2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of Nebraska, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →
All 3 Nebraska seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 3 0 Seats won 3 0 Seat change Popular vote 585,234 326,018 Percentage 62.17% 34.63% Swing 0.14% 3.34%
District results County results Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   >90% Democratic   40–50%

Overview

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%

Popular vote Republican   62.17% Democratic   34.63% Other   3.19%

House seats Republican   100.00%

District 1

2020 Nebraska's 1st congressional district election

← 2018 2022 (special) →

Nominee Jeff Fortenberry Kate Bolz Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 189,006 119,622 Percentage 59.5% 37.7%

County results Fortenberry:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Bolz:      40–50%

U.S. Representative before election Jeff Fortenberry Republican Elected U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry Republican

See also: Nebraska's 1st congressional district

The 1st district is located in eastern Nebraska surrounding Omaha and its suburbs, taking in Lincoln, Bellevue, Fremont, and Norfolk. The incumbent was Republican Jeff Fortenberry, who was re-elected with 60.4% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jeff Fortenberry, incumbent U.S. representative^[2]

Declined

• Nicholas Oviatt, part-time consultant^[3]

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Fortenberry (incumbent)	84,017	100.0
Total votes			84,017	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Kate Bolz, state senator^[5]
• Barbara "Babs" Ramsey, security analyst^[6]

Endorsements

Kate Bolz

Newspapers

• Lincoln Journal Star^[7]

Organizations

• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) ^[8]
• League of Conservation Voters Action Fund^[9]
• Lincoln Firefighters Association ^[10]
• Nebraska Association of Public Employees ^[11]
• Sierra Club ^[12]

Barbara "Babs" Ramsey

Organizations

• DUH! Demand Universal Healthcare^[13]
• Freethought Equality Fund PAC^[14]
• Nebraska Secular Democrats^[15]
• Progressive Rising^[16]
• Rose Caucus^[17]
• Vote Pro Choice^[18]

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kate Bolz	43,400	77.6
	Democratic	Barbara Ramsey	12,497	22.4
Total votes			55,897	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

• Dennis B. Grace, U.S. Navy veteran^[2][19]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Dennis B. Grace	1,047	100.0
Total votes			1,047	100.0

General election

Debate

2020 Nebraska's 1st congressional district debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Jeff Fortenberry	Kate Bolz
1	Oct. 14, 2020	Nebraska Public Media	Dennis Kellogg	[20]	P	P

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[21]	Safe R	July 2, 2020
Inside Elections[22]	Safe R	June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[23]	Safe R	July 2, 2020
Politico[24]	Likely R	September 9, 2020
Daily Kos[25]	Safe R	June 3, 2020
RCP[26]	Safe R	June 9, 2020
Niskanen[27]	Safe R	June 7, 2020

Results

Nebraska's 1st congressional district, 2020^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Fortenberry (incumbent)	189,006	59.5
	Democratic	Kate Bolz	119,622	37.7
	Libertarian	Dennis B. Grace	8,938	2.8
Total votes			317,566	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

2020 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election

← 2018 2022 →

Nominee Don Bacon Kara Eastman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 171,071 155,706 Percentage 50.8% 46.2%

Bacon:      60–70% Eastman:      40–50%

U.S. Representative before election Don Bacon Republican Elected U.S. Representative Don Bacon Republican

See also: Nebraska's 2nd congressional district

The 2nd district covers the Omaha metropolitan area, including all of Douglas County, home to the city of Omaha, and suburban parts of western Sarpy County, including La Vista and Papillon. The incumbent was Republican Don Bacon, who was re-elected with 51.0% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Kara Eastman was the Democratic nominee.^[29] She started a nonprofit consulting company in 2019, and was previously the executive director of the Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance.^[30] That organization focuses on reducing lead poisoning, and Lee Terry described it as a nonpartisan project.^[31] She is a former member of the Board of Governors of Metropolitan Community College.^[32]

President Donald Trump endorsed Bacon, and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden endorsed Eastman.^[33]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Paul Anderson, perennial candidate^[34]
• Don Bacon, incumbent U.S. representative^[35]

Endorsements

Don Bacon

• Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States^[36]

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Bacon (incumbent)	68,531	90.6
	Republican	Paul Anderson	7,106	9.4
Total votes			75,637	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Ann Ashford, attorney and wife of former U.S. Representative Brad Ashford^[37]
• Kara Eastman, nonprofit executive and nominee for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2018^[38]
• Gladys Harrison, general manager of Big Mama's Kitchen^[39]

Withdrew

• Morgann Freeman, part-time communications consultant and activist^[40] (endorsed Ashford)
• Dustin Sedoris, U.S. Marine Corps veteran^[41] (endorsed Eastman)^[42]

Declined

• Heath Mello, chief lobbyist for the University of Nebraska system, former state senator, and nominee for mayor of Omaha in 2017^[43]
• Denise Blaya Powell, founder of Women Who Run^[44]

Endorsements

Ann Ashford

U.S. senators

• Bob Kerrey, former senator from Nebraska and former governor of Nebraska^[45]
• Ben Nelson, former senator from Nebraska and former governor of Nebraska^[45]

U.S. representatives

• Brad Ashford, former representative from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district and husband of Ann Ashford^[45]
• John Joseph Cavanaugh III, former representative from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district^[45]
• John Delaney, former representative from Maryland's 6th congressional district^[46]

