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Kate Bolz

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Kate Bolz
Prior offices:
Nebraska State Senate District 29
Years in office: 2013 - 2021
Successor: Eliot Bostar (D)
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 3, 2020
Education
Bachelor's
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Graduate
University of Michigan
Personal
Profession
Adjunct professor
Contact

Kate Bolz (Democratic Party) was a member of the Nebraska State Senate, representing District 29. She assumed office on January 9, 2013. She left office on January 6, 2021.

Bolz (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Nebraska's 1st Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Bolz earned her bachelor's degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University and her master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan. Her professional experience includes working as an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Bolz was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Nebraska committee assignments, 2017
Appropriations
Natural Resources

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Bolz served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Bolz served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2020

Congressional election

See also: Nebraska's 1st Congressional District election, 2020

Nebraska's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (May 12 Democratic primary)

Nebraska's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (May 12 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Nebraska District 1

Incumbent Jeffrey Fortenberry defeated Kate Bolz and Dennis Grace in the general election for U.S. House Nebraska District 1 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jeffrey Fortenberry
Jeffrey Fortenberry (R)
 
59.5
 
189,006
Image of Kate Bolz
Kate Bolz (D)
 
37.7
 
119,622
Image of Dennis Grace
Dennis Grace (L) Candidate Connection
 
2.8
 
8,938

Total votes: 317,566
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 1

Kate Bolz defeated Barbara Ramsey in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 1 on May 12, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kate Bolz
Kate Bolz
 
77.6
 
43,400
Barbara Ramsey Candidate Connection
 
22.4
 
12,497

Total votes: 55,897
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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 1

Incumbent Jeffrey Fortenberry advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 1 on May 12, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jeffrey Fortenberry
Jeffrey Fortenberry
 
100.0
 
84,017

Total votes: 84,017
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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 1

Dennis Grace advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Nebraska District 1 on May 12, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dennis Grace
Dennis Grace Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,047

Total votes: 1,047
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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State legislative election

See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2020

Bolz was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

2016

See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Nebraska State Senate were held in 2016. The primary election took place on May 10, 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 16, 2016, for incumbents. Challengers were required to file by March 1, 2016.[1]

Incumbent Kate Bolz defeated Melody Vaccaro in the Nebraska State Senate District 29 general election.[2][3]

Nebraska State Senate, District 29 General Election, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Kate Bolz Incumbent 82.95% 14,281
Melody Vaccaro 17.05% 2,936
Total Votes 17,217
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State


Incumbent Kate Bolz and Melody Vaccaro were unopposed in the Nebraska State Senate District 29 primary.[4][5]

Nebraska State Senate, District 29 Primary, 2016
Candidate
Green check mark transparent.png Kate Bolz Incumbent
Green check mark transparent.png Melody Vaccaro

2012

See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2012

Bolz won election in the 2012 election for Nebraska State Senate District 29. Bolz advanced past the May 15 primary election and defeated Larry Zimmerman in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7]

Nebraska State Senate, District 29, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngKate Bolz 50.9% 9,073
     Nonpartisan Larry Zimmerman 49.1% 8,750
Total Votes 17,823
Nebraska State Senate District 29 Nonpartisan Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngKate Bolz 30.5% 2,377
Green check mark transparent.pngLarry Zimmerman 25.8% 2,013
Susan Scott 19.3% 1,502
Mike Smith 15.8% 1,231
Don Mayhew 8.6% 670
Total Votes 7,793

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kate Bolz did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Bolz's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

  • Promoting excellence in education by ensuring quality teachers, programs for high ability learners and special education students alike, and after-school programs. It’s important that every child and every school is successful.
  • Investing in a vibrant economy. The surest way to grow the economy is by leveraging the work ethic of Nebraskans and providing opportunities for education and skill building to compete in a modern economy.
  • Tax Fairness is important to everyone. In my time in the legislature, I have fought for tax relief for homeowners, retirees, and working families with childcare expenses and will continue to do so.
  • Community safety is an essential part of the quality of life we value in Lincoln. I’ll keep working to promote strong, safe communities and excellence in law enforcement.
  • Our families are always our number one priority. I continue to work to help seniors stay in their homes and ensure that kids are safe.
  • Protecting our environment through responsible public policy is vital for public health and safety and is our obligation to generations to come.[8]
—Kate Bolz[9]

2012

Bolz's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[10]

Family Security

  • Excerpt: "I will work to promote tax fairness for all Nebraskans. We can no longer allow for an unbalanced tax burden on middle class families and small businesses who can afford it the least. I will fight for fiscal transparency and accountability to ensure your dollars are working for you."

Quality Education

  • Excerpt: "School funding is imbalanced and pushing up our property taxes. With a growing student population in our schools, we cannot stand to receive less support as we have under the current funding formula. I will advocate for a better formula which will reduce the dependence on already escalating property taxes. I will fight to protect both education and your taxes by finding common sense solutions to adjusting the current funding formula."

Jobs

  • Excerpt: "It is imperative that we invest to make our state more competitive. As your senator, I will support businesses and workers. Nebraska businesses cite a “skills gap” in our workforce as a barrier to economic growth. By developing initiatives that train workers for key industries such as health care and manufacturing, we can both build opportunity for workers and create economic growth in the state."

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Kate Bolz campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2020U.S. House Nebraska District 1Lost general$1,149,035 $1,145,897
2016Nebraska State Senate, District 29Won $129,252 N/A**
2012Nebraska State Senate, District 29Won $144,469 N/A**
Grand total$1,422,756 $1,145,897
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Nebraska

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Nebraska scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.






2020

In 2020, the Nebraska State Legislature was in session from January 8 to August 13.

Legislators are scored on children's issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


Endorsements

2016

In 2016, Bolz's endorsements included the following:[12]

  • Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
  • American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
  • Lincoln Education Association
  • Nebraska Chamber of Commerce
  • Lincoln Independent Business Association (LIBA)
  • Associated General Contractors – Highway Improvement
  • Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainsmen
  • Carpenters Union Local 1306
  • Lincoln Firefighters
  • Chiropractors of Nebraska
  • Communication Workers of America
  • Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce

See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
Tony Fulton
Nebraska State Senate District 29
2013–2021
Succeeded by
Eliot Bostar (D)


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Don Bacon (R)
District 3
Republican Party (5)



Current members of the Nebraska State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:John Arch
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
John Arch (R)
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
Rob Dover (R)
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
Dan Quick (D)
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
Republican Party (33)
Democratic Party (14)
Nonpartisan (2)