Nebraska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022 (May 10 Democratic primary)

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2026
2018
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 15, 2022/March 1, 2022
Primary: May 10, 2022
General: November 8, 2022

Pre-election incumbent(s):
Gov. Pete Ricketts (Republican)
Lt. Gov. Mike Foley (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
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2022
Impact of term limits in 2022
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Nebraska
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Treasurer
Auditor
State Board of Education (4 seats)
State Board of Regents (2 seats)
Public Service Commissioner (2 seats)

A Democratic Party primary took place on May 10, 2022, in Nebraska to determine which candidates would earn the right to run as the party's nominees in the state's gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election on November 8, 2022.

Carol Blood advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska.

This page focuses on Nebraska's Democratic Party gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Nebraska's Republican gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:

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Candidates and election results

Governor

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Blood
Carol Blood
 
88.7
 
88,859
Roy Harris
 
11.3
 
11,267

Total votes: 100,126
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Lieutenant governor

According to Nebraska law, each party's gubernatorial nominee must select a running mate for lieutenant governor by September 1 of the election year.[1]

Election competitiveness

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.[2]
  • 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.[3][4][5]

Race ratings: Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2022
Race trackerRace ratings
November 8, 2022November 1, 2022October 25, 2022October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
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.

State profile

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.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Nebraska

Nebraska voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Nebraska, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[6]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nebraska had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Nebraska coverage on Ballotpedia

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

See also: Presidential voting trends in Nebraska and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Nebraska, 2022
District Incumbent Party PVI
Nebraska's 1st Mike Flood Ends.png Republican R+9
Nebraska's 2nd Don Bacon Ends.png Republican Even
Nebraska's 3rd Adrian Smith Ends.png Republican R+29


2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Nebraska[7]
District Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
Nebraska's 1st 43.3% 54.3%
Nebraska's 2nd 52.2% 45.8%
Nebraska's 3rd 23.1% 74.9%


2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2020 presidential election, 53.4% of Nebraskans lived in one of the state's 90 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 46.2% lived in one of two Trending Democratic counties: Douglas and Lancaster. Overall, Nebraska was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Nebraska following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

Nebraska presidential election results (1900-2020)

  • 6 Democratic wins
  • 25 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
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

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Nebraska

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Nebraska.

U.S. Senate election results in Nebraska
Race Winner Runner up
2020 62.7%Republican Party 24.4%Democratic Party
2018 57.7%Republican Party 38.6%Democratic Party
2014 64.4%Republican Party 31.5%Democratic Party
2012 57.8%Republican Party 42.2%Democratic Party
2008 57.5%Republican Party 40.1%Democratic Party
Average 60.0 35.4

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Nebraska

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Nebraska.

Gubernatorial election results in Nebraska
Race Winner Runner up
2018 59.0%Republican Party 41.0%Democratic Party
2014 57.2%Republican Party 39.2%Democratic Party
2010 73.9%Republican Party 26.1%Democratic Party
2006 73.4%Republican Party 24.5%Democratic Party
2002 68.7%Republican Party 27.5%Democratic Party
Average 66.4 31.7

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Nebraska's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Nebraska, November 2022
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 November 2022.

State executive officials in Nebraska, November 2022
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Pete Ricketts
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Mike Foley
Secretary of State Republican Party Bob Evnen
Attorney General Republican Party Doug Peterson

State legislature

The table below highlights the partisan composition of the Nebraska State Senate as of November 2022.

Nebraska State Senate

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 17
     Republican Party 32
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 49

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Nebraska was a Republican trifecta, with a majority in the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2022
Seven years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-four 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
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
Senate - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Nebraska and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Nebraska
Nebraska United States
Population 1,961,504 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 76,817 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 85.3% 70.4%
Black/African American 4.8% 12.6%
Asian 2.5% 5.6%
Native American 0.9% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.2%
Other (single race) 2.5% 5.1%
Multiple 3.9% 5.2%
Hispanic/Latino 11.2% 18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate 91.6% 88.5%
College graduation rate 32.5% 32.9%
Income
Median household income $63,015 $64,994
Persons below poverty level 10.4% 12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**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.


See also

Nebraska State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Nebraska State Executive Offices
Nebraska State Legislature
Nebraska Courts
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Nebraska elections: 2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. Nebraska Legislature, "Nebraska Revised Statute 32-619.01," accessed February 22, 2022
  2. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  5. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  6. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  7. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022