'The guy is a fraud!' Outgoing Republican disavows GOP candidate for his seat amid scandal

Nevada GOP congressional candidate David Flippo got another humiliation on Thursday as the outgoing Republican currently holding his seat, Mark Amodei, doubled down on his refusal to endorse him.

Speaking to The Washington Post's Dan Merica, Amodei said he will "absolutely not" give Flippo his support.

“The guy is a fraud ... I’m not having my last action walking out the door to hug a guy who I think is a fraud,” said Amodei.

Nevada's 2nd District covers all of the northern areas of the state, including Reno, Carson City, and the Lake Tahoe area. Republicans have won the district in every single election since it was first established in 1982.

Flippo, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, emerged out of a bitterly divided primary that featured over a dozen candidates, though he swiftly earned the endorsement of President Donald Trump and Gov. Joe Lombardo even as Amodei has pointedly kept his distance.

This week, his campaign was rocked by reporting that he has repeatedly falsely claimed he earned a different type of Bronze Star than he actually did, a claim military experts say is tantamount to stolen valor. His campaign has apologized for the controversy.

The news comes as Republicans are already sweating over holding the usually safely red seat, amid a national environment where the public is furious at the party over the Iran war and the spiraling cost of gas.