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Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline:
February 17, 2026 (incumbent)
March 2, 2026 (non-incumbent)
Primary: May 12, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
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 Political Report: Lean Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Tilt Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd
Nebraska elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is May 12, 2026. The filing deadline for incumbents is February 17, 2026. The filing deadline for non-incumbents is March 2, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on May 12, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 12, 2026.


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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Brinker Harding is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 12, 2026.


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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Nebraska

Election information in Nebraska: May 12, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: May 1, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by April 27, 2026
  • Online: April 27, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: May 1, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 1, 2026
  • Online: May 1, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: May 12, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 12, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

April 13, 2026 to May 11, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (CT)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[1] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[2] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval. Know of something we're missing? Click here to let us know.


Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary election, 2026 polls
PollDatesAskinsCavanaughLeuschenPowellRhoadesUndecidedSample sizeMargin of errorSponsor
4433101524
600 LV
± 4.0%
N/A
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Evangelos Argyrakis Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Kishla Askins Democratic Party $475,577 $207,610 $267,967 As of December 31, 2025
John Cavanaugh Democratic Party $674,114 $263,115 $410,998 As of December 31, 2025
James Leuschen Democratic Party $323,513 $97,585 $225,928 As of December 31, 2025
Denise Powell Democratic Party $1,046,543 $421,783 $624,761 As of December 31, 2025
Crystal Rhoades Democratic Party $112,611 $77,478 $35,133 As of December 31, 2025
Brinker Harding Republican Party $876,929 $332,932 $543,996 As of December 31, 2025

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. 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.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[3]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[4][5][6]

Race ratings: Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
2/3/20261/27/20261/20/20261/13/2026
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterLean DemocraticLean DemocraticLean DemocraticLean Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesTilt DemocraticTilt DemocraticTilt DemocraticTilt Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLean DemocraticLean DemocraticLean DemocraticLean Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Nebraska in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Nebraska, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Nebraska U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A $1,740 Incumbents: 2/17/2026, Non-incumbents: 3/2/2026 Source
Nebraska U.S. House Unaffiliated 20% of registered voters in the district who voted for president in 2020, or 2,000, whichever is less $1,740 Incumbents: 2/17/2026, Non-incumbents: 3/2/2026 Source

Republican-held U.S. House district that Harris won

See also: U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2026 and won by Kamala Harris in 2024

This is one of nine U.S. House districts Republicans are defending that Kamala Harris (D) won in 2024. The map below highlights those districts. Hover over or click a district to see information such as the incumbent and the presidential vote counts.

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

General election

General election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated Tony Vargas (D) in the general election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon (R)
 
50.9
 
160,198
Image of Tony Vargas
Tony Vargas (D)
 
49.1
 
154,369

Total votes: 314,567
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Tony Vargas (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 14, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tony Vargas
Tony Vargas
 
100.0
 
39,038

Total votes: 39,038
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated Dan Frei (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 14, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon
 
62.0
 
35,748
Image of Dan Frei
Dan Frei  Candidate Connection
 
38.0
 
21,946

Total votes: 57,694
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated Tony Vargas (D) in the general election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon (R)
 
51.3
 
112,663
Image of Tony Vargas
Tony Vargas (D)
 
48.7
 
106,807

Total votes: 219,470
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Tony Vargas (D) defeated Alisha Shelton (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tony Vargas
Tony Vargas
 
68.6
 
31,930
Image of Alisha Shelton
Alisha Shelton
 
31.4
 
14,585

Total votes: 46,515
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated Steve Kuehl (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon
 
77.1
 
53,824
Image of Steve Kuehl
Steve Kuehl  Candidate Connection
 
22.9
 
15,945

Total votes: 69,769
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated Kara Eastman (D) and Tyler Schaeffer (L) in the general election for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon (R)
 
50.8
 
171,071
Image of Kara Eastman
Kara Eastman (D)
 
46.2
 
155,706
Tyler Schaeffer (L)
 
3.0
 
10,185

Total votes: 336,962
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Kara Eastman (D) defeated Ann Ashford (D) and Gladys Harrison (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 12, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kara Eastman
Kara Eastman
 
62.2
 
45,953
Image of Ann Ashford
Ann Ashford
 
31.2
 
23,059
Gladys Harrison
 
6.7
 
4,920

Total votes: 73,932
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated Paul Anderson (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 12, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Bacon
Don Bacon
 
90.6
 
68,531
Paul Anderson
 
9.4
 
7,106

Total votes: 75,637
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian Party primary

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2

Tyler Schaeffer (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 2 on May 12, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Tyler Schaeffer
 
100.0
 
964

Total votes: 964
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_ne_congressional_district_02.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

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

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Nebraska's 2nd the 189th most Democratic district nationally.[7]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
52.0%47.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Nebraska, 2024

Nebraska presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 6 Democratic wins
  • 27 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R D D D R R R D D R R R R R R D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
See also: Party control of Nebraska state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Nebraska's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Nebraska
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 0 0
Republican 2 3 5
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 3 5

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Nebraska's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Nebraska, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Jim Pillen
Lieutenant GovernorRepublican Party Joe Kelly
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Bob Evnen
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Mike Hilgers

State legislature

Nebraska State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 14
     Republican Party 33
     Other 2
     Vacancies 0
Total 49

Trifecta control

Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2025
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

Nebraska 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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Nebraska congressional delegation
Voting in Nebraska
Nebraska elections:
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Democratic primary battlegrounds
Republican primary battlegrounds
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U.S. House Republican primaries
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U.S. Senate elections
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Special elections
Ballot access

External links

Footnotes

  1. For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
  2. Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
  3. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  5. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  6. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  7. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Don Bacon (R)
District 3
Republican Party (5)