United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2020 (May 12 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: May 12
- Primary type: Semi-closed; top-two (state leg. races only)
- Registration deadline(s): April 24 (online, postmarked, hand-delivered state agencies); May 1 (hand-delivered to local election offices)
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: April 13
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): May 12 (received)
- Voter ID: No ID
- Poll times: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Central time zone); 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Mountain time zone)
2026 →
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| U.S. Senate, Nebraska |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 2, 2020 |
| Primary: May 12, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Ben Sasse (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 |
Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd Nebraska elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on May 12, 2020, in Nebraska to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020.
Chris Janicek advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Nebraska.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Ben Sasse (Republican), who was first elected in 2014.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Nebraska, participation rules for primaries vary by the office up for election. State legislative primaries use a nonpartisan top-two primary system in which any voter can participate. Congressional primaries are partisan, but any voter may vote in the congressional primary of their choice. For all other statewide offices, a state party can determine if it will allow unaffiliated voters to vote their primary ballot.
As of September 2025, the Democratic Party held a semi-closed primary in which registered party members and unaffiliated voters could participate, and the Republican Party held a closed primary in which only registered party members could participate.
This page focuses on Nebraska's United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2020 (May 12 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Nebraska modified its primary election process as follows:
- Voting procedures: Mail-in ballots sent to all registered voters in the primary election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Nebraska
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chris Janicek  | 30.7 | 46,247 |
 | Angie Philips | 23.8 | 35,929 | |
 | Alisha Shelton | 22.7 | 34,284 | |
 | Andrew Stock | 11.4 | 17,156 | |
 | Larry Marvin | 4.6 | 6,868 | |
 | Daniel Wik | 3.8 | 5,765 | |
| Dennis Macek | 3.0 | 4,453 | ||
| Total votes: 150,702 | |||
| = 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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Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[1] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[2] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Janicek | Democratic Party | $159,630 | $141,424 | $2,310 | As of October 14, 2020 |
| Dennis Macek | Democratic Party | $27,936 | $27,936 | $0 | As of June 2, 2020 |
| Larry Marvin | Democratic Party | $19,370 | $16,126 | $3,332 | As of May 12, 2020 |
| Angie Philips | Democratic Party | $17,755 | $11,749 | $6,006 | As of April 22, 2020 |
| Alisha Shelton | Democratic Party | $54,275 | $38,267 | $15,785 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Andrew Stock | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Daniel Wik | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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." |
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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: U.S. Senate election in Nebraska, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2020 (May 12 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2020
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate elections, 2020
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
