The retirement of Congressman Mark Amodei was a surprise to many.
Amodei has held the seat of Congressional District 2, which covers northern Nevada, for 15 years. CD2 was created after the 1982 election, and has only had four people ever as its representative.
All of them have been Republicans.
25 total candidates are running for CD2, according to the Nevada Secretary of State's website, ahead of the June 9 primary election. 13 are Republicans, 11 are Democrats, and one is an Independent.
When looking into the Republican Primary, two names have received the most support. Military veteran David Flippo and former Nevada State Legislator James Settelmeyer.
Backgrounds
Flippo doesn't have any political experience, but has run in a couple of elections. He wants to carry forward the torch of conservative values in CD2.
"I am not a career politician," he said in a sit-down interview with 2 News Nevada. "I will never claim to be. I'm not part of the establishment."
Flippo says he's been interested in politics since he was younger. He has a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration.
The Lieutenant Colonel served in the U.S. Air Force for 24 years before working in oil in Alaska with BP.
He's now lived in Nevada for a little more than a decade.
Flippo calls himself a "limited government, free market, constitutional conservative."
He's been endorsed by major conservative organizations such as Turning Point Action, CPAC, and Washoe County Republicans.
Map of Nevada Congressional Districts
Initially, Flippo announced his run for Congressional District 4 in southern Nevada this year, before redirecting his campaign to the north.
"Having the advantage of talking to my endorsers when I was running in CD4, and they encouraged me to run up here. They said 'hey that is a stronger conservative district.'"
Before switching his campaign, Flippo was waiting for Sam Brown, the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs of the United States, who was endorsed by Trump in his nail-biter of a race for Senate against Democratic winner Jacky Rosen in 2024, to announce if he was going to go for the seat.
When Brown chose not to run, Flippo felt he should go for it.
Flippo ran for CD4 in 2024 and lost to John J. Lee in the Republican Primary Election by about three points.
In 2022, he ran for State Assembly and lost in the Republican Primary.
Both Amodei and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo have endorsed Settelmeyer. Flippo said he was not surprised.
"Settelmeyer replaced Amodei there," he responded. "You know, Settelmeyer has been part of the establishment. He's been working with the Governor, so it made sense."Â
"It was a shock," Settelmeyer said about Amodei's retirement in a sit-down with 2 News Nevada. "A surprise. Congressman Amodei did a mic drop. All of a sudden, the idea of potentially running for Congress on a five-year plan became a five second ago plan."
The former lawmaker also thought Brown was going to run and waited to consider the run until after it was announced Brown decided against it.
Settelmeyer spent 16 years in the Nevada State Legislature.
Before Amodei went to Congress in 2011, he led the Nevada Senate Republicans, and then Settelmeyer took his place.
"When he went to Congress, a lot of people were talking about like, oh, you got a lot of big shoes to fill, you know, and you're going in the state Senate," he described.
Settelmeyer will try to replace Amodei once again, this time in Washington, D.C.
Since his time as a lawmaker, he was Director of Conservation and Natural Resources under Governor Joe Lombardo.
Settelmeyer's a fourth-generation Nevadan, and his family's been in the state since 1890.
The former state legislator says his experience makes him the best fit for the seat.
"So, if you look at those various governors, I worked with them to do what was best for the state of Nevada, but more specifically for my area that I represent, I have experience doing that, and I will continue to do that to represent the citizens of CD2 if elected by the residents in CD2."
Priorities
Settelmeyer's priorities if elected are first dealing with the economy, specifically fuel capacity.
"We've got to look at the economy of the state of Nevada," Settelmeyer said. "The reliance on California right now for fuel is not, in any way. a good idea."
He also listed off some other key issues.
"We also need to take a look at the border, make sure it's secure, and we need to have those types of discussions, especially around natural resources with a state that's owned by the federal government by 85 percent," he said.
Regarding Amodei's efforts on a lands bill, the former state legislator said it is an important issue he will also want to address.
Settelmeyer said with the Southern Nevada Land Exchange program in Clark County, land varies in price from $300,000-$400,000 an acre.
"We need affordable, attainable housing," Settelmeyer said. "You're not going to get that by selling somebody's land at that type of price. So we need to talk to the federal government a little bit more, the other members of Congress, and educate them on the idea that we want to help the people."
Flippo has been traveling all over northern Nevada to hear from constituents on what issues matter to them.
"They're worried about road safety, you know, a lot of these two-lane highways, speed and trucks are all over the place," he said. "Access to healthcare, the water issues, the BLM release."Â
Flippo says he will also continue his efforts towards opening up federal lands.
"We still need to work on this land release. There are things that still have to be done, and I plan on working with Congressman Amodei once I'm elected because he has a wealth of knowledge you can't ignore. I mean, he's done a lot of the legwork."Â
Flippo says he believes the use of the land should go to the County Commissions and City Councils, since he feels they know their areas the best.
Supporting Trump
On his website, Flippo calls himself a "Trump Republican" and says he intends to give President Donald Trump his full support in Congress.
"What I hope when I get into Congress, and I wish it was already being done, is to me President Trump has laid the groundwork through his executive orders, and what we need to do is codify those into law," Flippo said.
On Settelmeyer's website, "working with President Trump" is highlighted in red.
"I think it's very important what he's done in securing the border," he said when asked about what Trump policies he thinks have been good for Nevada. "We need to secure the border."
Tensions rising
Flippo says he feels he's the strongest conservative and that's what he thinks CD2 needs.
He feels Settelmeyer is not as Republican as he needs to be.
"Does he have northern Nevada values when he's voting to fund Planned Parenthood or Obamacare subsidies or diversity quotas, and voting to give driver's licenses to illegals?"Â
Settelmeyer responded to these claims. The first was in regard to the driver authorization cards bill that he voted in favor of in 2013.
"It's only a card," he explained. "It is not used for anything for legal purposes. It is only to drive. That means that you have no right to use that card in any way, shape, or form to vote."
Settelmeyer said at the time, there were people in the military, on H-2A worker visas, and on educational visas that were given the right to be here, but weren't considered US citizens. He also clarified that each person who applied for these cards had to give their address and get their picture taken. They also had to renew it every year.
Settelmeyer claims the Planned Parenthood accusation comes from a bill in 2019 that he voted in favor of. The bill passed unanimously.
"We created it so they (certain entities) could only get five percent administrative overhead, and the money had to go, it could not be in any way, shape, or form for abortions," Settelmeyer said. "It is clearly spelled out in the bill. It went to birth control. It went to the concept of condoms or pills, feminine hygiene products, and feminine health."
Settelmeyer also says the 'Obamacare' comments center around another 2019 bill he voted in favor of.
"It was a bill that, simply put, that insurance companies should not be able to kick you off for preexisting conditions," he said.
However, these are just two out of the 13 Republican candidates.
The others include former Eureka County Sheriff Jesse James Watt, Jennifer Billat, Jerry Olsen, Rick Shepherd, Thomas Doyle, George Forbush, Andrea Lowe, Sherman Tylawsky, Fred J. Simon Jr., Bruce Grego, and Michael Smith.
Early voting starts May 23 and goes until June 5. Again, the primary election is June 9.
