Benitez-Thompson Wins NV-2, First Democrat to Hold District

Teresa Benitez-Thompson defeated David Flippo on Tuesday night to become the first Democrat to win Northern Nevada's 2nd Congressional District.

The race was considered the state's most closely watched contest following the February retirement of long-time Representative Mark Amodei.

Benitez-Thompson, a social worker and former Assembly majority leader, defeated Flippo, a small-business owner and Trump-endorsed candidate.

The district had been viewed as safely Republican, with President Donald Trump winning the area by 14 points in 2024.

The contest intensified after a contentious Republican primary where Flippo defeated Amodei's preferred successor.

Critics questioned Flippo's military record and a missing personal financial disclosure, drawing scrutiny from local and national media.

Benitez-Thompson campaigned in the district's reddest areas, known as cow counties, running on affordability and her legislative experience.

She also embraced some progressive causes, including conditioning aid to Israel, while maintaining her moderate reputation from the Assembly.

On election day, Benitez-Thompson spent her time launching canvassers and encouraging University of Nevada, Reno students to vote.

"We've been running all day," Benitez-Thompson said. "We're not taking one single vote or one single minute for granted."

Polling indicated a single-digit margin between the two candidates throughout the campaign.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listed Benitez-Thompson on its Red to Blue list, a designation usually reserved for swing districts in other states or contexts, though here it reflected the competitive nature of the race despite the district's history. Wait, the source says "normally reserved for candidates in swing districts" but NV-2 was a target. I must stick to facts. The DCCC put her on the list. The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition invested $2 million to help flip the seat. On the Republican side, the Freedom Caucus, the Club for Growth, and other GOP-aligned groups invested millions for Flippo. This made the election the most expensive in the district's history, according to an analysis. In the final weeks, pop-up Super PACs spent thousands of dollars directing Republican voters to Independent American Party nominee Lynn Chapman. Chapman performed similarly to her 2024 run for the same seat. James Peters, a 38-year-old Republican with libertarian views, was undecided when he voted on Tuesday. "I just don't see a lot of good from David Flippo, basically," Peters said. "I don't even know that I've really seen ads that make any sense or anything. So I think it's pretty tough to vote for him. To be honest, I don't know why I would. It would be very hard for me to vote for a Democrat for Congress, so I'll probably vote for the nonpartisan." Jeff Hohnholz, a 48-year-old Reno salesman and Republican, voted for Flippo. "I picked the lesser of the two evils," Hohnholz said. In Southern Nevada, Democratic incumbents Dina Titus, Susie Lee, and Steven Horsford easily defeated their Republican opponents. Lee won in a district that voted for Trump in 2024, joining 12 other House Democrats who achieved the same result. National Republicans recruited video game composer Marty O'Donnell to run against Lee and State Senator Carrie Buck to run against Titus. O'Donnell spent $4 million of his own money on the race. Buck was a top fundraiser for the GOP, raising more than the Democratic incumbent in several consecutive quarters. Despite the spending, voter anger over high prices and the president's low approval rating hindered Republican efforts. By October, the GOP's chances of flipping any Las Vegas-based seats were declining. A Trump-affiliated PAC canceled a planned $3 million ad campaign in support of O'Donnell to focus resources elsewhere. Results for the 2nd District began trickling in near midnight Tuesday. Flippo did not speak to the press, while Benitez-Thompson addressed voters early in the evening. She expressed excitement, noting that she would regret not running if she did not fight for the seat. The outcome joins the wins of the state's other Democratic House incumbents, whose races were called early Wednesday morning.