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Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

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Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 1, 2018
Primary: May 15, 2018
General: November 6, 2018
Pre-election incumbent:
Don Bacon (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Central time zone); 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Mountain time zone)
Voting in Nebraska
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2018): R+4
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
Inside Elections: Lean Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd
Nebraska elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018


Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated challenger Kara Eastman (D) in the election for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District on November 6, 2018.

This swing district backed Donald Trump (R) by two percentage points in 2016, Mitt Romney (R) by seven percentage points in 2012, and Barack Obama (D) by one percentage point in 2008.[1] Bacon won the seat by one percentage point in 2016. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included the district in its list of targets for 2018.[2]

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.


Democratic Party For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
Republican Party For more information about the Republican primary, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon defeated Kara Eastman in the general election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon (R)
 
51.0
 
126,715
Image of Kara Eastman
Kara Eastman (D) Candidate Connection
 
49.0
 
121,770

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 248,485
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Kara Eastman defeated Brad Ashford in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kara Eastman
Kara Eastman Candidate Connection
 
51.6
 
21,357
Image of Brad Ashford
Brad Ashford
 
48.4
 
19,998

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 41,355
Candidate Connection = 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon
 
100.0
 
33,852

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 33,852
Candidate Connection = 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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Candidate profiles

See also: Editorial approach to writing about key campaign messages


Don Bacon, U.S. Representative
Don Bacon photo.jpg

Campaign website Facebook Twitter

Party: Republican

Incumbent: Yes

Political office: U.S. House, Nebraska (Assumed office: 2016)

Biography: Bacon graduated from Northern Illinois University with a political science degree and earned master's degrees from both the University of Phoenix and National War College. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1985, where he served for 29.5 years before retiring as a Brigadier General. He worked for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry as his military advisor.[3] Bacon was first elected to the U.S. House in 2016.

Key messages
  • Bacon's campaigning focused on his military experience. He said, "After spending almost 30 years in the United States Air Force, I knew there was more I could do for my country. I ran for Congress on a principled conservative platform, because that’s who I am."[4]
  • The Issues section on Bacon's website highlighted the bills he sponsored since being elected to Congress. He included the categories "standing up for law enforcement, reforming immigration, working for veterans, fixing healthcare, cutting red tape, and defending the unborn."[5]



Kara Eastman, Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors
Kara Eastman.jpg

Campaign website Facebook Twitter

Party: Democratic

Incumbent: No

Political office: Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors, District 4 (Assumed office: 2014)

Biography: Eastman is the founder of the nonprofit Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance, a poisoning prevention organization. At the time of her 2018 run for Congress, Eastman was the District 4 representative on the Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors in Douglas County in Nebraska. She won the seat in 2014.[6]

Key messages
  • Eastman said she ran for Congress because she "is a life-long Democrat, and I’m not going to sit on the fence while our political system is assaulted and undermined by those who don’t represent Nebraska’s values. Nebraskans need someone who isn’t afraid of a fight, someone who will take the lead in healthcare, education, and climate change."[6]
  • Eastman's campaign priorities highlighted firearms legislation that includes universal background checks and mandatory waiting periods, Medicare for All, tuition-free college for families making under $125k per year, and raising the minimum wage.[7]



Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018
Poll Poll sponsor Don Bacon (R) Kara Eastman (D)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
DFM Research
October 23-25, 2018		None 52%45%3%+/-5.2350
Rob Autry and Kayla Dunlap
October 1-2, 2018		Bacon campaign 49%40%11%+/-4.9400
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research
September 27-30, 2018		Eastman campaign 49%45%6%+/-4.9400
NYT Upshot/Siena College
September 23-26, 2018		The New York Times 51%42%7%+/-4.5512
Note: A "0%" finding means the question was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org


Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Don Bacon Republican Party $2,619,424 $2,600,432 $49,728 As of December 31, 2018
Kara Eastman Democratic Party $2,632,722 $2,549,875 $82,847 As of December 31, 2018

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


Satellite spending

Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[8][9][10]

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.

American Action Network

On March 26, 2018, the American Action Network announced a $1 million ad campaign targeting Nebraska's 2nd District and 25 other congressional districts. The group's 2nd District ad asked voters to thank incumbent Don Bacon (R) for supporting the tax bill passed by Congress in December 2017.[11]

Congressional Leadership Fund

On April 17, 2018, the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) announced that it had spent $1.6 million to reserve airtime for television ads in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. The district was one of 20 targeted by the fund as part of a $48 million media reservation.[12]

    • The CLF announced it was stopping all television advertising in the district on October 16, 2018.[13]

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Race ratings: Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018
Race trackerRace ratings
October 30, 2018October 23, 2018October 16, 2018October 9, 2018
The Cook Political ReportLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+4, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 4 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District the 204th most Republican nationally.[14]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.05. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.05 points toward that party.[15]

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.


Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available.

Don Bacon

Kara Eastman

Campaign advertisements

Republican Party Don Bacon

Support

"Everybody loves Bacon" - Don Bacon for Congress campaign ad, released October 24, 2018
"Heck Yes 30s" - Don Bacon for Congress campaign ad, released September 25, 2018
"Omaha Track" - Don Bacon for Congress campaign ad, released September 18, 2018
"Promise Short" - Don Bacon for Congress campaign ad, released September 12, 2018
"Gold Star Families" - Don Bacon for Congress campaign ad, released September 7, 2018

Democratic Party Kara Eastman

Oppose
"Backward" - Congressional Leadership Fund ad, released October 30, 2018
"Iranian Deal" - Congressional Leadership Fund ad, released October 16, 2018
"Look Down" - Congressional Leadership Fund ad, released October 2, 2018
"Government Takeover" - Congressional Leadership Fund ad, released September 18, 2018
"Price Tag" - Congressional Leadership Fund ad, released September 4, 2018


Debates and forums

  • October 16, 2018: Bacon and Eastman participated in a debate hosted by KMTV Studios. Click here for coverage.

Campaign themes

The campaign themes below were taken from the candidates' 2018 websites, if available.

Don Bacon

Check out a few of the bills Don has sponsored, co-sponsored, and voted for during his first year in office. Don is working hard and keeping his promises to Nebraskans.

Standing up for Law Enforcement:
HR1970 Kerrie Orozco Act, Original Sponsor
HR115 Thin Blue Line Act
HR 5698 Protect and Serve Act of 2018
HR 6105 LEOSA Reform Act, Original Sponsor
HR 4896 LEOSA Training Extension Act, Original Sponsor

Reforming Immigration:
HR 3697 Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act
HR 3004 Kate’s Law, Co-Sponsor
HR 3003 No Sanctuary for Criminals Act
HR 60 ENLIST Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 300 Sarah’s Law, Co-Sponsor
HR 6136 Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor

Working for Veterans and our Servicemembers:
S 1094 Department of Veteran’s Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act
HR 1181 Veteran’s 2nd Amendment Protection Act
HR 1259 VA Accountability First Act
HR 2810 NDAA
HR 367 Hearing Protection Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 512 WINGMAN Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 3897 Gold Star Family Support and Installation Act of 2017, Original Sponsor
HR 5553 Loya-Sears Warrior Transition Assistance Reform Act of 2018, Original Sponsor
HR 5038 Reserve Component Benefits Parity Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor
HR 6281 Veterans FAIR Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor
HR 5671 Burn Pits Accountability Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 5528 SWORDD Act of 2018, Original Sponsor
HR 5482 Military Biodefense Readiness and Protection Act of 2018, Original Sponsor

Fixing our Healthcare:
HR 1628 AHCA
HR 173 Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 2113 Speeding Access to Already Approved Pharmaceuticals Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 749 Lower Drug Costs through Competition Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 5247 Right to Try Act
HR 849 Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 3922 CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act
HR 5329 Poison Center Network Enhancement Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor

Cutting Red Tape:
HR 10 Financial CHOICE Act
HR 953 Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017
HR 998 Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessary and Burdensome Act
HR 26 Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 4607 Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act

Defending the Unborn:
HR 7 No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 37 Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 490 Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 644 Conscience Protection Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 4712 Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, Co-Sponsor

Supporting Small Businesses:
HR 2350 Small Business Know-Before-You-Bid Construction Transparency Act, Original Sponsor
HR 1700 SCORE for Small Business Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 2056 Microloan Modernization Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 4754 Change Order Transparency for Federal Contractors Act, Original Sponsor
HR 3441 Save Local Business Act

Draining the Swamp:
HR 2665 HR 2665 Accountability for Congressional Pay Act, Original Sponsor
HJ Res 1 Proposing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution of the US, Co-Sponsor
HJ Res 6 Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the US to Limit the Number of Terms that a Member of Congress May Serve, Co-Sponsor
HR 24 Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 1786 Congressional Halt in Pay Increases and Cut Congressional Pay Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 4734 Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017, Co-Sponsor
HR 4852 Pay Our Protectors Not Our Politicians Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor

Strengthening Our Security:
HR 5079 DHS Field Engagement Accountability Act, Original Sponsor
HR 5733 DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act of 2018, Original Sponsor
HR 5869 Maritime Border Security Review Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 5517 Enhance Cybersecurity for Small Manufacturers Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor
HR 5074 DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor
HR 5731 Securing Our Schools Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 5522 Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Readiness Act of 2018, Original Sponsor

Increasing Prosperity for All:
HR 1 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
HR 4886 Permanent Tax Cuts for Americans Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 4780 Transparency for Taxpayers Act, Co-Sponsor
HR 5924 Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor
HR 5282 Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2018, Co-Sponsor

Kara Eastman

Education

All Americans should have access to higher education and the American dream. We must pass the College for All Act which would eliminate tuition for families making under $125k per year at all 4-year state colleges and universities and make community colleges free.

