Unofficial results in the 2nd District House race show Democrat Denise Powell defeating Republican Brinker Harding and Libertarian Eric Foreman. The Associated Press called the race for Powell at around 11 p.m.
The candidates were competing in a race of national importance. Nebraska’s most politically diverse House district is in the spotlight this year as Democrats look to regain control of the so-called “blue dot.”
Democrats see the retirement of five-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon as a key opportunity to flip a seat as Republicans fight to keep the increasingly Democratic-leaning 2nd Congressional District under GOP control. As of late October, most election prediction models rated the district as leaning Democratic.
Powell is a communications consultant and founder of Women Who Run, a PAC supporting female candidates in Nebraska. She faces off with Harding, a three-term Omaha City Council member and commercial real estate agent.
Powell won a highly competitive six-candidate primary in May that put her toe to toe with state Sen. John Cavanaugh. The Fight for Nebraska PAC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars during that race.
Harding was the lone Republican candidate in the primary. He has campaigned on a similar bipartisan message to former Rep. Bacon, though President Donald Trump gave Harding his “complete and total endorsement” in April. Asked about aligning himself with Trump in a moderate district, Harding said people “know who I am… and know that I am very approachable, very reasonable.”
“It’s an incredibly diverse district,” Harding told Nebraska Public Media News in September. “In my campaigns for City Council and in this current campaign, I talk a lot about results for everyone in the district: Republicans, Democrats, nonpartisans. I’ve always maintained the same message in my campaign that I’m going to be working for everyone.”
In their months of campaigning, both candidates heavily focused on issues of affordability.
“People are struggling with the cost of groceries, of gas, of healthcare, childcare, and they no longer trust the government in D.C. to help them,” Powell said at an Oct. 14 debate hosted by Nebraska Public News and the Omaha World-Herald. “Nebraskans deserve better, and I am so honored to have a shot at representing the state in D.C.”
Addressing the Iran war and subsequent rise in diesel prices, Harding has said the conflict must be settled as quickly as possible, but only with assurances that Iran will never have access to a nuclear weapon.
“Look, they have been the main sponsor of terror across the world for too long. We have to make sure that we stop that,” Harding said. “They cannot control the Strait of Hormuz.”
Addressing the Iran war and subsequent rise in diesel prices, Harding has said the conflict must be settled as quickly as possible but only with assurances that Iran will never have access to a nuclear weapon.
“Look, they have been the main sponsor of terror across the world for too long. We have to make sure that we stop that,” Harding said. “They cannot control the Strait of Hormuz.”
Powell has said she’s been opposed to the war since the beginning and pointed to its high costs. She argued that it does not make Americans safer.
