Nebraska Voters to Select Nominees for November Ballot Today

Nebraska voters will select nominees for a U.S. Senate seat and the state’s three Congressional Districts.

Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts, who was appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen in 2023 to complete Ben Sasse’s Senate term after resigning to become the president of the University of Florida, is facing four Republicans, two Democrats and two Legal Marijuana NOW party members for the seat he’s held since 2023.

The four Republicans include Debb Axtell Schultz, Todd Knobel, Eric Mortimore, and Mac Stevens.

Schultz is a 73-year-old Grand Island resident, retired small business owner, and grandmother.

Knobel, of Lincoln, 62, is a consultant and holds a law degree from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in finance from London Business School.

Mortimore of Kearney, is 37 years old, a mechanic, driver, game producer, and small business owner.

Stevens, 79, of Bushnell, is a rancher, works as a nutritionist, and is the owner of Stevens Livestock Consulting.

Two Democrats, Cindy Burbank and William Forbes, hope to challenge the Republican nominee for the Senate seat.

Burbank, 62, has worked as a pharmacy financial counselor and pharmacy technician. She has also taught pharmacy technician courses at Iowa Western Community College.

Forbes, 79, is a pastor at Paxton New Life Lutheran Church. His website states that he wants to restore Democrat values to Nebraska.

Two members of the Legal Marijuana NOW party, Mike Marvin and Earl Starkey, are also running for their party’s nomination.

Marvin is the former executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, and Starkey is a warehouse worker and small business owner.

All three of the state’s U.S. House of Representatives districts will be on the ballot in November. The 2nd Congressional District seat is getting attention from outside the state.

District 2 is known as the Blue Dot because it leans generally Democratic in a largely Republican state. The district contains Douglas and Saunders Counties as well as western Sarpy County.

The district’s Republican incumbent Don Bacon is stepping down from the seat he has held since 2017.

Republican Brinker Harding is the presumptive Republican nominee as he is unopposed. He is a 65-year-old commercial real estate broker and has been a member of the Omaha City Council since 2017.

Six Democrats, state Sen. John Cavanaugh, Denise Powell, Crystal Rhoades, Van Argyrakis, Kishla Askins, and Melanie Williams are vying for their party’s nod.

Cavanaugh, 45, is a state senator for Legislative District 9 in Midtown Omaha.

Powell, 47, of Omaha, is a small business owner and the head of the Women Who Run Political Action Committee.

Rhoades of Omaha, 48, has been the clerk of the Douglas County District Court since 2023.

Argyrakis, 59, is a retired attorney from Omaha.

Askins, 54, is a retired U.S. Navy officer and former deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Williams, 65, is a children’s book author and served on the Nebraska Children’s Commission and the Community Advisory Board of Nebraska Families Collaborative.

House Districts in Play

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, a Republican, is seeking reelection and running unopposed for the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District.

Two Democrats and one Libertarian are hoping to take the seat.

Chris Backemeyer, 50, is a former deputy assistant secretary of state at the U.S. Department of State, serving in the Middle East. He holds a master’s degree in international relations and a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Eric Moyer of Lincoln, 49, has worked in the renewable energy field for 10 years. He has degrees in marketing, communication and advertising, and liberal arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Libertarian Nik Sandman, 77, of Lincoln, is a retired farmer and rural mail carrier. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the presumptive nominee of his party for the seat.

Republican Rep. Adrian Smith of the 3rd Congressional District is running for the GOP nomination against Republican challenger David P. Huebner of North Platte.

Smith of Gering, 55, was a state senator from 1999 to 2007. He has represented the 3rd District since 2007 and earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Huebner of North Platte, 39, is a rancher and business owner. He served on the U.S. Border Patrol and holds a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in homeland security.

Becky Kelly Stille, 56, of South Sioux City, is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and David J. Else, 65, of Overton, is running unopposed for the Legal Marijuana NOW nomination.