The results of Omaha’s city mayoral election are in. Democrat John Ewing Jr. defeated Republican incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert with Stothert having 36,307 votes trailing challenger John Ewing Jr.’s 45,336, based on unofficial results.
Ewing said he was going to celebrate Wednesday, and get to work Thursday.
“What I’m going to do is start talking to people about being on the team so we can build a great team for the people of this community,” Ewing said. “It feels amazing. I have prepared for this really all of my adult life with my public service. And I hopes that would carry the day with the voters, that they would say we know this guy, we’ve watched him grow up in our community as a leader, and I think that really made a difference with the voters.”
Stothert conceded at around 9:30 p.m. based on unofficial results in the election.
Right before the mayor’s concession speech, Gov. Jim Pillen spoke before the crowd, saying that the election should have been a “slam dunk” for Stothert.
“Obviously incredible privilege for me to be here to be with the mayor,” Pillen said. “But needless to say, let’s just call a spade a spade. A little bit bittersweet…We had extraordinary from the top with President Trump on down, all the way through and major issues. And then what happens to us conservatives? We go back to work, and then we forget about how important elections are. It’s incredibly important that every one of us never, ever forget.”
Stothert followed Pillen’s speech.
“I am very proud, and I’m grateful, and I’m hopeful,” said Stothert. “I am hopeful that the momentum that we have created will continue…I’ve loved every minute that I have been at City Hall, four years on the council, 12 years as mayor. I have no regrets whatsoever.”
Stothert and Ewing advanced to the general election after receiving 27,245 and 24,605 votes in the April 1 primary, respectively. Three other mayoral candidates were eliminated in that race, including Mike McDonnell with 15,039 votes, Jasmine Harris with 7,706 votes and Terry Brewer with 563 votes.
Stothert dominated the western precincts, though voter attendance in the area was relatively low compared to the previous 2021 election.
Ewing carried the precincts in east central and North Omaha fenced in by I-80 on the south, and I-680 on the west.
Stothert is currently tied for the longest-serving mayor of Omaha at 12 years. In her first mayoral race she beat incumbent mayor Jim Suttle, getting about 57% of the vote.
Ewing has been Douglas County Treasurer since 2007. Prior to being treasurer, Ewing was with the Omaha Police Department for around 25 years. He filled a few roles in his time with OPD, but he concluded as the deputy chief, where he was responsible for the budget, and other major operations within the department like the capital improvement plan.
James Loach, and early voter, said that the attractiveness of the community to businesses and people looking to move to Omaha is most important.
“I think the continuation of the leadership to improve, particularly the look of the community,” said Loach. “And looking ahead at what we need is the city to continue to be a place where people enjoy living.”
On the other hand, David Hill, also an early voter said his main concern was over Omaha’s roads, and that Stothert has been given enough time.
“[Stothert’s] had like, 12 years to fix things, and things are still bad. So I’m willing to try John Ewing this time,” Hill said. “Let’s be real, he’s been treasurer for the last, what, 20 years almost, and he has a good record there. I think it’s time for a change.”
Stothert has received a last-minute boost of $167,000 within the last 12 days of the campaign. That includes a $10,000 contribution from U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, $2,500 from U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and $50,000 from the We Are Nebraska PAC, which was established by Gov. Jim Pillen and is run by the Pillen family.
She also received a $10,000 donation from the Omaha Leadership Fund, a political action committee created in March. Common Sense Nebraska, a PAC largely funded by Ricketts’ mother, Marlene, has funneled more than $210,000 to the Omaha Leadership Fund since its inception.
The Omaha Leadership Fund is responsible for most of the negative advertising against Ewing that have popped up in the final days of the campaign, like a mailer sent to Omaha households claiming Ewing supports “men in girl’s sports” and “men in girl’s bathrooms.” Since April 28, the PAC has spent more than $93,000 on text and ad campaigns opposing Ewing.
Stothert has doubled down on the messaging in the mailers, and her campaign committee also ran a television ad calling Ewing a “radical” who supports “men in girl’s bathrooms and sports.” At a press conference, Stothert said she ran the television ad’s content past the city’s LGBTQ+ advisory board before it aired – but at least one board member took to social media to say they were not consulted.
Ewing, on the other hand, brought in $45,000 in the final 12 days of the campaign, mostly from philanthropic donors and labor unions.
All seven seats on the Omaha City Council are on the ballot, with five of those races being contested.
Early results for Council races:
District 1
Pete Festersen – 9,042
Mark Brannen – 3,703
District 2
Lavonya Goodwin – 4,018
Ben Gray – 2,858
District 3
Danny Begley – 6,853
Michael Pilypaitis – 3,652
District 4
Ron Hug – 3,777
Andrew Adams – 2,306
District 7
Aimee Melton – 7,547
Tim Carter – 6,206
District 5 candidate Don Rowe and District 6 candidate Brinker Harding each ran unopposed in the general election. Brian Kruse, the Douglas County Election Commissioner expected around a 32% turnout heading into Tuesday.