When Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement from Congress earlier this month, it came as a surprise to his constituents.

It also came as a complete surprise to his own congressional staff in his Washington D.C. office, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus said on Nevada Newsmakers.

"Well, it took us all by surprise too," Titus, D-Las Vegas, told host Sam Shad.

"As I understand it -- from my chief of staff talking to his -- they (staff) didn't even know. He (Amodei) just came in one day and said, 'Here's a letter I'm about to send, and this is it,'" Titus said.

Amodei announced his retirement Feb. 6. On Dec. 16, 2025, however, he had told NOTUS (News of the United States news site) he planned on running for re-election in 2026.

Yet he cryptically added: “Ask me in 60 days.”

Then, 53 days later, Amodei delivered his surprise.

"I don't think he shared that (retirement news) with too many people, so I'm not sure what his thinking was behind it or what he plans to do," Titus said.

Titus noted Republican dominance of Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District, suggesting the seat may remain with the GOP:

"I just hope is not somebody that's a real MAGA person that we can't find anything to work together on. "

Already, however, two Democrats have jumped into the race to replace Amodei.

Greg Kidd of Incline Village, a wealthy venture capitalist and former analyst at the Federal Reserve, reportedly spent between $9 million and $11 million, much of his own money, to lose to Amodei in the 2024 election. Then, he was affiliated with no political party. He's is running as a Democrat this year.

Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a former Majority Leader in the Nevada Assembly and current chief of staff to Attorney General Aaron Ford, also said she will run. So a potential Democratic primary could pit a moneyed candidate against one with grass-roots moxie.

A Democrat, however, has never won a CD-2 general-election race since the district was formed after the 1980 census. The Cook Political Report still rates the district as heavy Republican but adds 2026 -- with an open seat -- gives the Democrats their best shot in the past 15 years.

"It's a hard-core Republican district, so it will be hard," Titus said about a potential Democrat victory in Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District. "I can't say it's impossible, and this will be a Democratic sweep year."

If Benitez-Thompson and Kidd square off in a spirited primary, the winner could face a depletion of resources and energy before advancing to the general election against a potentially-formidable GOP challenger.

"If Kidd stays in as a Democrat, that means you'll have two races, including a primary," Titus said. "It's hard to go up against $11 million, but it's not always just the money that is the determining factor," Titus said.

Potential for Democratic sweep

Despite the uncertainty of the race in Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District, Titus sees the strong possibility of Democrats taking the majority in the U.S. House.

"Well, if you look at all the polling, Democrats are more enthusiastic about voting than Republicans are," Titus said. "Also, Democrats are ahead in the generic polls, like in the congressional poll, (where they ask) 'If you were to vote today, would it be for a Democrat or Republican?' So that's a good sign.

Democrats hold a five-point advantage in voter enthusiasm for the midterms over Republicans, according to a recent CNN-sponsored poll. Democrats hold a 5.4 point average in generic polling (Democrat v. Republican), according to pollster Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin.

Titus also points to a number of state and municipal elections won by Democrats, even in red districts, as an indication of things to come.

"A lot of the midterm elections have gone the way of the Democrats," said Titus, a former political science professor at UNLV. "Look at New Jersey, look at Virginia, some of the state seats, even in Texas."

In major elections last year, Democrats won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, the Georgia Public Service Commissioner's race and the Miami mayoral election, where a Democrat won for the first time in nearly 30 years, according to the Democratic National Committee. In state legislative elections, Democrats flipped 25 seats to Republicans’ none, according to the DNC.

Earlier this month, Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a seat in the Texas Senate in a predominately red district. His surprise victory was boosted significantly by capturing nearly 80 percent of the Latino vote, according to the Texas Tribune.

"So that's always a harbinger of a good election," Titus said of recent Democratic successes. "On top of that, in the midterms of a presidential election, usually the president's party is the one that comes up short so that works too, in our favor. We've been recruiting some great people all around the country."

Titus sees recent rallies against Trump policies as signs of substantial enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket in 2026.

"Let me tell you this: I've been going just about every weekend to rallies, Indivisible rallies, No Kings rallies, Anti-fascist rallies and big crowds are turning out even this far in advance (of the election)," she said.

Baby-boomers make up a good portion of the rally crowds, Titus said.

