2020 Nebraska elections

The 2020 Nebraska elections were held on November 3, 2020. In addition to the U.S. presidential race, Nebraska voters elected the Class II U.S. Senator from Nebraska, one of its Public Service Commissioners, two of eight voting members on the Nebraska University Board of Regents, four of eight seats on the Nebraska State Board of Education, all of its seats to the House of Representatives, two of seven seats on the Nebraska Supreme Court, two of six seats on the Nebraska Court of Appeals, and 25 of 49 seats in the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Six ballot measures were also voted on.

2020 Nebraska elections

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United States Senate

Main article: 2020 United States Senate election in Nebraska

Incumbent Republican Senator Ben Sasse ran for re-election to a second term. He faced Chris Janicek, the Democratic nominee, in the general election, but following allegations of sexual misconduct by Janicek, the Nebraska Democratic Party supported write-in candidate Preston Love Jr. in the general election.

2020 United States Senate election in Nebraska^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ben Sasse (inc.)	583,507	62.74%	−1.60%
	Democratic	Chris Janicek	227,191	24.43%	−7.06%
	Democratic	Preston Love Jr. (write-in)	58,411	6.28%	—
	Libertarian	Gene Siadek	55,115	5.93%	—
	Write-in		5,788	0.62%	—
Majority			356,316	38.31%	+5.46%
Total votes			930,012	100.0%
	Republican hold

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska

All three of Nebraska's members in the United States House of Representatives ran for re-election. All three won re-election.

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	189,006	59.52%	119,622	37.67%	8,938	2.81%	317,566	100.0%	Republican hold
District 2	171,071	50.77%	155,706	46.21%	10,185	3.02%	336,962	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	225,157	78.51%	50,690	17.68%	10,923	3.81%	286,770	100.0%	Republican hold
Total	585,234	62.17%	326,018	34.63%	30,046	3.19%	941,298	100.0%

Public Service Commission

District 2

Incumbent Public Service Commissioner Crystal Rhoades, a Democrat, ran for re-election to a second term. Tim Davis, a restaurant server, won the Republican primary to challenge Rhoades. Rhoades defeated Davis in a landslide, winning 63% of the vote. Two years into her term, however, Rhoades was elected Douglas County Clerk of the District Court and resigned her position.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Crystal Rhoades, incumbent Commissioner

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Crystal Rhoades (inc.)	37,913	100.00%
Total votes			37,913	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Tim Davis, restaurant server^[3]
• Krystal Gabel, cybersecurity technical writer and business analyst^[4]

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Davis	11,537	55.81%
	Republican	Krystal Gabel	9,131	44.19%
Total votes			20,668	100.00%

General election

2020 Nebraska Public Service Commission, District 2 election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Crystal Rhoades (inc.)	95,119	62.67%
	Republican	Tim Davis	56,698	37.33%
Total votes			151,817	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing	{{{swing}}}

State Board of Education

District 1

Incumbent Board member Patsy Koch Johns was unopposed for re-election.

Candidates

• Patsy Koch Johns, incumbent Board member

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patsy Koch Johns (inc.)	51,460	100.00%
Total votes			51,460	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patsy Koch Johns (inc.)	93,015	100.00%
Total votes			93,015	100.00%

District 2

Incumbent Board member Lisa Fricke ran for re-election to a second term. She was challenged by Robert Anthony, a real estate agent. Though the race was formally nonpartisan, Fricke was a Democrat and Anthony was a Republican.^[5] Fricke ended up defeating Anthony in a landslide, winning 65% of the vote.

Candidates

• Lisa Fricke, incumbent Board member
• Robert Anthony, real estate agent

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Lisa Fricke (inc.)	39,330	70.42%
	Nonpartisan	Robert Anthony	16,516	29.58%
Total votes			55,846	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Lisa Fricke (inc.)	71,932	64.64%
	Nonpartisan	Robert Anthony	39,335	35.36%
Total votes			111,267	100.00%

District 3

Incumbent Board member Rachel Wise declined to seek another term. To replace her, Norfolk Public School Board member Patti Gubbels and Columbus Public School Board member Mike Goos ran.^[6] Gubbels defeated Goos in a landslide, winning 66% of the vote.

Candidates

• Patti S. Gubbels, Norfolk Public School Board member
• Mike Goos, Columbus Public School Board member

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patti S. Gubbels	32,050	69.75%
	Nonpartisan	Mike Goos	13,895	30.25%
Total votes			45,945	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patti S. Gubbels	54,199	66.11%
	Nonpartisan	Mike Goos	27,796	33.89%
Total votes			81,995	100.00%

District 4

Incumbent Board member John Witzel declined to seek another term. Tax attorney Jacquelyn Morrison and Midland University professor Adrian Petrescu, who held several positions in the Romanian government in the 1990s, ran to succeed him.^[7] Morrison defeated Petrescu in a landslide, winning 74% of the vote.

