LAS VEGAS: U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada had three surgeries and an outpatient procedure over the past 10 months for cancerous tumors on his kidneys and a cancerous spot in his esophagus, the Republican congressman disclosed Friday.
Amodei told The Associated Press that he did not reveal the cancer when he first learned of it last September or his surgery before the November election because he didn’t want it to be used against him in his reelection campaign.
The 63-year-old Republican said if someone had asked him about it at the time, he would have truthfully answered about his condition and said of his hospital stays, “I didnt check in under aliases or anything else.
But, he said, “theres no way Im going to go out and volunteer it in an election cycle.”
Amodei, who has represented Reno and northern Nevada in the House since 2011, said he didnt want it to become a campaign issue. He cited one of his past reelection campaigns where his opponent criticized him for missing…