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United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2024 (May 14 Democratic primary)
2026 →
← 2020
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| U.S. Senate, Nebraska |
|---|
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: February 15, 2024 (incumbent) March 1, 2024 (non-incumbent) |
| Primary: May 14, 2024 General: November 5, 2024 Pre-election incumbent: Deb Fischer (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 |
DDHQ and The Hill: Likely 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, 2024 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd Nebraska elections, 2024 U.S. Congress elections, 2024 U.S. Senate elections, 2024 U.S. House elections, 2024 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on May 14, 2024, in Nebraska to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 5, 2024.
No candidates ran in this election.
Thirty-four of 100 seats in the U.S. Senate were up for election in 2024, including one special election. At the time of the election, Democrats had a 51-49 majority.[1] Of the seats up for election in 2024, Democrats held 19, Republicans held 11, and independents held four. As of May 2024, eight members of the U.S. Senate had announced they were not running for re-election.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Deb Fischer (Republican), who was first elected in 2012.
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.[2]
As of October 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.[3][4]
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, 2024 (May 14 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2024
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
No Democratic candidates ran in the primary.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Paul Theobald (D)
- Michael Janulewicz (D)
Candidate profiles
There were no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles would have appeared here as candidates completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Nebraska
Campaign finance
There are currently no declared candidates in this race. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Nebraska in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Nebraska, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| Nebraska | U.S. Senate | Ballot-qualified party | N/A | N/A | $1,740.00 | 1% of annual salary | Incumbent: 2/15/2024 Non-incumbent: 3/1/2024 | Source |
| Nebraska | U.S. Senate | Unaffiliated | 4,000 | Fixed number | $1,740.00 | 1% of annual salary | 8/1/2024 | Source |
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.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Nebraska, 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | Incumbent | Party | PVI |
| Nebraska's 1st | Mike Flood | R+9 | |
| Nebraska's 2nd | Don Bacon | Even | |
| Nebraska's 3rd | Adrian Smith | R+29 | |
2020 presidential results by 2024 congressional district lines
| 2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2024 district lines, Nebraska[5] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Joe Biden |
Donald Trump | ||
| 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:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
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.
| Nebraska county-level statistics, 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 90 | 53.4% | |||||
| Trending Democratic | 2 | 46.2% | |||||
| Trending Republican | 1 | 0.3% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 2 | 46.2% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 91 | 53.8% | |||||
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 |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
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% |
24.4% |
| 2018 | 57.7% |
38.6% |
| 2014 | 64.4% |
31.5% |
| 2012 | 57.8% |
42.2% |
| 2008 | 57.5% |
40.1% |
| 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 |
| 2022 | 59.2% |
36.0% |
| 2018 | 59.0% |
41.0% |
| 2014 | 57.2% |
39.2% |
| 2010 | 73.9% |
26.1% |
| 2006 | 73.4% |
24.5% |
| Average | 64.5 | 33.4 |
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Nebraska's congressional delegation as of May 2024.
| 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 May 2024.
| State executive officials in Nebraska, May 2024 | |
|---|---|
| Office | Officeholder |
| Governor | |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Secretary of State | |
| Attorney General | |
State legislature
Nebraska State Senate
| Party | As of February 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 16 | |
| Republican Party | 32 | |
| Independent | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | |
Trifecta control
The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.
Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2024
Seven years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
The table below details demographic data in Nebraska and compares it to the broader United States as of 2022.
| Demographic Data for Nebraska | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | United States | |
| Population | 1,961,504 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 76,814 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 81.8% | 65.9% |
| Black/African American | 4.8% | 12.5% |
| Asian | 2.5% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 3.5% | 6% |
| Multiple | 6.3% | 8.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 11.8% | 18.7% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 91.9% | 89.1% |
| College graduation rate | 33.5% | 34.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $71,722 | $75,149 |
| Persons below poverty level | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| 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 2017-2022). | ||
| **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
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2024 (May 14 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2024
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2024
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2024
- United States Senate elections, 2024
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2024
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Two Independents caucused with the Democratic Party. Another independent, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, counted toward the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
- ↑ Nebraska Legislature, "Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32–912," accessed October 27, 2025
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "How nonpartisan voting works in Nebraska primary elections," accessed October 27, 2025
- ↑ Nebraska Democratic Party, "2026 Democratic Candidates," accessed October 27, 2025
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed December 15, 2023