[2] Flores's mother left her family when she was nine, and her father worked multiple jobs, so she had to care for her younger siblings.

[4] Leslie Camp, Flores's parole officer, became an important role model for her and helped her turn her life around.

[9] Flores decided against seeking reelection to her Assembly seat for the 28th district, choosing instead to run for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada.

In the 2014 Lieutenant Governor of Nevada elections, Flores was defeated by Republican Mark Hutchison[21] in a landslide,[22] 60% to 34%,[23] despite personal appearances by then-vice-president Joe Biden[24][25] and an endorsement by then-Senate Leader Harry Reid.

[26] The election was seen as particularly important because Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican, was speculated to possibly vacate his office (after winning the reelection bid) to run for the United States Senate in 2016.

In April 2015, Flores announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives seat in Nevada's 4th congressional district against incumbent Republican Cresent Hardy in the 2016 election.

The primary was crowded, including State Senator (and eventual winner) Ruben Kihuen, as well as future Congresswoman Susie Lee, former Assemblyman Morse Arberry Jr., and a number of others.

[29] Flores endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, saying "this is about real lives" and that "this is a system that isn’t working for the everyday person .

[34] In another email the same day, he asked recipients to split their contributions four ways, adding Zephyr Teachout and Pramila Jayapal.

[36] Kihuen went on to win the general election and serve in Congress for one term, before retiring due to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

[41][42] She stated that he walked up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, smelled her hair, and planted a kiss on the back of her head.

She wrote that, by acting in this manner, Biden had touched her in "an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners—and I felt powerless to do anything about it.