Republican David Flippo, the party's nominee for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District and a Trump-endorsed candidate, faces an unexpectedly difficult race in a district that has been reliably Republican since its creation in the early 1980s.
Mark Amodei, the retiring Republican congressman who held the seat for 15 years, directly attributed the shift to Flippo's campaign. "Some kind of competitive like it has never been in the history since it was created," Amodei said.
The trouble began when that Flippo's campaign repeatedly mischaracterized his military service in fundraising appeals and a video from an earlier congressional run. In that video, a narrator described Flippo as "a recipient of the Bronze Star that he received for Valor." Flippo did not receive a Bronze Star with a "V" device—the military designation for valor in combat, a distinction veterans take seriously.
Flippo held a press conference to address the discrepancy, apologizing and blaming a junior staffer for confusing the word "valor" from an award his entire unit received. He told NPR the language in his materials was "edited and convoluted" and that he "missed it," caught it, but it reappeared anyway.
"Part of leadership is taking ownership," Flippo said, calling it "just an honest oversight."
Further scrutiny emerged over photos showing Flippo wearing two bronze "V" pins next to his Bronze Star medal on a campaign ball cap at events, including his primary night victory party. Conservative outlet Nevada News & Views first noted the display.
Flippo addressed the pins in his NPR interview for the first time, attributing them to his grandchildren. "When you ask them to put those things on your hat," he said, adding that he owns a second identical hat without the devices and wondered where the other pin went. "So, the grandkids ended up doing that."
After NPR's inquiry, Flippo's campaign removed the photo from his website. What should have been a comfortable victory in a Republican stronghold has become a genuine competitive race.
