Election Day is Tuesday June 9th, with total primary voter turnout predicted to be about 30%.
The announced retirement of Rep. Mark Amodei set off a candidate stampede in the heavily Republican 2nd Congressional District. It’s the marquee race of the primary election.
The early frontrunner was James Settelmeyer, a fourth- generation Nevadan and Douglas County rancher who served as a state legislator for 16 years.
Elected to the Assembly in 2006 and state Senate in 2010 (representing Churchill, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties), Settelmeyer, 55, served as Senate Republican leader from 2018 until termed-out in 2022.
In 2020, Settelmeyer was co-chair of President Trump’s re-election campaign in Nevada.
Gov. Joe Lombardo appointed him director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in 2023. Settelmeyer stepped down to run for Congress.
Over his career, Settelmeyer boasted top scores from conservative groups.
In 2019, Settelmeyer led the legal challenge stopping the Democrat- controlled Legislature from violating Nevada’s constitutional two-thirds vote taxpayer protection.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Settelmeyer’s favor, reversing more than $100 million in unconstitutional tax increases.
Settelmeyer has been endorsed by Lombardo and Amodei as well as a broad coalition of over 100 Nevada leaders—seven state senators, a dozen state assembly members, mayors from Elko, Winnemucca and Sparks, county commissioners, sheriffs and business leaders.
The other leading GOP contender is David Flippo, 63, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel from Las Vegas.
Flippo looks outside Nevada for his support.
He has rolled out endorsements from eight out-of-state far-right members of the House Freedom Caucus.
Flippo makes false claims including that Settelmeyer “gave driver’s licenses to illegals” and “supported DEI quotas.”
The reality:
SB 303 in 2013 created driver authorization cards that require a test and most importantly insurance. Backed by law enforcement—it’s not a valid ID—it passed the Senate 20-1.
SB 267 in 2021 directed a study on workforce diversity. No quotas. No mandates. Reporting only.
Flippo served in the U.S. Air Force from 1985 to 2009. He was a maintenance and logistics officer managing aircraft. He then spent ten years in Alaska working for BP in the oil industry developing a maintenance plan.
In 2022, Flippo ran for Assembly District 37 (Las Vegas) and lost, coming in third out of three Republicans in the primary.
In 2024, he ran in the 4th Congressional District (Southern Nevada) and lost that primary too. He decided to run in CD 4 again in 2026.
Then Amodei announced his retirement, and Flippo switched to CD 2, a district he didn’t even live in.
In an April 2 debate, candidate Fred Simon bluntly called out Flippo:
“You’re not from here, you don’t know the issues from here. So go back carpetbagger.”
Where did Flippo come from?
“I’m from everywhere,” Flippo said on May 28. “I don’t have a hometown.”
Flippo is now renting a house in Reno while maintaining his primary residence in Las Vegas. A federal election complaint accuses Flippo of illegally using campaign dollars to rent his personal home.
Flippo has a massive self-funding campaign with $1.2 million in loans Flippo made to his own campaign, far exceeding Settelmeyer.
On May 29, President Trump endorsed Flippo. Settelmeyer fights on banking that Northern Nevadans will hold the line.
Meanwhile, running for re-election, Governor Lombardo maintains overwhelming popularity and high approval ratings among Nevada Republicans (66% to 78% approve). He recruited and endorsed GOP candidates for the crucial statewide offices of Attorney General and Secretary of State.
Lombardo endorsed newcomer Adriana Guzman Fralick for Attorney General over Danny Tarkanian who has lost seven elections.
The governor endorsed first time candidate Shirley Folkins-Roberts for Secretary of State over Sharron Angle who has lost her last six general election races.
Winning in November requires Republicans nominate electable candidates in June– like Adriana Guzman Fralick and Shirley Folkins-Roberts.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
