Northern Nevada Congressman Mark Amodei has ruffled feathers with local Republican leaders after saying he was not going to vote for David Flippo to be his replacement.
The Washoe County Republican Party is cutting ties, and we reached out to the Nevada Republican Party to ask if it was going to follow suit, but have not heard back.
The Washoe GOP chairman feels betrayed by Amodei’s recent actions.
"At some point in time you have to look yourself in the mirror,” Amodei said in a recent CNN interview. “I ain't looking in that mirror having voted for the republican this time.”
Amodei has made it no secret that he is not a fan of Flippo.
"Mark Amodei on a CNN broadcast publicly announced that he voted for an opposition party," said Bruce Parks, Washoe GOP chairman.
We learned last week from Amodei’s office that he did vote for the Independent American Party candidate, Lynn Chapman.
The congressman announced his retirement earlier this year.
During the primary election, Amodei endorsed longtime state legislator James Settelmeyer to take his place.
Since Flippo is the sole Republican on the ballot, Amodei has gone on several news outlets to share his thoughts.
The Washoe GOP now wants to distance itself from Amodei.
“It was vigorously debated,” Parks said. “And then a vote was taken and the vote was unanimous that, we no longer recognize congressman Amodei as a Republican."
The Washoe Republican Central Committee made this decision Monday night.
Parks says it was more about Amodei’s method than the action itself.
"If you can't support the candidate, okay, that's your decision, but you don't have to go public about it,” Parks said. “Keep it to yourself."
Parks says they did email Amodei’s team before the decision went public, but only heard that Amodei had received it.
David Flippo has since responded.
“The Washoe County Republican Party knows it’s crucial that we defeat Teresa Benitez-Thompson, one of the most far-left wing candidates running anywhere in America,” he said in a statement.
Last year, the Washoe GOP also ousted Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson for supporting a land bill by Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.
We tried to get a comment from Amodei, but his office said he was busy in Elko and Ely for the next couple of days.
We also reached out to Benitez-Thompson’s campaign and did not hear back.
