Teresa Benitez-Thompson

Teresa Francisca Benitez-Thompson (born July 25, 1978) is an American politician, social worker, and former Democratic member of the Nevada Assembly. First elected February 7, 2011 to represent District 27 in Washoe County, Benitez-Thompson served as Majority Leader of the Nevada Assembly during her tenure. She was crowned Miss Nevada 2002 and placed third runner-up at the Miss America 2003 pageant.

In February 2026, she announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District (NV-2)

Background Benitez-Thompson earned her B.A. from the University of Nevada, Reno and her master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan. and recently served as Chief of Staff to Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford.

Benitez-Thompson is married to KOLO-TV chief meteorologist, former KRNV-DT chief meteorologist and former KTVN meteorologist Jeff Thompson and has 4 children. Her father is of Mexican descent. and won the general election with 18,559 votes (58.47%) against Republican candidate Barb Hawn. 2018 Benitez-Thompson was unopposed in both the primary and general elections. 2016 Benitez-Thompson was unopposed in the primary. She won the general election with 15,080 votes (56.56%) against Republican candidate Bonnie Weber, who later became a member of the Reno City Council. 2014 Benitez-Thompson was unopposed in the primary and won the general election with 7,793 votes (53.53%) against Republican nominee Rex Crouch. 2012 Benitez-Thompson was unopposed in the primary and won the general election with 14,160 votes (57.76%) against Republican nominee Tom Taber, who had previously run for the Assembly in 1990. 2010 When Democratic Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie ran for Nevada Senate and left the Assembly seat open, Benitez-Thompson won the primary with 1,451 votes (55.92%) against Byllie Andrews. She won the general election with 6,951 votes (63.57%) against Republican nominee Gabe Jurado.