Student loan debt is crippling Americans. We must challenge lenders who profit from the student debt burden and support those working toward a college education.

We must continue to invest in our public school system and support public school educators and the students who attend our schools. We must resist the administration’s political nominees who advertise the benefits of expanding charter schools.

Economy

We must raise the minimum wage. Nebraska’s $9 per hour only works out to $18k per year; none of our working citizens should be living below the poverty line.

We should continue to support investments in infrastructure. We need to increase investments from all levels of government and the private sector to meet our 21st-century needs by supporting bipartisan legislation like the BUILDS Act which aims to generate jobs and support public safety.

We need to advocate public/private partnerships, fair trade, and smart and targeted regulation in order to grow our economy.

Healthcare

It’s time for our country to acknowledge that quality healthcare and access to health insurance is an American right. Families deserve to be able to get the medical treatment and medications they need, when they need them, without breaking the bank.

We must ensure that no mother ever weighs the costs before taking her children to the emergency room when they are in the need of immediate care. No father should ever forgo life-saving medication because he is afraid of being unable to pay the medical bills. No family should ever need to claim bankruptcy because they had the audacity to live after an accident or illness.

Our country should move toward the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. We need to force big business and the pharmaceutical industry to offer more competitive prices.

Political fixes

We should revive the ideas in the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform, specifically the McCain-Feingold Act, which banned soft money.

We must stand together against the 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United, and we should support the Democracy for All Amendment.

We need to move toward public funding of federal election campaigns.

Gerrymandering must be ended, and citizen commissions should draw districts. We should support participation in elections by establishing a national election holiday. We must fight to end the Electoral College.

Environment

We are the only nation in the world that is not a part of the Paris Climate Accords. We must rejoin the agreement and work together for a healthier future.

We must continue to move away from fossil fuel dependence and invest in wind and solar power. We should look to states like California that have set goals for renewable energy and have enacted a cap-and-trade program.

We need to speak out against the Keystone XL pipeline and leaders who are not considering the long-term health and environmental consequences of this dangerous project.

Small business & taxes

We should support expanding the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for firms with up to 50 employees. We should lower the interest rates for loans and allow for more lending from credit unions to small businesses.

We need to focus on corporate social responsibility.

The U.S. has to generate more revenue to pay down our $20 trillion debt by raising the top tax rate and eliminating corporate tax loopholes.

We need to support regulations to prevent media consolidation and practices that would be anti-competitive.

Wall Street doesn’t need Washington to cater to its interests.[7]

Social media

Twitter accounts

Facebook accounts

Click the icons below to visit the candidates' Facebook pages.

Democratic Party Don Bacon Facebook

Republican Party Kara Eastman Facebook

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of 93 Nebraska counties—1.08 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Thurston County, Nebraska 5.94% 13.91% 6.96%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Nebraska with 58.7 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 33.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1868 and 2016, Nebraska voted Republican 82 percent of the time and Democratic 18 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Nebraska voted Republican all five times.[16]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Senate districts in Nebraska. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[17][18]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 10 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 26.2 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 12 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 22.8 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 39 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 31.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 37 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 38.3 points. Trump won five districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


District history

2016

See also: Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016

Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Don Bacon (R) defeated Democratic incumbent Brad Ashford and Steven Laird (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Bacon defeated Chip Maxwell to win the Republican primary, while Laird defeated Andy Shambaugh and Jeffrey Lynn Stein to win the Libertarian nomination. The primary elections took place on May 10, 2016.[19][20]

U.S. House, Nebraska District 2 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDon Bacon 48.9% 141,066
     Democratic Brad Ashford Incumbent 47.7% 137,602
     Libertarian Steven Laird 3.3% 9,640
Total Votes 288,308
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State


U.S. House, Nebraska District 2 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngDon Bacon 66% 32,328
Chip Maxwell 34% 16,677
Total Votes 49,005
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State
U.S. House, Nebraska District 2 Libertarian Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngSteven Laird 46.2% 108
Andy Shambaugh 38% 89
Jeffrey Lynn Stein 15.8% 37
Total Votes 234
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State

2014

See also: Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Brad Ashford (D) defeated incumbent Lee Terry (R) and Steven Laird (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Nebraska District 2 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBrad Ashford 49% 83,872
     Republican Lee Terry Incumbent 45.7% 78,157
     Libertarian Steven Laird 5.3% 9,021
Total Votes 171,050
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Nebraska heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

  • As of May 2018, Republicans held six of 10 state executive positions and the remaining four positions were held by nonpartisan officials.
  • The governor of Nebraska was Republican Pete Ricketts.

