No Nevada GOP civil war: Former Settelmeyer backers line up behind Flippo

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In today's edition: Top Nevada Republicans explain why they're joining David Flippo's campaign after he stomped their preferred candidate. Plus: Susie Lee tries to help a group of service members who the Iran War may hit especially hard, Donald Trump's election battles come to Nevada and national takes on CD2.

Welcome back to Indy Elections. (Did you miss us?) 

After a packed primary season, summer might seem slower, but there's still a lot happening behind the scenes in the campaign world. Read on for the news and have a happy 4th! We'll have a shortened edition next week to ease you back into the political scene. 

This newsletter is published every week. We want to hear from you! Email your newsletter editor Mini Racker at [email protected]. 

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Enemy of my enemy

Newly minted 2nd Congressional District GOP nominee David Flippo (R) is rallying at Denny's today with Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony (R) — who, just three weeks ago, was rooting against him in the primary. 

Anthony isn't the only Republican publicly backing Flippo this month; several members of his post-primary campaign leadership team were recently staunch supporters of his primary opponent, former state Sen. James Settelmeyer (R-Minden). 

How did they get on board so quickly?

Nevada state Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Wellington), now Flippo's Western Area campaign chair, told The Nevada Independent, "Frankly, it was a pretty easy decision." She said she reached out to the Flippo team after the primary because she wants to make sure Republicans don't stay home in November — especially since Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) will need high turnout in the district to win re-election. 

She gave Settelmeyer, who she calls a friend, a heads up.

"Flippo came out with an incredibly strong campaign," Titus said. "There were personal attacks. For me, that's not OK, but at the end of the day, just because I don't like what he did doesn't mean I'm not going to support the party nor the importance of maintaining CD2 in a Republican seat."

She raised those concerns and the need to focus on the issues in a mid-June call. His team reassured her and committed to campaigning across the district. 

"It's his to lose," Titus said. "I want to make sure that he understands what we need in rural Nevada. … He doesn't really know rural Nevada and Washoe County, also. I mean, he's lived in Clark County, so the best thing was to reach out to him and start getting him out in rural areas to educate him on what our needs are. [Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV)] has been incredibly accessible. I want to make sure we have that kind of relationship with David Flippo."

Former Assembly Minority Leader P. K. O'Neill (R-Carson City) said he was a strong Settelmeyer supporter, but the Flippo campaign reached out right after the primary. He quickly signed on as Flippo's Carson City campaign chair. 

"I love Westerns, and there's a saying in many of my books that I read, where you ride for the brand," O'Neill said. Was there any hesitation? "That's a difficult question to answer, because I was still processing Settelmeyer's loss, but I also understood, and as I said earlier, respect the vote of the people."

Of his Settelmeyer endorsement, Assm. Greg Koenig (R-Fallon) said he "just felt that someone from Northern Nevada should be representing us." But after GOP primary voters chose Flippo, he said people began to ask him if he was working in support of Democratic nominee and former Assm. Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-Reno).

"The rumors were around that I was starting a Republicans for TBT group," Koenig said. "That's not something I would ever do. So I was dealing with those rumors, and then Flippo reached out to me personally, and I had never had any contact with him before."

He was impressed by the candidate's personal outreach. Flippo had heard the rumor, too, but the pair talked it out. Koenig is now his Churchill County campaign chair. 

"Even if I don't agree with him 100 percent of the time, I know that his votes and what he stands for is going to be way more in line with my district and what the people in my district want than a Democrat would ever be," Koenig said.

Flippo continues to be visible in Northern Nevada, with a stop at the Reno rodeo and the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows in the last week. Lombardo and Amodei have yet to endorse Flippo. 

Republicans are torn about Benitez-Thompson's chances of winning the Republican-leaning seat. Titus and O'Neill warned against complacency. Of the former Assembly majority leader, Koenig said, "She's a good person, but I really don't think that a Democrat can win this district at this point." 

— Mini Racker

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What we're reading and writing

The Supreme Court ruled that officials can count ballots that arrive after Election Day.

The left is ascendant in Democratic primaries across the country. What happened in Nevada?

Culinary called attention to the "MAGA bros" supporting the governor.

Can mining help boost the public's opinion of President Donald Trump's second term?

Tesla's battery factory has become a target for thieves.

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D.C. Download: Taking care of drone pilots

While popular efforts to ensure veterans exposed to toxins and radiation in classified locations have gotten gummed up in Congress, Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) has put forth another proposal to help service members get healthcare. I spoke to her about her CARE for RPA Crews Act, which is aimed to help pilots who operate drones remotely after they retire. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

MR: What problems do drone pilots face could this bill help address?

