Democratic activist Denise Powell defeated Republican Omaha city councilman Brinker Harding in the race to replace retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), flipping Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District blue on Tuesday.
Powell garnered 57.7% of the vote compared to Harding, who won 40% of the vote, according to the Associated Press, which called the race at 11:57 p.m.
Recommended Stories
Powell’s win marks the first return to Democratic power in a decade for Nebraska’s so-called blue dot district surrounding Omaha. The result delivers a blow to Republicans who sought to hold on to the district, which swung for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 by 4 points, as Bacon left the upper chamber after 10 years.
Powell emerged from a competitive, expensive Democratic primary in May to take on Harding in the general election. The district garnered national attention, with Powell earning endorsements from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s campaign arm and several House Democrats, while Harding boasted the backing of Bacon, President Donald Trump, and Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
Powell aimed to tie Harding to President Donald Trump and his policy agenda throughout the campaign, saying his “allegiance” lies with the president who endorsed him. But Harding painted himself as more of a maverick who would work across the aisle and “with anyone who wants to get something done,” pointing to his election to and work on Omaha’s nonpartisan city council.
The race had some heated exchanges, with Harding calling Powell a “coastal carpetbagger” and Powell calling him a “rubber stamp for Trump.”
Harding based his platform vision on the tenets of affordability and accountability. He supported the year-round sale of E15 gasoline, backed expanding affordable access to IVF, supported the use of body cameras on federal immigration officers, and endorsed nationwide voter ID.
Powell based her platform around lowering costs, growing the local and national economy, and protecting democracy. She supported ideas like stopping Trump’s tariffs, expanding Obama’s Affordable Care Act, passing a long-term Farm Bill, and reestablishing USAID.
WITHOUT DON BACON, CAN REPUBLICANS WIN NEBRASKA’S ‘BLUE DOT’?
Cook Political Report listed the district as a likely Democrat seat.
The district went for Harris in 2024 and former President Joe Biden in 2020 but voted for Trump in 2016. In his last general election in 2024, Bacon narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent, Tony Vargas, by a 1.8 percentage point margin.