No Democrat has ever represented Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, a large sweep of land across the Western state’s vast north.
That will change next year, after Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson defeated Republican David Flippo in the seat opened by Republican Rep. Mark Amodei’s retirement.
Benitez-Thompson’s win is one of the biggest upsets in Nevada political history. The district, created after the 1980 census, voted for Donald Trump by 14 percentage points in 2024, and Amodei won reelection that year by 75,000 votes.
But Flippo was a scandal-tarred candidate. The Washington Post first reported in September that the Republican had inflated his military record multiple times by falsely claiming he received a Bronze Star “for valor” during his two-decade Air Force career. Other outlets also ran extensive reports on his questionable fundraising, personal financial disclosures and other reported exaggerations of his military record.
Benitez-Thompson’s win also means Nevada, a potential 2028 presidential battleground, will be represented entirely by Democrats in Washington.
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