Nebraska 2026 Election Results Show Democratic Gains and GOP Shifts

Nebraska 2026 election results 93 county breakdown

Nebraska’s political landscape shifted beneath a national blue wave, though the state’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District held firm as a deeply conservative firewall.

While Trump carried Nebraska by 20.6 percentage points in 2024 and 19.2 percentage points in 2020, this year’s midterms revealed Democratic gains.

Statewide, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen secured a second and final four-year term, but he did so by a smaller margin in 89 of Nebraska’s 93 counties compared to four years ago. Pillen won by 8 percentage points, translating to about 60,000 votes.

His Democratic challenger, former state Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, raised more than $6 million by late October—the most for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in state history, backed by support from the Democratic Governors Association. Walz improved upon the 2022 performance of then-Democratic state Sen. Carol Blood in all but six of the state’s counties, making this the closest gubernatorial race in Nebraska since 1990.

The electoral tremors extended beyond the governor’s office. Nebraska broke a GOP supermajority in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature, while Democrats captured races for sheriff and county attorney in Douglas and Lancaster counties.

In the federal delegation, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts won a six-year term, defeating Dan Osborn by more than 6 points. Ricketts performed worse in every county than his victory in 2024 over Preston Love, yet still earned a greater share of votes than Deb Fischer secured when she faced Osborn in 2024 across 39 counties.

Congressional contests also registered notable leftward shifts. In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Mike Flood won by about 3.5 points against Democrat Chris Backemeyer, down from a 20.2-point victory in 2024.

In the Omaha-based 2nd District, Democrat Denise Powell defeated Republican Brinker Harding by nearly 16 points, succeeding outgoing Rep. Don Bacon and claiming the seat for Democrats for the first time since 2014. Out west, Republican Rep. Adrian Smith won reelection by 51.1 percentage points.

Voters also weighed in on several ballot measures over recent election cycles, approving voter ID requirements in 2022, a minimum wage increase to $15, medical cannabis legalization, and paid sick leave, while rejecting online sports betting and an attempt to allow state lawmakers to serve up to three consecutive four-year terms instead of two.