Some smart and politically savvy Democratic women have run spirited races to capture Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District seat, which was created after the 1980 U.S. census.
First, there was Democratic state Sen. Mary Gojack, who once half-joked state legislators in Carson City should take a breathalyzer test before each vote.
In 1982, Gojack pulled in 41.3 percent of the vote in her loss to Republican Barbara Vucanovich.
Gojack's loss started a string of victories for the GOP in the 2nd U.S. House District as Republicans have held the seat ever since -- for 44 years.
Then there was Democrat Jill Derby in 2006, getting 44.9 percent of the vote in a 5-point loss to Dean Heller. Derby, member of the University System Board of Regents, got almost 42 percent in her 2008 rematch with Heller.
Democrat Kate Marshall, who later won elections for Nevada state treasurer and lieutenant governor, got 36.7 percent of the vote in the 2011 special-election loss to Mark Amodei. She is running for Reno mayor in 2026.
Now, another politically-savvy Democratic woman will run for the 2nd U.S. House District seat this year -- former three-term Assembly Majority Leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson of Reno.
Benitez-Thompson, who won the title of Miss Nevada 24 years ago and was the third runner-up in the Miss America pageant in 2003, has the advantage of not running against an incumbent.
However, so did Gojack in '82, Derby in '06 and Marshall in 2011.
Current CD-2 Rep. Mark Amodei surprised many by announcing his retirement last month, saying 15 years on Capitol Hill was enough.
His decision unleashed a frenzy that saw 27 candidates file to take his place.
Benitez-Thompson sees 2026 as the year to break the GOP win streak, she said Tuesday on Nevada Newsmakers.
"When the Congressman (Amodei) announced his surprise retirement, I looked at the numbers and I thought, 'You know, what is happening out there in the landscape that is changing, changing the calculus for him to not run again?" Benitez-Thompson told host Sam Shad.
"So looking at the numbers, there's a couple of different things, and the reasons why I believe that a good Democrat can win the seat," she said.
"So first it is in the midterms," Benitez-Thompson said. "The district tends to under-perform (in midterm races).
"And so we know we can get closer than what people actually think in a midterm election," she continued. "And what's happening right now in the world and in the country makes me think that we're going to see a good Democrat be able to over-perform as well."
Benitez-Thompson did not need to mention what the War with Iran, higher gas/grocery prices, tariffs and the over-aggressive actions of federal ICE agents have done to the Trump Administration's popularity.
"We're going to see some real challenges on the Republican side and perhaps an uninspired electorate that's really frustrated with this President and frustrated with this administration and that they're going to under-perform.
"So that's the simple math that I'm looking at," Benitez-Thompson said.
Open to debate her opponents
Benitez-Thompson sees the campaign as a chance to debate her opponents and put her ideas of governance into the public conversation.
"Regardless of even winning the race, this is a chance to shape the conversation for our communities," Benitez-Thompson said.
"This is a chance to say, 'You know, there's certain topics that ought to be talked about," she continued. "There ought to be public debates between the candidates. When you have a good Democrat and a good Republican, a good Democrat can force that Republican to show up."
Benitez-Thompson was critical of Amodei for not holding a public forum since April of 2017.
"We haven't had our Republican representative in Congress at town halls in a number of years," Benitez-Thompson said. "So there's 100 percent of an opportunity to make sure that important conversation and (other) dialogs are happening in this campaign. "
Amodei, however, has continued with smaller meetings with specific constituency groups, according to reports.
Recent town-hall meetings across the nation with Republicans in Congress have become loud and abusive, perhaps prompting Amodei's decision, Shad said to Benitez-Thompson.
"And I don't necessarily disagree," Benitez-Thompson countered. "But that doesn't mean that you stop being responsive to the public and engaged with the public.
"I've been elected for a long time," said Benitez-Thompson, who was first elected to the Assembly in 2010. "I kind of know that sometimes people are going to call you names and they're going to be mad at you. And they're going to be angry with you. That doesn't mean that you stop the conversation or the dialog. In fact, that is the time to lean in.