"It's not just young people with a political hula-hoop," she added. "These are seniors worried about Social Security and Medicare. These are people worried about housing. This runs the whole gamut of demographics of who's getting energized about making change."

While Amodei doesn't have to worry about the 2026 election, Titus does.

Carrie Buck, Titus' main Republican opponent in the race for Nevada's 1st U.S. House District seat, out-raised Titus in campaign contributions in the last quarter of 2025.

Titus raised $298,800 in that period while Buck raised $352,000, according to the Federal Election Commission.

When asked if she were comfortable going into the 2026 election, Titus said:

"Well, I'm never comfortable. I follow the ol' Richard Bryan theory, where he says, 'You either run scared or you run unopposed,' " Titus said, referring to former Nevada Gov. and U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan.

"So we run a tough race every time, no matter what the numbers are, who the opponent is or what the climate is like," Titus said.

Democrats run on 'Affordability'

The key word for Democratic congressional campaigns will be "affordability," Titus said.

"A big challenge for us is getting our messaging out, talking about affordability, because that's what's on people's minds," Titus said. "Everything you buy at the grocery store, at the gas station, or at the laundromat has gotten more expensive. So we've got to get that (affordability) message out."

When asked what Congress can do to decrease the cost of living, Titus responded:

"Well, the first thing we do is get rid of those tariffs," Titus said, in an interview that took place a few days before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of Trump's tariffs.

"Every economist says that the American people are paying those tariffs," she said. "It's just a tax on you when you go buy something. So that's that's the first thing you can do."

The Tax Foundation and Yale University's Budget Lab both issued recent statements that tariffs imposed on imports cost the average U.S. household approximately $1,000 in 2025.

Infrastructure projects put on hold by the Trump administration could reduce energy cost and provide jobs -- if they were resumed, Titus added.

"Another thing is, you know, a lot of the infrastructure projects that were funded by the bipartisan infrastructure bill under the Biden administration have now been pulled back by Trump," Titus said. "Now, some of those projects were solar power. Look how much solar power Nevada has. That puts people to work. And solar helps bring down the cost of electricity. That's something that you can do.

"Anything that cuts off jobs is going to be harmful," she added.

Titus, Amodei history

Amodei has been Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District representative since 2011, when he defeated Democrat Kate Marshall (now running for mayor of Reno) in a special election. Amodei is currently the only Republican in Nevada's federal delegation.

"I hate to see him go," Titus said. "You know, we've been friends since he was in the Legislature, and I was in the Senate, and we just kind of stayed friends. Kind of friendly enemies, really.

Nevada will lose considerable institutional influence in Congress with Amodei's departure, Titus said.

Amodei -- with 15 years in Congress -- had climbed to the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. He holds a key "cardinal" position responsible for drafting legislation that funds ICE, Border Patrol, the Coast Guard, TSA, and Secret Service. He is also a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.

"He had a leadership position on appropriations, which is a great place to be for helping to negotiate and navigate funds to come back to the state," Titus said.

Titus and Amodei served together in the Nevada Senate -- although with different parties -- from 1998 to 2008. Amodei's district included Carson City and parts of neighboring counties. Titus represented a district in Las Vegas and was the Senate Minority Leader. The district she now represents in Congress includes the Las Vegas Strip.

Last year, Titus and Amodei had one of their most serious arguments of their careers when Titus led a move to squash Amodei's proposal to sell off 65,000 acres of public lands in Clark County for private development.

“Let the people of Southern Nevada have a say in what happens to their public treasures,” Titus said during a congressional hearing about Amodei's proposal, dealing with land that was not part of his district.

Amodei's proposal was eventually erased from legislation by the influence of Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who was Secretary of the Interior during President Trump's first term.

"We didn't agree on every policy, but I always respected him and thought he cared about Nevada, especially his rural constituents in the North," Titus said.

Titus and Amodei also had a little competition going tied to the annual University of Nevada vs. UNLV football game, where the winner is awarded the Fremont Cannon, the most expensive college football rivalry trophy in the nation.

"You know, we also had a friendly rivalry between UNR and UNLV, and we have a little cannon... I paint it blue if he wins. He paints it red when I win. And we trade it back and forth. I don't know if the new person (CD-2 rep) is going to be up for that or not."