Democrats made significant gains in elected law enforcement races on Tuesday, unseating three Republican incumbents and winning control of the county attorney and sheriff’s offices in Douglas and Lancaster counties.
Some of the offices picked up by Democrats had been held by Republicans for decades. Douglas County last elected a Democrat as Sheriff in 1990; the Republican sheriff of Lancaster County who did not seek reelection this year held the office since 1994.
Nebraska GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper said the losses were “very disappointing” to the party.
“We’re going to have to really evaluate that and see where we came up short, and work on retaking those positions,” Truemper said. “Those were very hard losses for us.”
In Douglas County, voters ousted longtime County Attorney Don Kleine. Kleine was first elected in 2006 as a Democrat and handily won reelection every four years – even after he switched to the Republican party in 2020 following controversy over his initial decision not to bring charges against a white bar owner who shot and killed a black man during Black Lives Matter protests. In his first election as a Republican in 2022, Kleine beat his Democratic opponent by 13 percentage points.
But as of the 1 a.m. vote drop from Douglas County, Kleine trailed Democrat Makayla Danner by about 12,000 votes. In an interview, Danner said Kleine called her to concede on Wednesday morning.
“We spoke about how clean the race was and our respect for one another,” Danner said. “He told me he wished me good luck and to take care of the people in this community, and I’m gladly looking forward to doing so.”
Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, a Republican elected in 2022, was unseated Tuesday. Democrat Mark Martinez led Hanson by 10 percentage points as of the 1 a.m. Wednesday vote drop. Shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, Hanson said on Facebook that he called Martinez to concede.
“I’m proud of the amazing work that DCSO has done over the past 4 years to keep Douglas County safe,” Hanson said. “Mark is inheriting an amazing agency comprised of amazing people.”
The trend was the same in Lancaster County.
In the sheriff’s race, Democrat Jay Pitts soundly beat Republican candidate Ben Houchin. Both were running to replace longtime Republican Sheriff Terry Wagner, who opted not to run for reelection after holding the office since 1994.
Pitts led by about 17 points as of Wednesday afternoon over Houchin, who is Wagner’s chief deputy. Lancaster County still has about 9,000 early and provisional votes to count, but Pitts is expected to maintain a sizable lead.
Two-term Republican Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon was also defeated by Democratic challenger Randall Ritnour. Condon called Ritnour to concede on Wednesday morning, according to a social media post.
Lancaster County Republican Party Chairman Jack Riggins wished Pitts and Ritnour well as they step into the roles. He said Houchin and Condon were hurt by the national trend that delivered big wins for Democrats across the country.
“At the end of the day, sometimes you’re going to have a national trend that can dip into certain areas of the state,” Riggins said.
But Precious McKesson, the executive director of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the victories can’t just be chalked up to the blue wave. She was pleasantly surprised by the strength of the wins, but said the local issues unique to these races had more impact.
“There were so many different individuals and groups really, really focused on the issues that impact Nebraskans,” McKesson said. “I think that’s where it comes from.”
Nebraska Public Media News reporters Aaron Bonderson, Macy Byars and Jessica Wade contributed to this report.