A coalition of real Nevadans takes on the internet crowd
There’s an old saying in Nevada politics: you can’t represent a place you don’t know. James Settelmeyer is betting his congressional campaign on it.
This week, Settelmeyer’s campaign released a list of more than 100 Nevada leaders backing his bid for the state’s 2nd Congressional District. The coalition is a who’s-who of Nevada’s own homegrown political pillars.
The coalition runs deep. It includes Governor Joe Lombardo and Congressman Mark Amodei, six sitting state senators, more than a dozen state assembly members, mayors from Boulder City to Elko to Sparks, sheriffs, county commissioners, business leaders, and former governors and state treasurers.
These are people who have worked alongside Settelmeyer, watched him fight for Nevada taxpayers, and trust him to carry northern Nevada’s values to Washington.
Why This Matters
CD2 is the biggest congressional district in Nevada. It covers the entire northern third of the state — from Reno and Carson City out to the wide open ranch country of Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, and beyond.
The people who live there deal with real issues. From water rights, to federal land grabs, and rural infrastructure. These aren’t talking points to them, but a part of their daily life.
Conservatives have always understood something important: local knowledge matters.
The guy who grew up on a ranch in Douglas County and spent 16 years fighting for rural Nevada in the legislature knows what it costs to run a cattle operation when federal regulators decide to make your life difficult.
Settelmeyer put it plainly when the endorsement list dropped.
“This support comes from leaders who know Nevada,” he said.
His campaign didn’t stop there. In a pointed press release, the Settelmeyer team called out rivals who look:
“outside Nevada for validation from social media personalities.”
That’s a direct shot at David Flippo. 
Flippo is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who, until about 6 weeks ago, lived in Las Vegas.
He originally filed to run a second bid in CD4 — southern Nevada — then switched to CD2 after Congressman Amodei announced his retirement.
The Internet Cheerleaders
Flippo’s campaign has leaned hard into social media celebrity endorsements. Let’s take a closer look at who these people actually are.
Rounding out the online chorus is Gunther Eagleman — a Texas-based internet personality who resigned from a local police department in 2022 to become a full-time social media provocateur, and whose posts have been fact-checked and corrected on X more than 60 times.
Then there’s Roger Stone — twice-convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction, then pardoned by President Trump.
Documentary footage later subpoenaed by the January 6th Committee caught Stone on camera calling Trump “the greatest single mistake in American history” and saying he deserved “a good, long sentence in prison.” In the same footage, Stone called Ivanka Trump an “abortionist bitch.”
He later claimed the footage was fake. The filmmaker who shot it said there was no doubt it was real.
And, there’s Matt Gaetz. He resigned from Congress the day before the House Ethics Committee released its investigation report.
That report found substantial evidence that Gaetz paid more than a dozen women for sex — including a 17-year-old girl — and used illegal drugs including from his Capitol Hill office. The Department of Justice investigated but did not bring charges. Gaetz denied wrongdoing. The bipartisan Ethics Committee released its findings anyway.
And finally, Wayne Allyn Root, a Las Vegas radio personality and self-described conspiracy theorist. Root called Settelmeyer a “RINO loser.”
Governor Lombardo, who endorsed Settelmeyer, recently spoke about Root at a Lincoln Day Dinner — calling him “an awesome spokesperson for the Republican Party” while noting he “looks like a mannequin”— with the kind of smirk that said everything about how seriously he takes the man’s judgment.
These aren’t Nevada leaders: they’re social media influencers. And influencers don’t show up to fix your water rights.
Sure, some conservatives loved Gaetz’s fighter instincts and Stone’s decades as a bare-knuckle operative. But a felon who spent his final days in the Trump orbit screaming on camera about the man he spent years championing, and a congressman the Ethics Committee couldn’t defend, aren’t validators — they’re liabilities.
Northern Nevada deserves a congressman who brings credibility to Washington — not baggage.
Running for Congress or Running for Clicks?
It’s not just who Flippo attracts; it’s who he’s become. While Settelmeyer was eating barbecue with neighbors in Storey County, Flippo was in a Las Vegas hotel ballroom angling for camera time at a Trump event. He skipped a CD2 candidate forum in Fallon — sending a consultant in his place — to chase the bigger crowd down south.
Read our Prior Coverage:
Every endorsement gets a “🚨BREAKING🚨” graphic. The battle cries sound great online — “America First warrior,” “battle-tested patriot,” “I will NEVER let you down” — but scroll past the slogans, and there’s nothing there.
No position on Nevada’s water compact. No plan for federal land fights. And, no answer for rural infrastructure.
Just the next post, the next endorsement alert, the next camera opportunity. If he goes to church on Easter, it’s a photo op.
CD2 doesn’t need a content creator, it needs a congressman.
What Conservatives Should Think About
The CD2 seat has a proud tradition of long-serving representatives who delivered for northern Nevada. That tradition doesn’t happen by accident.
Amodei, who announced he was breaking his promise to stay out of the primary, was blunt about why.
“While it is not my habit to get involved in Republican primaries, when I see campaigns that are driven by ambition and anxiousness to start a mud fight before the filing period was even over — I’m making an exception,” he wrote.
Settelmeyer filed with a clear statement of purpose.
“I believe in limited government, fiscal responsibility, and the power of local communities to shape their own future. I will fight to secure our borders, strengthen our economy, and preserve the freedoms that make Nevada and America exceptional.”
Those words come from a man with a 16-year record that backs them up.
What You Can Do
The primary is June 9. In a crowded field of 15 Republicans, a motivated, organized minority can win. That cuts both ways. If you live in CD2 and believe northern Nevada deserves a representative who actually knows the place, show up.
The endorsement list is impressive. But endorsements don’t vote, people do.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
