Interactive map of district boundaries. Points indicate major cities in the district with a population over 50,000, ordered by population (Reno,Sparks, andCarson City).
Nevada's 2nd congressional district is acongressional district that includes the northern third of the state. It includes most ofLyon County, a small portion ofLincoln County, all ofChurchill,Douglas,Elko,Eureka,Humboldt,Lander,Pershing,Storey,Washoe, andWhite Pine counties, as well as the state capital,Carson City. The largest city in the district isReno, the state's third largest city. Although the district appears rural, its politics are dominated by Reno and Carson City. As of 2017, over 460,000 people reside inWashoe County alone, totaling about two-thirds of the district's population. It is the richest congressional district in the state of Nevada. With aCook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+7, it is the only Republican-leaning congressional district in Nevada.[2]
The district was initially created after theredistricting cycle after the1980 census, when Nevada was split into districts for the first time. From then until 2013, it occupied all of the state outside ofClark County. From 1993 to 2013, it also included the far northern portion of Clark County. Until 2013, it was thethird-largest congressional district by land area that did not cover an entire state. Even though it lost much of its southern portion to the new4th District after the 2010 census, it is still the fifth-largest district in the nation that does not cover an entire state.
The 2nd district has always leanedRepublican. It has been represented by only four people since its creation, all Republicans.Democrats have only made four serious bids for the seat. Inpresidential elections, the district has historically voted Republican;George W. Bush won the district by 20 points in2000 and 16 points in2004. However, in the2008 electionJohn McCain earned only 88 votes more (out of 335,720 votes) thanBarack Obama in the district.
On April 21, 2011,U.S. SenatorJohn Ensign (R-Nev.), plagued by scandal and facing an inquiry by theSenate Ethics Committee, announced his resignation effective May 3.[3] On April 27, GovernorBrian Sandoval announced he would appointDean Heller, the 2nd district's third-term congressman, to fill out Ensign's term in the Senate. Heller had already planned to run for the seat after Ensign announced a month earlier that he would not run for a third term. To fill the vacancy created by Heller's resignation on May 9, Sandoval was required to call a special election to be held within six months of the occurrence of the vacancy.[4]
A special election was held on September 13, 2011. Former Republican state senatorMark Amodei defeated Democratic State TreasurerKate Marshall.[5]
For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[8]
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