SL: They're basically in the middle of combat, but they're doing it out of Creech [Air Force Base]. So what this bill does is create an identifier for them, so that they can access care, especially mental health support that has been designed for service members who served in a combat environment; but without this identifier, these crew members who supported combat missions lacked this marker in their records, because they operate from within the United States.

MR: They're piloting these drones remotely, but they might still have trauma.

SL: I mean, yeah, they're dropping bombs on Iran, and there's casualties. They're dealing with the same type of mental health trauma, but they're not getting the access to the mental healthcare. So with this identifier, they'll be eligible for five years of free medical care. They'll get a higher priority status at the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs), and most importantly, they'll get access to enhanced mental healthcare and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) treatment. You think about it, they drop a bomb on a facility and they go home to their family, and so it seems like there's this disconnect.

MR: Have you heard anything about whether any [more] Republicans will get on board?

SL: This is not that big of a lift. … I got a few people in mind that we're talking to. … I'd obviously love to have [Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV)] on board, being in Nevada. But [Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX)] is a good friend of mine, he's on the defense subcommittee. I've a few buddies on the defense subcommittee: [Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN).] So we're trying to connect the dots.

— Mini Racker

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Indy Ad Watch: Lombardo's slew of ads

In the last week, Gov. Joe Lombardo's (R) campaign rolled out four new advertisements in the Reno and Las Vegas markets on broadcast and CTV, totaling a spend of more than $224,000.

The four campaign ads (three in English, one in Spanish) feature the same cast of characters (including a parent and small-business owner) thanking Lombardo for his work to cut regulations and improve education, all ending with the same phrase — "He's working hard to make Nevada a better place to learn, live and work."

Data from ad-tracking firm AdImpact shows Lombardo and Republican-aligned groups have spent more than $12.5 million on ads since December 2025, while Democrats have only spent around $74,000. 

— Tabitha Mueller

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Mini Series: You're telling me there's a chance

🧑‍⚖️ RNC sues Nevada for overseas voter law — It's general election season in Nevada, which means it's time for lawsuits. On Monday, the Republican National Committee (RNC) sued to overturn a state law that allows people born outside the U.S. to vote in the state if the last place their parents were eligible to vote was Nevada. The law still stipulates that a person must be a U.S. citizen to vote.

• The law was part of the 2011 "Uniformed Military and Overseas Absentee Voters Act," which passed the Legislature unanimously and was signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval (R).
• The RNC is arguing the law violates the Nevada Constitution, which states voters must "actually, as opposed to constructively," meet residency requirements. 
• The number of voters this provision covers is likely extremely small. In the 2024 general election, about 3,600 people voted while overseas, which was less than 0.3 percent of all ballots cast.

👷 Ford releases economic development plan — Attorney General Aaron Ford, the Democratic nominee for governor, rolled out an economic development plan last week. It calls for easing the job application process for veterans, creating a new department for early childhood education and care and capping security deposits at one month's rent. He also wants to expand existing state-run financial aid programs to four-year higher education institutions. 

• Ford also highlighted policies he has already made public, including capping annual corporate home purchases and reviewing the tax break program for data centers.

🤝The Trump to Lombardo pipeline? — Eve Sara Landau, a former campaign operative for President Donald Trump, has joined Gov. Joe Lombardo's (R) re-election team as the Southern Nevada director. During the 2024 cycle, Landau served as the Trump campaign's director of strategic initiatives in Nevada. Halee Dobbins, who also worked on Trump's campaign during the 2024 cycle, serves as communication director for Lombardo's campaign. 

🔍Who paid for pro-Settelmeyer ads?  — The super PAC that ran ads praising former state Sen. James Settelmeyer (R-Minden) and against David Flippo (R) in the 2nd Congressional District primary reported who donated to it in May. Its funding includes:

• $3 million from Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin
• $79,500 from a nonprofit led by Brett Loper, once a staffer to former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
• $43,000 from pro-Trump Florida lawyer and former ambassador to Colombia nominee Dan Newlin
• $25,000 from Barrick Gold of North America Inc. (which is familiar with Settelmeyer from his time working for the governor)
• $20,000 from a contractor that builds jails and detention equipment
• $5,000 from a leadership PAC affiliated with former Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) 
• $5,000 from Cato Institute fellow and Nevada resident Gerald O'Driscoll 

📍Washington's take on whether TBT has a chance — Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene recently took questions from The Nevada Independent on two of the state's congressional races.

• Asked if the committee has plans to get involved in the 2nd Congressional District, which is not traditionally a battleground seat, DelBene said, "We'll continue to look at where there might be opportunities," though she added that the committee is focused on making sure the state's vulnerable House incumbents are well-positioned for November.

— Eric Neugeboren, Isabella Aldrete and Mini Racker

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Looking Ahead

• Wednesday, July 15 — Candidates must submit their second quarter C&E reports

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