Democrat Denise Powell captured Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday night with 57.7% of the vote, a margin that sealed the seat for her party for the first time in ten years and made her both the first woman and the first Latina ever to represent Nebraska in federal office. The Associated Press called the race for Powell shortly before 11 p.m., when 72% of votes had been counted and she held a commanding lead over Republican Brinker Harding, who trailed at 40%. Libertarian Eric Michael Foreman finished a distant third with 2.4%.
It was a result that flipped the Omaha-area district back into Democratic hands after a decade of Republican representation, in a race that drew national attention and visits from heavyweight surrogates on both sides. Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg campaigned in the district for Powell, while House Speaker Mike Johnson visited to rally support for Harding.
Harding conceded around 9:03 p.m., telling supporters at his watch party that Powell “is gonna get more votes than we do,” and pointed to returns showing similar Democratic gains elsewhere. “You might notice too, if you’ve been looking at the returns, we’re seeing a lot of this happen across the country,” he said. He later added: “It is truly an honor, and for all of you here tonight, you know, this was a fight we all took together. You are the rest of this team, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t lead the team to a better result.”
Powell, who co-founded a group that coaches local women to run for office, had already survived a heated May primary to secure the Democratic nomination. In her victory speech shortly after 9:25 p.m., delivered to a hall of fist-bumping supporters, she framed the win as a rebuke of national politics.
Powell told a hall of fist-bumping supporters that they chose common sense over chaos and helped send a clear message to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The 2nd District, covering much of Omaha and its suburbs, is Nebraska’s most politically divided and diverse district, and it has long been treated as a swing seat that draws national money and attention. Though slightly red-leaning, it has swung between parties, which is why both campaigns spent the final weeks trying to paint each other as extreme, trading accusations about PAC spending and late tax payments.
What the Numbers Show
The vote totals tell the story of a decisive win:
Nebraska is sending a Democrat to Congress for the first time in a decade. Denise Powell defeated Republican Brinker Harding in the 2nd District. https://t.co/G6dWRl9PL1
| Candidate | Party | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|
| Denise Powell | Democrat | 57.7% |
| Brinker Harding | Republican | 40% |
| Eric Michael Foreman | Libertarian | 2.4% |
Powell will serve a two-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her victory marks the first time a Democrat has held the seat in a decade, a stretch that had given Republicans a reliable foothold in an otherwise deeply conservative state.
A District That Swings
Nebraska’s 2nd District has earned its reputation as a bellwether precisely because it refuses to behave like the rest of the state. While Nebraska overall votes reliably Republican, the Omaha metro area has split its tickets often enough that national parties treat the district as winnable. That is what made this race a marquee contest: with control of the House hanging in the balance nationally, both parties poured resources into a district where a few thousand votes could decide who sits in Washington.
The campaign’s closing days were bitter. Each side accused the other of benefiting from outside PAC money, and both traded barbs over late tax payments — the kind of personal attacks that tend to surface when a race tightens.
The result also carries a message Harding himself acknowledged on election night: whatever is happening in Nebraska’s 2nd District is happening elsewhere too.
More on Nebraska
Denise Powell has won Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District election, flipping the seat from Republican to Democratic. pic.twitter.com/H4TDTV0t8B
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