John Cavanaugh has the lead in early vote totals in the highly contested 2nd Congressional District primary Tuesday.
The State senator is vying with Denise Powell and several other candidates to face lone Republican candidate Brinker Harding in the November general election.
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The race for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District started cordially but turned contentious in recent weeks as Democratic front runners Powell and Cavanaugh launched dueling negative ads.
A deluge of mailers, digital ads and TV spots from a Powell-aligned SuperPAC spread the message that a Cavanaugh win would put the future of the district’s “Blue Dot” at risk — an assertion Cavanaugh and his campaign vehemently denied.
If Cavanaugh wins, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen can appoint a replacement to complete his term, which ends in 2028. Pillen is expected to appoint a conservative representative in the reliably Democratic district. If no other seats in the Legislature flip from Republican to Democrat in November, that would solidify a filibuster-proof supermajority for Republicans.
This outcome is not a guarantee, however. It’s possible the general election will bring at least one new Democratic senator to the state legislature.
An ad launched by Cavanaugh’s campaign shortly before election day referred to Powell as “dark money Denise” and accused her of having “orchestrated secret donations for billionaires.”
Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional district is seen as a key pickup for Democrats as they look to take control of Congress in November. Powell and Cavanaugh were among five Democrats running to face off against Omaha City Councilman Harding, who is the sole Republican in the race.
The Cook Political Report moved the race rating from toss-up to lean Democratic last year after incumbent Rep. Don Bacon announced his retirement.
Cavanaugh hails from a prominent Nebraska political family. His father, also named John Cavanaugh, was a Democratic Congressman who represented the 2nd District from 1977 until 1981. His sister, Machaela Cavanaugh, is also a state senator.
He’s an Omaha native who graduated from Creighton Prep High School before attending college at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He later received his law degree from Vermont Law School and worked as an assistant public defender in Douglas County.
Cavanaugh has said his “day one priority will be reversing the Trump health care cuts.” He has also highlighted state legislation to give tax credits to people who saw their health insurance costs go up due to changes to the Affordable Care Act.
Before starting her run for office, Powell worked as a communications and public relations executive at a variety of companies in Nebraska and elsewhere. She co-founded Women Who Run Nebraska, a nonprofit that recruits and supports women who run for public office across the state, in 2017. Powell took a leave of absence from her role at Women Who Run after announcing her Congressional bid.
Powell describes herself as a “mom, small business owner, public school champion, healthcare advocate and daughter of immigrants.”
Behind Cavanaugh/Powell was candidate Crystal Rhoades, Kishla Askins, Melanie Williams and Van Argyrakis.
Harding has served on the Omaha City Council since 2017, currently as council vice president. The father of two has deep ties to Omaha, both as a civil servant and as a local business leader. He previously served as chief of staff and director of economic development to Mayor Hal Daub.
His campaign messaging focuses on goals to “finish the wall and enforce immigration laws,” grow the economy, eliminate wasteful spending and “cut taxes for working families and small businesses.” Harding’s website criticizes the Biden Administration for allowing “10.3 million illegal immigrants to cross our borders.”
On Nov. 3, voters will decide who will fill the seat long held by moderate Republican Don Bacon.