Turning Point Action and Washoe GOP leaders embraced a Trump-endorsed candidate while discounting warnings about his ability to win a general election and they lost.
Michael Leonard
Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson defeated Republican David Flippo in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, a seat Amodei had carried by roughly 14 points just two years earlier.
The defeat occurred during a broader Democratic wave that swept Nevada, costing Republicans the Governor’s office and all four congressional seats.
The unfavorable national climate clearly mattered. But it also raises another question: Did Republicans, led by the Turning Point Action and Washoe GOP, make a difficult election year worse by prioritizing ideological loyalty over electability?
Turning Point Action and Ideological Alignment
Following Congressman Mark Amodei’s retirement announcement, Turning Point Action aggressively backed David Flippo, a candidate that they knew had serious issues, but ignored.
On May 31, Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer promoted Flippo as a Trump-endorsed candidate aligned with the House Freedom Caucus, arguing Nevada needed more genuine conservatives.
That was a striking message in a state that had recently elected Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, repeatedly elected Amodei to Congress, and produced conservative candidate leaders such as former State Senator James Settelmeyer.
The primary exposed a fundamental disagreement: Is the best Republican candidate the one most closely aligned with the MAGA movement, or the one best positioned to win over a broad general-election electorate?
Flippo supporters Jeanne Herman (Washoe District 5 Commissioner), Joey Gilbert (former candidate for Governor), Bruce Parks (Washoe GOP Chairman ), Malachi Southerland (TPUSA organizer), Lisa-Marie Lightfoot (Classic Americans TPUSA organizer), and others pose with David Flippo (center left).
Settelmeyer vs. Flippo - How it Started
James Settelmeyer was a longtime Northern Nevada resident, former state senator, former Republican legislative leader, and former director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Settelmeyer emphasized experience and deep local roots.
Flippo was a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and businessman, and received endorsements from President Trump, Turning Point Action, and national conservative organizations.
Flippo emphasized alignment with the national conservative movement.
Republican voters chose Flippo in the primary after a strong push by TPUSA and Washoe GOP, which included smear advertising and ignored the many issues surrounding Flippo.
As a result, Republicans entered the fall campaign with a nominee whose limited Northern Nevada ties and growing controversies were already attracting scrutiny.
Flippo’s campaign manager, Rory McShane, said he never heard a hint of the claims against Flippo, and he portrayed detractors' words as sour grapes from Republicans who didn’t get their chosen candidate past the primary.
Link: Republicans debate whether Flippo or blue wave cost them Nevada seat
In a masterclass in denial, Flippo’s campaign consultant, Rory McShane, blames everyone and everything for the election loss except himself and his candidate.
The Warnings about Flippo Came Early
One of the most notable aspects of Flippo’s defeat is that many concerns were identified before the primary.
In April and May, Nevada News & Views columnist Brittany Sheehan warned that Republicans should not assume any candidate could automatically inherit Amodei’s support.
She cited Flippo’s Southern Nevada background, confrontational style, and limited Northern Nevada roots as vulnerabilities, among other things.
Link: From Washoe Warning to Republican Reckoning: The Cost of Turning Point’s Purity Test
Flippo faced questions regarding his military record, financial disclosures, and previous professional activities.
These issues gave Democrats additional lines of attack and raised broader questions about candidate vetting.
Sheehan particularly warned that Flippo could lose Washoe County by double digits. By election night, he did.
The larger concern is that Turning Point Action and the Washoe GOP focused more on ideological compatibility than on general-election vulnerability.
I don’t know who made this, but I found it posted before the primary.
The Washoe GOP Loyalty Test
The tension became particularly visible when the Washoe County Republican Party voted to stop recognizing Congressman Mark Amodei as a Republican after he refused to support Flippo.
Amodei argued that his concerns were based on candidate quality and electability. Party leaders treated his dissent as a loyalty issue. The irony is difficult to ignore.
The party publicly condemned a Republican congressman who had consistently won Washoe County while defending a nominee who ultimately lost it by a large margin.
The episode reflected two competing visions of party politics: unity behind the nominee versus independent judgment about candidate quality.
This showed that neither Turning Point Action nor the Washoe GOP could develop an election-winning strategy, raising questions about their leadership's suitability.
Link: Washoe County GOP says Mark Amodei is no longer considered Republican
Winning Primaries Is Not Winning Elections
The lesson from 2026 is simple: Republican activists are not the electorate. Activists volunteer, donate, attend meetings, and dominate primary elections.
General-election voters are broader, more diverse, and often less ideological.
Candidates who perform well among highly engaged conservatives do not automatically perform well among independents, moderates, and crossover voters.
Turning Point Action’s and Washoe GOP’s strategy focused on promoting the candidate aligned with the conservative activist base, but ideological alignment and electoral appeal differ, and the 2026 results showed that clearly.
Steve Sanson, President of Veterans in Politics and President of VIP Consulting, is calling for Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald to resign over the Flippo fiasco.
The Blue Wave Doesn’t Explain It
The news has called the election results a Blue Wave and framed it as an upwelling of Democratic voters. However, the Trump Effect I discussed in a previous article may have driven the Republican losses, as voters grew dissatisfied with Trump policies they associated with a higher cost of living, immigration actions, and the war in Iran
Neither the Blue Wave nor the Trump Effect fully explains Flippo’s performance. According to figures highlighted by Brittany Sheehan, Amodei carried Congressional District 2 by more than 20,000 votes while Flippo lost the same district by roughly 17,500 votes, a gap of 37,500 votes.
The comparison demonstrates that Republican candidates did not perform uniformly within the same political environment. The national climate was shared. The candidates were not. Flippo was not a good choice, and he lost badly.
Election 2026: Surprises, Upsets, and Lessons for Reno and Washoe
I summarize the election results in this article and link to my articles on the history of the misinformation and political divide.
Conclusion - What Went Wrong
Turning Point Action and the Washoe GOP prioritized ideological consistency and loyalty to the national conservative movement. General-election voters favored experience, local credibility, and electability.
Republican primary voters chose Flippo. Five months later, general-election voters chose Teresa Benitez-Thompson. The Democratic wave was real. But it does not erase the decisions Republicans made before Election Day.
The central lesson is straightforward: winning over activists is not the same as winning over voters. Ideological agreement inside a party does not translate into support from the broader electorate.
If voters reject the candidate, party leaders should ask whether their assumptions about the electorate were correct. Blaming voters for rejecting the candidate does not produce useful answers. Framing criticism and advice as disloyalty does not produce winning results.
The question facing Northern Nevada Republicans is whether they view the 2026 result as an unavoidable consequence of a Democratic wave, or as a warning that electability matters. It might be time for new leadership in the GOP and a move away from activist groups that don’t understand the big picture.
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