Democrats clinch open Amodei House seat in Nevada

Democrats are projected to flip retiring Rep. Mark Amodei’s (R) seat in northern Nevada, per Decision Desk HQ.

Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a social worker and former majority leader of the state House, defeated Republican David Flippo, an Air Force veteran, to clinch the district that encompasses Reno and the entire upper half of the Silver State.

She notched more than 50 percent of the vote while the Republican garnered just more than 44 percent, with 85 percent of the vote tallied Wednesday morning.

Benitez-Thompson’s victory delivers a major blow to Republicans in a conservative stronghold that’s never sent a Democrat to Congress. President Trump carried the 2nd District by 14 percentage points in 2024.

The Republican candidate has faced allegations of financial wrongdoing. And late in the campaign it was revealed that he had falsely claimed for years that he earned a Bronze Star award “with valor,” meaning he performed acts of heroism in combat. In fact, he received a Bronze Star in 2004, but not for valor.

Amodei has called Flippo a “fraud” and said he wouldn’t vote for him.

Flippo’s campaign said the distortion was the result of “honest mistakes” made by aides. But the scandals dogged Flippo’s campaign and gave hope to Democrats that Benitez-Thompson could flip the seat.

House Democrats’ campaign arm included the Nevada contest on its coveted “Red to Blue” list, and Benitez-Thompson notched endorsements from key Democrats , including Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and California Rep. Pete Aguilar.

Her campaign largely focused on affordability, fighting corruption in Washington and protecting public lands.