Nevada Republican announces challenge to Horsford

Flippo, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and a financial adviser in Las Vegas, says he hopes to bring his problem-solving abilities to Congress.

“My whole career has been problem solving,” Flippo said. “And what I see from the citizen perspective is, it seems like there’s a lot of problem creators right now in our Congress.”

Flippo served as a combat commander in charge of about 1,000 airmen and established three operating bases inside Iraq, and he oversaw about 800 airmen and 72 aircraft in Alaska for his final assignment before retiring in 2009 after 24 years in the military.

In 2022, Flippo ran for Assembly District 37 but lost the Republican primary to Jacob Deaville by about 1,300 votes. How will things be different this time around?

“I got in late last time,” Flippo said. “I hadn’t run before; it was my first time running, so there’s a lot to learn and all that. And that’s one of the reasons I got in so early this time. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.”

Flippo thinks the biggest issues that will be at the forefront of the 2024 election are taxes and immigration. The Trump administration’s tax cuts are set to expire in 2025, and the next Congress could extend those further or implement a tax increase, Flippo said.

Flippo, who worked for oil company BP in Alaska developing a preventive maintenance program for an oilfield operation, wants to see a “united solution on energy” in the United States.

“It can’t be a one-size-fits-all,” he said. “There (are) good reasons for wind, there’s good reasons for electric and there’s good reasons for oil, and they all have their own purpose. And they can all work together for an energy policy that our nation needs to have that right now seems like we want to go one direction all or none.”

Balancing budgets

The federal government should also have a balanced budget and “stop spending more” than it brings in, he said. Flippo does not have an opinion on some Republicans’ proposal to eliminate the federal income tax and raise sales taxes by 30 percent.

“I don’t know enough about it at this point to actually form an opinion, because I’m not in those rooms,” Flippo said. “I trust that there are smart people in the room.”

As someone who formerly owned 2,500 acres of gold mines in Alaska, Flippo understands mining rights, he said. If elected, he can help companies obtain mining rights and work with the natural resources side of Congress.

Flippo, who has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration, says that he differs from Horsford on taxes.

“I’m for not raising any taxes on Nevadans or in our nation,” Flippo said. “Horsford has proven time and again, that he is approving tax increases and, and supports that type of thing.”

Horsford does not approve of tax increases for working families. He was a supporter of the child tax credit, which provided between $3,000 and $3,600 per child to working families in Nevada. Horsford did support the Inflation Reduction Act, which Republicans criticized for increasing inflation and taxes, however the legislation primarily impacted households in the top 1 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Immigration issues

Flippo also differs from Horsford in his stances on immigration and said that the process for seeking asylum needs to change.

“Right now in Ukraine, there’s refugees, and there’s a (United Nations) answer to it,” Flippo said. “If these are truly asylum seekers, they shouldn’t get a golden ticket to the United States. It should be, come across, claim asylum, and you might end up in another country.”

“I’m not saying that’s the solution, but I’m saying, why aren’t we asking the questions?” Flippo said. “Why are we accepting everybody that comes in? They’ve already gone through two or three countries to get to ours? If they’re truly fearing for their lives in their own country, then why aren’t they stopping at the other countries?”

“We have people from Europe that want to come into our country, and they can’t get in because of our laws, even though they’re gonna be productive members of society,” Flippo said. “They could be French teachers, they could be, you know, anything, lawyers, whatever. … But yet, you come in through the southern border, and you’re in.”

Regarding some other stances, Flippo says he is “pro Second Amendment” and does not think there should be any restrictions on gun owners’ rights. On abortion, he agreed with the Supreme Court that it should be up to the states to decide and does not think it is a congressional issue.

“I don’t think you solve problems unless you get all the players in the room,” Flippo said. “And, to me, the best compromise process is where everybody walks off the table and nobody’s happy.”

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on Twitter.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the status of Republican candidate David Flippo’s ownership of gold mines in Alaska. Flippo no longer owns mines.