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United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2024 (May 14 Republican primary)

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U.S. Senate, Nebraska
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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
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
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, Nebraska
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 Republican Party primary took place on May 14, 2024, in Nebraska to determine which Republican candidate would run in the state's general election on November 5, 2024.

Incumbent Deb Fischer advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Nebraska.

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
(date not yet available)
May 14, 2024
November 5, 2024


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 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 Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Nebraska

Incumbent Deb Fischer defeated Arron Kowalski in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Nebraska on May 14, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Deb Fischer
Deb Fischer
 
79.8
 
174,820
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Arron Kowalski
 
20.2
 
44,334

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

Total votes: 219,154
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

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Deb Fischer

Image of Deb Fischer

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: 

Biography:  Fischer received a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She served on the school board in Valentine, Nebraska, and was president of the board of directors for the Nebraska Association of School Boards. At the time of the 2024 election, she owned and operated a cattle ranch.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Fischer said her legislative record showed that she was "committed to hard work, common sense solutions, and the Nebraska way of life." She said she "led the way in promoting innovation, regulatory reform, and job creation" in Nebraska through legislation.

Fischer said she believed "the first priority of the federal government is a robust national defense" and highlighted her time on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. She said she was "committed to ensuring our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to fulfill their missions around the world."

Fischer said she advocated for Nebraska’s agriculture industry as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture.

Fischer said she worked to "rein in out-of-control spending and get our fiscal house in order" as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Show sources

Sources: Deb Fischer 2024 campaign website, "Meet Deb," accessed September 13, 2024; Deb Fischer: United States Senator for Nebraska, "More About Deb," accessed September 13, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Nebraska in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Nebraska

Election information in Nebraska: May 14, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: May 3, 2024
  • By mail: Postmarked by April 29, 2024
  • Online: April 29, 2024

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

N/A

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

  • In-person: May 3, 2024
  • By mail: Received by May 3, 2024
  • Online: May 3, 2024

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

  • In-person: May 14, 2024
  • By mail: Received by May 14, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

N/A

What were the early voting start and end dates?

April 15, 2024 to May 13, 2024

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

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

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


Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Deb Fischer Republican Party $8,687,977 $9,174,382 $25,212 As of December 31, 2024
Arron Kowalski Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. 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.

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.


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, 2024
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 2024 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2024 district lines, Nebraska[3]
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

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
2022 59.2%Republican Party 36.0%Democratic Party
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
Average 66.4 31.7
See also: Party control of Nebraska state government

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 Republican Party Jim Pillen
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Joe Kelly
Secretary of State Republican Party Bob Evnen
Attorney General Republican Party Mike Hilgers

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.

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
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
Senate - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Two Independents caucused with the Democratic Party. Another independent, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, counted toward the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
  2. ↑ Nebraska Legislature, "Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32–912," accessed October 21, 2025
  3. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed December 15, 2023


Nebraska's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Deb Fischer (R)
Pete Ricketts (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Don Bacon (R)
District 3
Republican Party (5)


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