Democrats flip Nebraska’s ‘blue dot’ 2nd District

Democrat Denise Powell is projected to win the race for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), a pickup for Democrats in a key battleground district.

Powell was leading Republican Brinker Harding by 20 percentage points — 59 percent to 39 percent — with 71 percent of the vote reported by DDHQ as of 9:51 p.m. EST.

Powell defeated Harding, an Omaha City Council member, and will fill the seat left open by Rep. Don Bacon’s (R) retirement.

Before launching her bid for Congress, Powell founded an organization to support local candidates across Nebraska. In her campaign, she hit the Trump administration for rising prices and the Trump family’s growing wealth, pledging to grow the economy and lower costs.

Harding was supported by President Trump and Bacon, though he did not promote Trump’s endorsement on his campaign website . Courier Nebraska noted that while Trump held a rally in Nebraska in the final weeks of the campaign, Harding did not attend .

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) campaigned for Harding over the summer , but as the House battlefield shifted toward redder seats, the district received less attention.

Powell was supported by a slew of national Democrats, including visits from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The win marks a major step forward for Democrats in Nebraska’s 2nd District, who have for years been unable to flip the seat despite its blue lean nationally.

Nebraska splits its electoral votes in presidential elections by congressional district, and Nebraska’s 2nd has consistently been the most competitive of the state’s three districts. Democrats have carried the 2nd in the past two presidential elections, with former Vice President Kamala Harris winning the district by 4 points in 2024. Bacon won reelection on the same ballot by just less than 2 points.

The district was widely expected to flip to the Democrats, as Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball — two nonpartisan election forecasters — both rated the race “likely Democratic” in their final race ratings. DDHQ gave Powell more than a 90 percent chance to win ahead of the election.

Powell will be the first woman to represent the 2nd District.