Nevada's 2nd congressional district

Nevada's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district that includes the northern third of the state. It includes most of Lyon County, all of Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Pershing, Storey and Washoe counties, as well as the state capital, Carson City. The largest city in the district is Reno, the state's third largest city. Although the district appears rural, its politics are dominated by Reno and Carson City, which combined cast over 85 percent of the district's vote.

The district was initially created after the 1980 Census. From then until 2013, it occupied all of the state outside of Clark County, and the far northern portion of Clark County. It was the third-largest congressional district by land area .

Historically, the 2nd has had a heavy Republican lean. Republicans have held the district since its creation, and Democrats have only made three serious bids for the seat. In presidential elections, the district has historically voted Republican; George W. Bush won the district by 20 points in 2000 and 16 points in 2004. However, in the 2008 election John McCain earned only 88 votes more (out of 335,720 votes) than Barack Obama in the district.

Republican Mark Amodei has held the seat since 2011.

2011 special election

On April 21, 2011, U.S. Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.), plagued by scandal and facing an inquiry by the Senate Ethics Committee, announced his resignation effective May 3.^[1] On April 27, Governor Brian Sandoval announced he would appoint Dean 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.^[2]

A special election was held on September 13, 2011. Former Republican state senator Mark Amodei defeated Democratic Secretary of State Kate Marshall.^[3]

Voting

Election results from presidential races^[4]

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	Congress	District Home	Electoral history
Barbara Vucanovich	Republican	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1997	98th	Reno	First elected in 1982 Retired
			99th
			100th
			101st
			102nd
			103rd
			104th
Jim Gibbons	Republican	January 3, 1997 – December 31, 2006	105th	Reno	First elected in 1996 Retired to run for Governor of Nevada, then resigned early to become Governor
			106th
			107th
			108th
			109th
Vacant		December 31, 2006 – January 3, 2007	109th
Dean Heller	Republican	January 3, 2007 – May 9, 2011	110th	Carson City	First elected in 2006 Resigned when appointed to U.S. Senate
	111th
	112th
Vacant		May 9, 2011 – September 13, 2011	112th
Mark Amodei	Republican	September 13, 2011 – present	112th	Carson City	First elected to finish Heller's term
	113th
	114th

Election results

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2011 (special)

2012

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

• Nevada's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

Notes

Coordinates: 40°39′04″N 117°19′47″W / 40.65111°N 117.32972°W / 40.65111; -117.32972