Candidates

• Jacquelyn Morrison, tax attorney
• Adrian Petrescu, Midland University professor

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jacquelyn Morrison	26,474	74.64%
	Nonpartisan	Adrian Petrescu	8,988	25.36%
Total votes			35,462	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jacquelyn Morrison	53,839	74.08%
	Nonpartisan	Adrian Petrescu	18,847	25.92%
Total votes			72,686	100.00%

Board of Regents

District 1

Incumbent Regent Tim Clare was unopposed for re-election and won his third term uncontested.

Candidates

• Tim Clare, incumbent Regent

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Tim Clare (inc.)	52,973	100.00%
Total votes			52,973	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Tim Clare (inc.)	94,646	100.00%
Total votes			94,646	100.00%

District 2

Incumbent Regent Howard Hawks declined to seek re-election. Psychologist Jack Stark, Millard Public School Board member MiKe Kennedy, and nonprofit manager Viv Ewing ran to replace him.^[8] At the nonpartisan primary, Kennedy placed first, winning 35% of the vote, and Stark narrowly edged out Ewing to advance to the general election, winning 34% to Ewing's 32%. However, several months into the general election campaign, Kennedy withdrew from the race, citing a need to focus on his existing service commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9] Though Ewing contemplated a write-in campaign,^[9] she ultimately declined to do so and Stark was elected unopposed.

Candidates

• Jack A. Stark, psychologist
• Mike Kennedy, Millard Public School Board member
• Viv Ewing, nonprofit manager

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Mike Kennedy	20,129	34.91%
	Nonpartisan	Jack A. Stark	19,567	33.96%
	Nonpartisan	Viv Ewing	18,285	31.72%
Total votes			57,981	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jack A. Stark	101,098	100.00%
Total votes			101,098	100.00%

State judiciary

Justices Lindsey Miller-Lerman and Jeffrey J. Funke of the Nebraska Supreme Court; Judges Michael W. Pirtle and David Arterburn of the Nebraska Court of Appeals; and Judges Thomas E. Stine and Dirk V. Block of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court ran for retention. All were retained.

Nebraska Supreme Court

District 2

Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	93,025	74.20
No	32,350	25.80
Total votes	125,375	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State[1]

District 5

Justice Jeffrey J. Funke

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	93,418	78.34
No	25,152	21.66
Total votes	118,570	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State[1]

Nebraska Court of Appeals

District 2

Judge Michael W. Pirtle

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	84,466	68.55
No	38,560	31.45
Total votes	123,026	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State[1]

District 4

Judge David K. Arterburn

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	94,754	72.05
No	36,517	27.95
Total votes	131,271	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State[1]

Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court

Judge David K. Arterburn

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	94,754	72.05
No	36,517	27.95
Total votes	131,271	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State[1]

Judge Thomas E. Stine

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	564,633	75.50
No	182,366	24.50
Total votes	747,000	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State[1]

State legislature

25 of 49 seats in the Nebraska State Legislature were up for election. Although officially nonpartisan, before the election, its de facto composition was:

Party		# of seats
	Republican	30
	Democratic	18
	Independent	1
Total		49

Ballot measures

Initiative 428

Nebraska Initiative 428 would cap the annual interest for payday loans at 36%. As of September 2020, the Nebraskan average was 400% APR.^[10] Vote for 428, an organisation campaigning for the initiative's passage, released a poll by Benenson Group Strategies which showed support for the measure (among Nebraskan voters) at 67%. It was conducted in August.^[10]

Initiative 428

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	723,521	82.80
No	150,330	17.20
Total votes	873,851	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State [1]

Initiative 428 results by county

Yes:

•   80–90%
•   70–80%
•   60–70%

Initiative 429

Nebraska Initiative 429

November 3, 2020
Initiative 429
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 588,405 65.04% No 316,298 34.96% Total votes 904,703 100.00%
Yes      50%–60%      60%–70%      70%–80% No      50%–60%      Tie

Nebraska Initiative 429 would allow gambling at licensed racetracks.^[1]

Initiative 429

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	588,405	65.04
No	316,298	34.96
Total votes	904,703	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State [1]

Initiative 430

Nebraska Initiative 430

November 3, 2020
Initiative 430
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 591,086 65.01% No 318,094 34.99% Total votes 909,180 100.00%
Yes      50%–60%      60%–70%      70%–80% No      50%–60%

Nebraska Initiative 430 would establish the governing commission for racetrack gambling.^[1]

Initiative 430

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	591,086	65.01
No	318,094	34.99
Total votes	909,180	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State [1]

Initiative 431

Nebraska Initiative 431

November 3, 2020
Initiative 431
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 620,835 68.71% No 282,703 31.29% Total votes 903,538 100.00%
Yes      50%–60%      60%–70%      70%–80% No      50%–60%      Tie

Nebraska Initiative 431 would enact taxes on gambling at racetracks.^[1]

Initiative 431

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	620,835	68.71
No	282,703	31.29
Total votes	903,538	100.00
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State [1]