiz kid is fast at work, trying to finalize the next project that will feed his three kids, who he refers to as his “three little miracles”.
He has work in Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and Rocklin, California outside of Sacramento. On the surface, it looks like everything is fine with Halseth. But, as we all know, looks can be deceiving.
Just four months ago, Halseth was on top of the world. His wife Elizabeth was the youngest state senator in the State of Nevada, his computer business was thriving, and the two seemed like the All-American couple. Then, in a blink of an eye, it all came crashing down – on both of them.
Daniel Halseth and Elizabeth Schworak met in Oregon, developed a history together, and later got married. He graduated from Hood River Valley H.S. in 1995; she graduated from North Salem in 2001. Daniel was raised on a farm, and for a long time, while there was a negative prescense of alcohol, there was also a lot of love to go around for everyone. He spent most of his young adult life without his father, who died in 1994. His Dad, who passed away right before Daniel graduated from high school, died suddenly from a brain aneurism.
Halseth excelled in anything related to computers or technology, and was active in both music and church activities. Elizabeth grew up in a verbally abusive family, but did well as both a model and as a member of JROTC. The two of them seemed like they had overcome some difficulties to do well for themselves. When they got married, the two go-getters seemed like a couple who was destined for greatness. They sought to change the game and alter the paths that were set before them.
Later, after having three children, Daniel found work in Las Vegas, so
the young family moved to Nevada. Soon thereafter, Elizabeth Halseth,
behind the strength of her husband’s computer prowess, surprised all of
Nevada when she was elected to the State senate. In 2010, Elizabeth
upset then incumbent Sen. Dennis Nolan in Senate District 9. Running a
campaign that was heavy on family and morality, Elizabeth Halseth, with
her good looks and conservative tone, was tagged by the Republican Party
as a future superstar. And, while she lacked experience, she seemed to
have the principals to be successful.
Through it all, sources confirm Daniel Halseth kept the fort down. While Elizabeth was in Carson City being a senator, Daniel was at home with their three kids, playing Mister Mom. He was the primary bread winner in a nuclear family that was about as modern as modern families get. In between being a father and working his tail off, Daniel spent countless hours orchestrating his wife’s political strategy, which included website design, auto-dials, graphic design, and major foot patrol – which is a fancy way of saying door-to-door politics. To that end, he was good – really good. And so it was that his senator wife benefited from his brilliance.
But, as is true with any rising star, the fall can be bright, high profile, and sensational. Such was the case for the Halseth family in October 2011.
On October 21, Daniel Halseth was arrested for an alleged domestic dispute involving his wife. Eight hours after his arrest, he was charged with “open and gross lewdness”. In the police report, Daniel accused his wife of having an affair, while she acknowledged that they were having “marital problems”. The police arrested Daniel because Elizabeth accused him of touching her inappropriately during an argument about the affair. Daniel denies that allegation. Either way, their perfect little world was about to come crumbling down.
In a December report authored by Chuck Muth, a political blogger, he states, according to the Las Vegas Criminal Defense blog that open and gross lewdness is “one of the more frequently falsely-accused offenses because police don’t need physical proof to make an arrest, and people may play the victim card out of revenge.” In the same report, Muth accuses Sen. Halseth of making similar claims against other male victims over the past 10 years.
So, you see, it turns out Daniel Halseth was right. His wife was having an affair with former golf professional, now real estate salesman, Tiger Helgelien. To make matters worse, Helgelien, who grew up in Alaska, was involved with Elizabeth’s election campaign, and Daniel built Helgelien’s website. In addition, rumors have it that Daniel was helping Helgelien raise funds for his own political campaign. Needless to say, Daniel has been devastated.
In November, 2011, Daniel Halseth filed for divorce. And, while those proceedings are on-going, there is no question the relationship between the “superstar” couple is now over.
During the time Sen. Halseth was cheating on her husband, he was fast at work caring for their three children, and organizing her political career, which included networking with the top politicians in the country. The two were seen together at top political functions and Daniel was well received by some of the top republicans in the U.S. Now, after the allegations went public, they have both been pretty much dropped like a hot potato.
“Her career is over,” stated one political insider who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the case. “She was a rising star who selfishly destroyed a very promising family and career.” It is not clear if Sen. Halseth will resign her position or not, but there is no question she is unelectable in the future.
In the meantime, Daniel Halseth tries to repair his life. He still is dealing with the after-effects of the malicious criminal charges, and the two of them are haggling over child custody issues. Regardless, Daniel’s life, and the lives of his three children, will never be the same.
“I didn’t want to get divorced,” said Halseth. “But, her actions forced the issue.”
Now, the two are left to ponder what “might have been”. Tragically, Daniel Halseth now gets to spend only half as much time with his kids as was previously the case. Clearly, the hardest part of this mess for Daniel is being away from his children.
“I love my children,” said Halseth. “That is the worse part about all of this. When families go through something like this, it is always the children who suffer the most. I pray that there is a way to forgive all of this, and that, somehow, the wrongs that have been done here are made right.”
