Bennie Shobe
Bennie Shobe is an at-large member of the Lincoln City Council in Nebraska. He assumed office in 2017. His current term ends on May 14, 2029.
Shobe ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Lincoln City Council in Nebraska. He won in the general election on May 6, 2025.
Although city council elections in Lincoln are officially nonpartisan, Shobe has been identified by the Lancaster County Election Commissioner as a member of the Democratic Party.[1]
Biography
Shobe earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast communications from Western Kentucky University and an M.A. in sociology from Western Kentucky University.[2]
At the time of his 2017 run for office, Shobe was a program analyst for the Nebraska Department of Labor and an adjunct professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His professional experience includes work in new product assembly for Molex and as a health surveillance specialist for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. He has also served as president of the Lincoln Branch NAACP and on the Lincoln Police Hiring and Promotion Committee, the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights, and the Malone Community Center Board of Directors.[2][3]
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Lincoln, Nebraska (2025)
General election
General election for Lincoln City Council At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Lincoln City Council At-large on May 6, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sändra Washington (Nonpartisan) | 21.2 | 27,819 | |
| ✔ |  | Tom Beckius (Nonpartisan) | 20.9 | 27,410 |
| ✔ |  | Bennie Shobe (Nonpartisan) | 19.7 | 25,831 |
| Stan Parker (Nonpartisan) | 16.1 | 21,193 | ||
| Jerry Shoecraft (Nonpartisan) | 15.8 | 20,701 | ||
 | Maher Aurang Zeb (Nonpartisan)  | 6.1 | 8,056 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 325 | ||
| Total votes: 131,335 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Lincoln City Council At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the primary for Lincoln City Council At-large on April 8, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sändra Washington (Nonpartisan) | 18.6 | 22,495 | |
| ✔ | | Tom Beckius (Nonpartisan) | 18.0 | 21,787 |
| ✔ | | Bennie Shobe (Nonpartisan) | 16.6 | 20,085 |
| ✔ | Jerry Shoecraft (Nonpartisan) | 15.9 | 19,269 | |
| ✔ | Stan Parker (Nonpartisan) | 15.1 | 18,311 | |
| ✔ | | Maher Aurang Zeb (Nonpartisan) | 5.5 | 6,666 |
| Elina Newman (Nonpartisan) | 5.1 | 6,154 | ||
| Rene Carrillo (Nonpartisan) | 2.6 | 3,198 | ||
| Maghie Miller-Jenkins (Nonpartisan) | 2.3 | 2,777 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 204 | ||
| Total votes: 120,946 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Shobe received the following endorsements.
2021
See also: City elections in Lincoln, Nebraska (2021)
General election
General election for Lincoln City Council At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Lincoln City Council At-large on May 4, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sändra Washington (Nonpartisan) | 18.3 | 27,603 | |
| ✔ | | Tom Beckius (Nonpartisan) | 17.7 | 26,612 |
| ✔ | | Bennie Shobe (Nonpartisan) | 17.6 | 26,463 |
 | Roy Christensen (Nonpartisan) | 16.7 | 25,164 | |
| Mary Hilton (Nonpartisan) | 16.5 | 24,880 | ||
| Eric Burling (Nonpartisan) | 13.1 | 19,746 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 243 | ||
| Total votes: 150,711 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Lincoln City Council At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the primary for Lincoln City Council At-large on April 6, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sändra Washington (Nonpartisan) | 16.4 | 20,853 | |
| ✔ | | Bennie Shobe (Nonpartisan) | 15.6 | 19,802 |
| ✔ | | Roy Christensen (Nonpartisan) | 15.4 | 19,555 |
| ✔ | Mary Hilton (Nonpartisan) | 15.1 | 19,200 | |
| ✔ | | Tom Beckius (Nonpartisan) | 13.9 | 17,658 |
| ✔ | Eric Burling (Nonpartisan) | 9.4 | 11,893 | |
 | Maggie Mae Squires (Nonpartisan) | 4.5 | 5,695 | |
| Elina Newman (Nonpartisan) | 2.9 | 3,709 | ||
| Maher Aurang Zeb (Nonpartisan) | 1.8 | 2,259 | |
| Joseph Swanson (Nonpartisan) | 1.7 | 2,223 | ||
| Peter Kolozsy (Nonpartisan) | 1.7 | 2,167 | ||
| Trevor Reilly (Nonpartisan) | 1.5 | 1,970 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 178 | ||
| Total votes: 127,162 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2017
The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, held a primary election for city council and airport authority board of directors on April 4, 2017. A general election was scheduled for May 2, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 3, 2017. The following candidates ran in the general election for an at-large seat on the Lincoln City Council.[4]
| Lincoln City Council, At-Large General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Leirion Gaylor Baird Incumbent |
20.80% | 22,713 |
| Bennie Shobe |
17.98% | 19,633 |
| Roy Christensen Incumbent |
16.86% | 18,411 |
| Tom Nesbitt | 16.25% | 17,745 |
| Brayden McLaughlin | 14.01% | 15,297 |
| Maggie Mae Squires | 13.96% | 15,246 |
| Write-in votes | 0.15% | 163 |
| Total Votes | 109,208 | |
| Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Official Final Results," accessed May 10, 2017 | ||
The following candidates ran in the primary election for an at-large seat on the Lincoln City Council.[5]
| Lincoln City Council, At-Large Primary Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Leirion Gaylor Baird Incumbent |
18.60% | 15,502 |
| Roy Christensen Incumbent |
16.08% | 13,400 |
| Tom Nesbitt |
15.54% | 12,953 |
| Bennie Shobe |
14.51% | 12,093 |
| Brayden McLaughlin |
13.97% | 11,643 |
| Maggie Mae Squires |
10.04% | 8,363 |
| Lou Braatz III | 6.11% | 5,093 |
| Deb Andrews | 4.99% | 4,160 |
| Write-in votes | 0.15% | 128 |
| Total Votes | 83,335 | |
| Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Official Final Results," accessed April 18, 2017 | ||
Endorsements
Shobe received endorsements from the following in 2017:
- Lincoln Central Labor Union[6]
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Bennie Shobe did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Bennie Shobe did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Shobe's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ | Affordable Housing Use available tools to encourage construction of new homes with a renewed emphasis on affordable housing through the city. Public Safety Human Rights |
” |
| —Bennie Shobe's campaign website, (2017)[8] | ||
In response to a question from the Lincoln Journal Star about his goals for the city council, Shobe said, "I hope to be a voice for working families and other traditionally marginalized populations who have not had sufficient input into the decisions the City Council makes."[9]
In response to a question about the city's three most important services, he said, "I believe that the services provided by the Public Works, Public Safety and Public Planning departments are the most important to our city."[9]
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Lincoln City Council At-large |
Officeholder Lincoln City Council At-large |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Final Candidate Listing, Primary Election -- April 4, 2017," March 3, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 LinkedIn, "Bennie Shobe," accessed March 29, 2017
- ↑ Bennie Shobe, "Meet Bennie," accessed March 29, 2017
- ↑ City of Lincoln, "Final Candidate Listing," March 3, 2017
- ↑ City of Lincoln, "Final Candidate Listing," March 3, 2017
- ↑ Bennie Shobe, "Endorsements," accessed March 29, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bennie Shobe, "Platform," accessed March 29, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lincoln Journal Star, "Bennie Shobe," March 24, 2017
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