"You have to be responsive to dissenting voices," Benitez-Thompson continued. "You have to be able to have the conversations, because as a policymaker, you have to make tough decisions. You've got to be able to explain what those decisions are and talk about your reasoning and logic for getting there. I believe there's a receptive audience who will hear you out if you do so."
Restoring cuts to federal programs
One of Benitez-Thompson's top priorities, if elected, is to restore funding for federal programs in Nevada that have been cut during the Trump administration.
Several federal programs in Nevada have faced significant funding freezes, cuts, or proposed eliminations across health, education, and environmental sectors, according to reports.
For example:
* In early 2025, billions in federal mental health grants were canceled nationwide, directly impacting Nevada's ability to support behavioral health systems.
* Funding for food-bank deliveries and programs like Home Feeds Nevada -- which allowed local producers to sell directly to food banks—was canceled in April 2025, as reported by ThisIsReno.
* More than $61 million in federal education funds for Nevada were frozen in July 2025, affecting K-12 and higher education, according to the Nevada State Education Association.
* Proposed cuts to Medicaid expansion could force Nevada to either provide $2.92 billion in additional state funding over seven years or risk 132,000 residents losing coverage, according to the Nevada Current.
"It's hit us exponentially hard," Benitez-Thompson said about Trump-era cuts to programs fostered under the Biden Administration. "So one of the things that I'm committed to as a candidate is advocating for the restoration of those dollars, especially federal-grant dollars, because those are our tax dollars that we send to Washington, D.C., that get reinvested in our own backyard.
"And when this administration cuts those dollars, that means we're not getting our own tax dollars back to work for us," she added.
One of Benitez-Thompson major concerns deals with Medicaid, a critical health-care program for those at the near- or at poverty levels.
"One of the biggest investments was on that Medicaid expansion," she said. "And that was the expansion of adults, who were typically chronically ill people, typically people who were very much in need and utilizing our emergency rooms for mental and behavioral health.
"When we expanded coverage to that population, we thought it was a great investment of our Nevada dollars and bringing in and leveraging more federal dollars to meet the needs throughout our communities," she said.
No Kidding
Shad mention Greg Kidd, the billionaire from Crystal Bay, Nv., who is also running in the Democratic primary in CD-2.
Benitez-Thompson did not take the bait.
"I'm busy focusing on talking about my experience here in the state of Nevada," she said. "I have long roots in this community, and I've been with this community through good times and bad times."
Kidd ran as No Political Party in the 2024 general election against Amodei in CD-2. He gained 36.1 percent of the vote.
He recently donated $3,500 to the Democratic Party of Washoe County.
"I love having new members in our community, and I love having new
members of our party," Benitez-Thompson said. "I just want to make sure that people know the difference in candidates between someone who's been here doing the work for a long time and then someone who's coming in more recently and ... might be talking prospectively about what they might do versus showing a good body of work and a commitment to the community."
Miss Nevada title helps build future
Benitez-Thompson's experience as Miss Nevada and her Top-4 finish at the Miss America Pageant introduced her to many female role models who helped form her later careers in social work and politics.
"So, with the program that I was in, we referred to it famously -- and Sandra Bullock has a line that a lot of us refer to -- It's a scholarship program," she said.
She was referring to Bullock's hit movie in 2000, "Miss Congeniality." It came with a 2005 sequel, "Miss Congeniality, Armed and Fabulous."
"So the idea was, how do you mentor young women, introduce them into leadership and what leadership looks like in their community," Benitez-Thompson said. "And then, get them involved in community service and provide scholarship opportunities.
"So for me, it was beneficial in many ways, not only because it paid for most
of my undergraduate education and my graduate education at the University of Michigan, but it also introduced me to people who were supporting youth and mentoring youth and sharing their leadership skills."
Benitez-Thompson earned a master's degree in social work at Michigan. She became a licensed social worker in Nevada afterwards.
"And so I worked on low-income issues affecting women," Benitez-Thompson said. "My mom was a single-mom waitress in this town. So if you had dinner back then at the Comstock or at Fitzgerald's or even Rapscallion, chances are my mom might have served you.
"And the tip that you left on the table was what she used to raise us," Benitez-Thompson said.
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