Battle lines are quickly being drawn in a safe GOP seat that suddenly became open following the surprise retirement of Rep. Mark Amodei (R., Nev.).
Gov. Joe Lombardo (R., Nev.) and Amodei quickly endorsed James Settelmeyer, giving the state’s former Director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources a high-profile boost.
But David Flippo, a longtime Air Force veteran, leaned on endorsements from a series of high-profile conservatives to give his campaign a shot in the arm as well.
Among Flippo’s latest endorsements, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, are Reps. Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.) Eric Burlison (R., Mo.) and Abe Hamadeh (R., Ariz.), as well as Ambassador Richard Grenell and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.). The conservative trio highlighted Flippo’s longstanding conservative credentials and military service as the reasons for why they are backing him.
“David Flippo has my complete and total endorsement,” Gosar explained. “David Flippo spent 14 years fighting in the desert, was a combat Commander and awarded the Bronze Star; we need someone like that who won’t back down from the swamp when they get to D.C.”
In his endorsement, Gosar took aim at some of Settelmeyer’s previous positions, calling him an “establishment former state senator who voted for drivers license licenses for illegal immigrants, funding, Planned Parenthood, diversity, quotas, and ranked choice voting.”
Burlison, for his part, called Flippo a “rock-ribbed conservative, who earned the Bronze Star fighting for our country under fire.”
“Congress doesn’t need any more go along to get along politicians who campaign as conservatives and vote like woke liberals,” Burlison said. “We need fighters.”
Grenell endorsed Flippo on the spot at the Conservative Political Action Committee’s (CPAC) annual conference in Dallas, Texas.
“Nevada is so important,” Grenell said alongside Flippo. “It is one of those states that we must win. And having somebody like my friend David in Congress is exactly how we’re going to put America first…as someone who understands the America First Trump phenomenon, this is our guy to carry on the America First tradition and voting record in Nevada.”
