Carpetbagger allegation, misplaced valor make Nevada's safe red House seat competitive
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seat → misplace → ?
The race for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District shouldn't be competitive, just based on history and math.
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race → base → history
But the Republican Party's nominee, David Flippo, is facing an unusually tough race despite having President Trump's endorsement, bogged down by allegations that he exaggerated his military service and lacks real ties to the district.
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he → face → district
"This seat is some kind of competitive like it has never been in the history since it was created," said Mark Amodei, the retiring Republican congressman who has represented the northern Nevada district for the past 15 years.
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who → create → years
"And you know what I attribute that to?
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I → know → that
I attribute it to the candidate and the way he's run his campaign."
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he → attribute → campaign
The Washington Post was first to report that Flippo's campaign repeatedly mischaracterized his military service, in fundraising appeals and a video from an earlier congressional run.
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campaign → report → run
In the video, the booming voice of a narrator described Flippo as "a recipient of the Bronze Star that he received for Valor.
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he → describe → Valor
Candidate blames young staff and grandkids
But Flippo didn't receive a bronze star with the "V" for valor, which requires bravery in battle.
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which → blame → battle
It's a big distinction that most veterans notice.
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veterans → notice → that
Flippo held a press conference where he apologized and blamed a young staffer for mixing up the word "valor" from an award his whole unit received.
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unit → hold → award
In an interview with NPR, Flippo said the language about his awards got "edited and convoluted" and he "missed it," then caught it, but somehow it worked its way back into his campaign materials.
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it → say → materials
Still, Flippo said he accepts responsibility.
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he → say → responsibility
"Look, part of leadership is taking ownership," he said.
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he → look → ownership
Flippo defended wearing the "V" on a ball cap next to his Bronze Star medal.
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Flippo → defend → medal
In fact, a photo prominently displayed on his campaign website, showed him wearing two bronze "V" pins.
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him → display → pins
He also wore it regularly at campaign events, including his primary night victory party.
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He → wear → party
This was initially noted by the conservative outlet Nevada News & Views but Flippo addressed the question of why he was displaying those two "V" pins for the first time publicly in his interview with NPR.
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he → note → NPR
"You know if you've lived with grandkids, and you know, you kind of know, when you ask them to put those things on your hat," Flippo said before offering further evidence.
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Flippo → know → evidence
I do have another hat that's just like it, because you misplace one or whatever, and that does not have any V devices on it, so and I was like 'where did that other V device go?'
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device → have → it
So, the grandkids ended up doing that."
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grandkids → end → that
The campaign removed the photo from his website shortly after our interview.
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campaign → remove → interview
Flippo chalked the controversy up to politics.
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Flippo → chalk → politics
"It's just crazy what people are going to go after," he said.
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he → go → what
Earlier this year, Flippo was running for congress in Las Vegas when Amodei announced he would be retiring.
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he → run → Vegas
So Flippo swapped districts to run for the open seat, some seven hours to the north by car from where he had been running.
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he → swap → car
With the neon Reno arch behind him and a Trump 47 hat on his head, Flippo announced in a video that he was all in for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District.
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he → announce → District
The district was drawn in 1981 to be strongly Republican and Democrats have never even come close to winning here.
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Democrats → draw → 1981
"This is a strong conservative district," Flippo said in an interview with NPR.
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Flippo → say → NPR
"I was talking with the people that have endorsed me such as Turning Point and other organizations that are on the conservative side.
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that → talk → side
The belief was that this being a conservative district we should get somebody that is more conservative in this seat."
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that → get → seat
Flippo handily won the Republican primary with Trump's endorsement.
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Flippo → win → endorsement
But in recent weeks Republican super PACs have had to come to Flippo's rescue with more than $1 million in TV and digital advertising reservations, according to AdImpact data.
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PACs → have → data
"They must have gotten a poll and had a five alarm fire at headquarters and said we have to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into that district to save this guy," said Jon Ralston, a longtime Nevada political journalist and founder of the Nevada Independent.
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Ralston → get → Independent
Trump won this district by 14 points two years ago, and while Ralston is skeptical a Democrat can ultimately win, he sees signs everywhere that Republicans are treating this like a real race.
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Republicans → win → race
Earlier this week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Flippo's opponent Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson to its competitive "Red to Blue" program, meaning she'll get extra support from the party committee, which sees this as a winnable race.
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which → add → race
"In the state legislature, Teresa was known for crossing the aisle and doing what's right for Northern Nevadans," DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement.
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DelBene → know → statement
"Against a scandal-plagued opponent who even Republicans don't like, Teresa is the leader Nevada families deserve."
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families → plague → who
At a recent candidate meet and greet in southern Reno, Benitez-Thompson played up her deep roots in the district, going back to her early childhood.
"This is home," she said, a not so subtle nod to the fact that her opponent was living and running for office in an entirely different part of the state just six months ago.
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opponent → play → state
A former Miss Nevada, she's now raising four children in Reno.
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she → raise → Reno
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