State legislature

Trifecta status

2018 elections

See also: Nebraska elections, 2018

Nebraska held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Nebraska
 NebraskaU.S.
Total population:1,893,765316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):76,8243,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:88.1%73.6%
Black/African American:4.7%12.6%
Asian:2%5.1%
Native American:0.9%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:2.2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:10%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:90.7%86.7%
College graduation rate:29.3%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$52,997$53,889
Persons below poverty level:14.6%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Nebraska.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2017, Nebraska had a population of approximately 1,920,000 people, with its three largest cities being Omaha (pop. est. 450,000), Lincoln (pop. est. 280,000), and Bellevue (pop. est. 54,000).[21][22]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Nebraska from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Nebraska Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Nebraska every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Nebraska 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 58.7% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 33.7% 25.0%
2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 59.8% Democratic Party Barack Obama 38.0% 21.8%
2008 Republican Party John McCain 56.5% Democratic Party Barack Obama 41.6% 14.9%
2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 65.9% Democratic Party John Kerry 32.7% 33.2%
2000 Republican Party George W. Bush 62.2% Democratic Party Al Gore 33.3% 28.9%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Nebraska from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Nebraska 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Ben Sasse 64.3% Democratic Party Dave Domina 31.5% 32.8%
2012 Republican Party Deb Fischer 57.8% Democratic Party Bob Kerrey 42.2% 15.6%
2008 Republican Party Mike Johanns 57.5% Democratic Party Scott Kleeb 40.1% 17.4%
2006 Democratic Party Ben Nelson 63.9% Republican Party Pete Ricketts 36.1% 27.8%
2002 Republican Party Chuck Hagel 82.3% Democratic Party Charlie Matulka 14.6% 67.7%
2000 Democratic Party Ben Nelson 51.1% Republican Party Don Stenberg 48.9% 2.2%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Nebraska.

Election results (Governor), Nebraska 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Pete Ricketts 57.2% Democratic Party Chuck Hassebrook 39.2% 18.0%
2010 Republican Party Dave Heineman 73.9% Democratic Party Mike Meister 26.1% 47.8%
2006 Republican Party Dave Heineman 73.4% Democratic Party David Hahn 24.5% 48.9%
2002 Republican Party Mike Johanns 68.7% Democratic Party Stormy Dean 27.5% 41.2%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Nebraska in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Nebraska 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2014 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1
2012 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2010 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2008 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2006 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2004 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2002 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2002 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls the state legislature and the governor's office.

Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2024
Seven years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-seven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for the 2016 and 2012 elections," accessed November 19, 2017
  2. ↑ DCCC, "House Democrats Playing Offense," January 30, 2017
  3. ↑ Don Bacon, "Biography," accessed November 19, 2015
  4. ↑ Don Bacon 2018 campaign website, "Home," accessed September 19, 2018
  5. ↑ Don Bacon 2018 campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 19, 2018
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kara Eastman 2018 campaign website, "Meet Kara," accessed February 21, 2018
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kara Eastman 2018 campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 19, 2018
  8. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
  9. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
  10. ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
  11. ↑ American Action Network, "American Action Network continues promoting tax reform with $1 million campaign," March 26, 2018
  12. ↑ Roll Call, "Congressional Leadership Fund Reserves $48 Million in TV, Digital Ads," April 17, 2018
  13. ↑ Roll Call, "Democratic PAC Pulls Spending From Top Nebraska Pickup Opportunity," October 16, 2018
  14. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  15. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  16. ↑ 270towin.com, "Nebraska," accessed July 30, 2017
  17. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  18. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  19. ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Statewide Candidate List," March 2, 2016
  20. ↑ The New York Times, "Nebraska Primary Results," May 10, 2016
  21. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Quick Facts - Nebraska," accessed January 9, 2018
  22. ↑ Nebraska Demographics, "Nebraska Cities by Population," accessed January 9, 2018
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2017-2018 Elections to the United States Congress
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