Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) said Thursday that the defeat of his chosen political heir by a Trump-endorsed primary challenger risks imperiling his district’s reliably Republican edge.
“Well, here we are,” Amodei mused on X. “While this primary election wasn’t a big turnout, and no Republican in [the second Congressional district] received a majority of the vote, the Republican candidate advancing to the general election faces a well-positioned Democrat opponent.”
Amodei’s statement caps off a political saga in northern Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District over who could succeed the seven-term GOP congressman, who announced his retirement in February. Amodei endorsed James Settelmeyer, his former colleague in the Nevada state legislature, while President Donald Trump opted instead to back Air Force veteran David Flippo in a race that further illustrates the president’s sway over Republican primary elections.
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The Cook Political Report rates the race as “Solid Republican,” though Amodei suggested on X that the district, “for the first time in its history, isn’t a Republican guarantee.”
Amodei, a moderate Republican, endorsed Settelmeyer shortly after his surprise retirement announcement. Along with much of Nevada’s Republican establishment, Gov. Joe Lombardo (R-NV) also praised Settelmeyer, who was a co-chairman of Trump’s 2020 Nevada campaign.
Amodei, meanwhile, has not held back in his criticism of Flippo, who swapped races from the 4th Congressional District in Southern Nevada after the congressman’s retirement.
“For eight cycles in a row, CD-2 voters have strongly supported conservative values and an absolute laser focus on the issues facing our communities, our families, our state, and our businesses,” Amodei told the Nevada Independent in March. “That laser focus isn’t something that someone gets by taking a crash course in Nevada as it exists north of Indian Springs.”
While the congressman did not mention Flippo by name, Amodei also objected to his habit of questioning his opponents’ Republican credentials.
“I was labeled a ‘RINO’ in every primary campaign I ran in CD-2,” Amodei said. “Voters were not fooled then, and you shouldn’t be now.”
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Trump emphasized Flippo’s support of his “No Tax on Tips” proposal, which plays well among Nevada’s hospitality and gaming electorate, in his May endorsement.
“The Democrats, and some of David’s Republican Opponents, would like to end NO TAX ON TIPS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “That won’t happen with David and I on watch!”
Flippo, who was declared the winner, leads the primary race against Settelmeyer with 45.9% of the vote as of early Thursday afternoon. He will square off against Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a former state House majority leader, in November.