United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2026 (May 12 Democratic primary)
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| U.S. Senate, Nebraska |
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| 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) |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd Nebraska elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
A Democratic Party primary takes place on May 12, 2026, in Nebraska to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
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Heading into the election, the incumbent is Pete Ricketts (Republican), who was first elected in 2024.
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 an unaffiliated voter may vote in the congressional primary of their choice. For all other statewide offices, a state party can determine whether it will allow unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary.[1]
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.[2][3]
Thirty-three of the 100 U.S. Senate seats are up for election, and another two seats are up for special election. Democrats hold 13 of the seats up for election, and Republicans hold 22. As of January 2026, 11 members of the U.S. Senate announced they are not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. Senate elections taking place this year, click here.
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, 2026 (May 12 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2026
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Nebraska
Cindy Burbank (D) and William Forbes (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Nebraska on May 12, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Cindy Burbank | ||
| William Forbes | ||
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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
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cindy Burbank | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| William Forbes | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
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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." |
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Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate 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. Senate candidates, 2026 | ||||||
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| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Nebraska | U.S. Senate | Ballot-qualified party | N/A | 1% of annual salary | Incumbents: 2/17/2026, Non-incumbents: 3/2/2026 | Source |
| Nebraska | U.S. Senate | Unaffiliated | 4,000 | 1% of annual salary | Incumbents: 2/17/2026, Non-incumbents: 3/2/2026 | Source |
See also
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2026 (May 12 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2026
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2026
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2026
- United States Senate elections, 2026
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2026
External links
Footnotes
