Benitez-Thompson projected to win Nevada’s 2nd District — The Hill

Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson is projected by Decision Desk HQ to defeat Republican David Flippo in the election for the U.S. House of Representatives in Nevada’s 2nd District. She is set to take the seat of Republican Mark Amodei, who is leaving Congress.

As The Hill reports, as of Wednesday morning, with 85% of votes counted, Benitez-Thompson had received more than 50%. Flippo had slightly more than 44% of the vote.

A shift in a traditionally Republican district

Nevada’s 2nd District includes the city of Reno and the entire northern part of the state. The outlet calls Benitez-Thompson’s victory a significant blow to the Republican Party in a district that had not previously elected a Democrat to Congress. In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump won here by a margin of 14 percentage points.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Benitez-Thompson works as a social worker and previously served as majority leader in the Nevada State Assembly. Her campaign focused on affordability, combating corruption in Washington, and protecting public lands.

Scandals surrounding the Republican candidate

Flippo, a U.S. Air Force veteran, faced allegations of financial misconduct. Late in the campaign, it became known that he had falsely claimed for years to have received a Bronze Star with “V” device — an award for heroic actions in combat. In fact, he received a Bronze Star in 2004, but not for valor.

Mark Amodei called Flippo a fraud and said he would not vote for him. The Republican candidate’s campaign explained that the inaccurate claims resulted from mistakes by aides, whom it described as honest. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the Nevada race to its “Red to Blue” list, while Benitez-Thompson was endorsed by Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego and California Congressman Pete Aguilar.