It is three weeks until Election Day.
Early voting starts this Saturday.
We’ve done several stories about what some candidates' ideas and priorities are, as well as our 2 News Nevada Voter Guide.
We wanted to do something different with some of the biggest races.
Essentially, we are taking the politics out of the politician, peeling back the curtain and getting to know them on a deeper personal level.
The first round starts with Congress.
David Flippo
"My family has a long history of service,” said David Flippo, Republican nominee for Nevada Congressional District 2. “We've served since the Revolutionary War, and every war since."
Flippo wanted to meet us at Powning Memorial Park in downtown Reno.
I started by asking him about the early memories of his life.
He shared that he got his morals from his mom, dad, and grandfather.
“My grandfather was actually an Army Chaplain, and, you know, I got a lot of moral character and courage from him and what he taught us,” Flippo said.
It’s words from his mother that stick with him the most.
“One of the things I always remember my mom saying was, you know, when you're a kid, you don't always tell the truth,” Flippo recalled. “And, you know, you're trying to remember your lies, and they stack up, and she would always say, if you don't lie, you don't have to remember anything."
Growing up in a military family, there was never an opportunity for Flippo to get comfortable in any environment.
"My norm was every 2 or 3 years pack up and move somewhere else, and it was just wake up and where are we going next?" he said. “Some people's norm is the same hometown their entire life. Fourth or fifth generation, you know, always being from the same place. I never had that.”
That lifestyle continued, even when Flippo met the love of his life.
“When I went on active duty, right after my dad retired, I went on active duty and again served all over the world,” he said. “My first station with my wife and I; we were childhood, high school sweethearts. And we got married after college, and we're off to the Philippines."
Like most veterans, his service comes with a lifetime of stories.
"I spent most of my time in the Middle East, most of my career,” Flippo shared. “And I was in Operation Southern Watch and Operation Northern Watch and Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm and all of that was all throughout my career because I came in 85. So, there was a lot going on during that time frame."
Flippo says his service taught him that no matter what he puts his mind to, he can accomplish anything.
“Think on your feet, get your people together,” he said. “You have fuel issues, supply issues, transportation issues, airlift issues, and I'm the commander for all of that to get those bases stood up.”
Then once he started to enter retirement from the military, the Flippos moved to Alaska to take his aircraft and logistics experience to move to the oil fields.
“The year I retired was the same year that the BP oil spill happened in the Gulf of America,” Flippo said. “Right, and so, BP was looking for somebody to create a maintenance program for them."
After that, it was off to Las Vegas.
"BP sold their assets,” he said. “Later on, I transitioned down here, became a financial advisor, owned a business."
However, his time in northern Nevada is relatively new.
"Earlier in the year it was when we made the move,” he said. “I mean, it was a surprise for everybody when Congressman (Mark) Amodei decided to retire. I think if he had made that announcement sooner, I would have moved up sooner."
Flippo says the transition between south and north was night and day.
“The transition was actually pleasant. You know, the people have been great. The weather is much nicer, and it's not as crowded, and compressed.”
The Silver State is now where Flippo has lived the longest.
"So when people ask me now, I'm from America, you know, and I've served America, my family served America,” he said. “But I've lived in Nevada for 14 years, so Nevada is my home."
His decision to get into politics made sense to him. He also has a political science degree.
“I was looking at what was happening in the world, and this was under the Biden administration, and I was like, we were having national security issues, and we were having energy issues, and we were having small business issues,” he said. “And I'm like, this is the time."
Flippo ran in 2022 and 2024, but did not win the republican primaries.
However, politics can be a game of mudslinging.
"It hurts that, you know, but I was getting attacked on my military record during the primary, and they were saying I wasn't in combat. And they were, you know, again, I'm kind of getting used to being attacked every day."
While we were doing the interview, someone shouted for support, but also there were people heckling him from their cars.
I then asked him if he feels he’s ready to handle it.
"Oh, absolutely,” he responded. “The swamp is going to take some getting used to, you know, and, and I want to fight the swamp every step of the way."
For Flippo, that comes back to sticking with what he values in life.
“I'll have Charlie Kirk in my ear, Christian values, and limited government, and we need to get back to that.”
Flippo and his wife have two children and five grandchildren.
On Wednesday, we will run our story on Democratic nominee, Teresa Benitez-Thompson.