Statewide officials

• Kim Robak, former lieutenant governor of Nebraska^[47]

State officials

• Burke Harr, former state senator^[48]
• Gwen Howard, former state senator^[49]
• Bob Krist, former state senator and Democratic nominee for Governor of Nebraska in 2018^[50]
• Steve Lathrop, state senator^[51]

Individuals

• Michael Fahey, former mayor of Omaha^[52]

Organizations

• LEAP Forward Project^[53]

Kara Eastman

U.S. senators

• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts^[54]

U.S. representatives

• Lisa Blunt Rochester, Representative from Delaware's at-large congressional district^[55]
• Lois Frankel, Representative from Florida's 21st congressional district^[55]
• Pramila Jayapal, Representative from Washington's 7th congressional district^[55]
• Ro Khanna, Representative from California's 17th congressional district^[56]
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative from New York's 14th congressional district^[57]
• Mark Pocan, Representative from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district^[55]
• Jamie Raskin, Representative from Maryland's 8th congressional district^[55]

State officials

• Tanya Cook, former state senator^[55]
• Brenda Council, Omaha city councilwoman and former state senator^[55]
• Megan Hunt, state senator^[55]
• Justin Wayne, state senator^[55]

Local officials

• Mike Boyle, county commissioner and former mayor of Omaha^[55]
• Marian Fey, former member of the Omaha public schools board^[55]
• Ben Gray, Omaha city councilman^[55]
• Jay Irwin, member of the Ralston school board^[55]
• Tim Rouse, former president of the Omaha city council
• Amanda Ryan, member of the Omaha public school board^[55]
• Marque Snow, president of the Omaha public school board^[55]
• Jim Suttle, former mayor of Omaha^[55]

Individuals

• Roger Garcia, member of the Metropolitan Community College board^[55]
• Mondaire Jones, 2020 Democratic nominee for New York's 17th congressional district^[58]
• Alexander Payne, filmmaker^[55]
• Mark Ruffalo, actor^[59]
• Barbara Weitz, member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents^[55]
• Michael Young, member of the Metropolitan Community College Board^[55]

Organizations

• American Progressives in STEM^[60]
• Brand New Congress^[61]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Courage to Change^[62]
• Democracy for America^[63]
• Justice Democrats^[64]
• National Organization for Women
• Peace Action^[57]
• Progressive Change Campaign Committee
• Progressive Rising^[16]
• Sierra Club
• Warren Democrats

Parties

• Cannabis Rights Party of Nebraska^[65]

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kara Eastman	45,953	62.1
	Democratic	Ann Ashford	23,059	31.2
	Democratic	Gladys Harrison	4,920	6.7
Total votes			73,932	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

• Tyler Schaeffer^[66]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Tyler Schaeffer	964	100.0
Total votes			964	100.0

General election

Debate

2020 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Don Bacon	Kara Eastman
1	Oct. 12, 2020	Nebraska Public Media	Dennis Kellogg	[67]	P	P

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[68]	Tossup	July 16, 2020
Inside Elections[69]	Tilt D (flip)	October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[23]	Lean R	November 2, 2020
Politico[24]	Tossup	September 9, 2020
Daily Kos[25]	Lean R	June 3, 2020
RCP[26]	Tossup	June 9, 2020
Niskanen[27]	Tossup	June 7, 2020

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Don Bacon (R)	Kara Eastman (D)	Tyler Schaeffer (L)	Other	Undecided
UNLV Lee Business School[70]	October 30 – November 2, 2020	191 (LV)	± 7%	47%	46%	–	–	–
Change Research[71]	October 29 – November 2, 2020	920 (LV)	± 3.5%	47%	48%	2%	0%[b]	2%
Emerson College[72]	October 29–30, 2020	806 (LV)	± 3.5%	50%[c]	47%	–	2%	–
FM3 Research (D)[73][A]	October 1–4, 2020	450 (LV)	± 4.6%	45%	47%	6%	–	–
Siena College/NYT Upshot[74]	September 25–27, 2020	420 (LV)	± 5.3%	45%	43%	3%	1%[d]	8%[e]
Global Strategy Group (D)[75][B]	September 14–16, 2020	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	45%	45%	4%	–	7%[e]
Global Strategy Group (D)[76][B]	July 27–29, 2020	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	47%	42%	4%	–	7%[e]
GQR Research (D)[77][C]	June 30 – July 5, 2020	502 (LV)	± 4.37%	49%	50%	–	–	–
DCCC Targeting and Analytics Department (D)[78][D]	May 7–10, 2020	448 (LV)	± 4.6%	47%	48%	–	–	–
GQR Research (D)[79][C]	September 9–12, 2019	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	50%	49%	–	–	–

Hypothetical polling

with Ann Ashford

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Don Bacon (R)	Ann Ashford (D)	Undecided
GQR Research (D)[79]	September 9–12, 2019	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	53%	46%	–

with Gladys Harrison

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Don Bacon (R)	Gladys Harrison (D)	Undecided
GQR Research (D)[79]	September 9–12, 2019	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	55%	44%	–

Post-primary endorsements

Don Bacon (R)

Federal officials

• Brad Ashford, former U.S. representative from NE-02 (Democratic)^[80]
• Deb Fischer, U.S. senator from Nebraska^[81]
• Joe Lieberman, former U.S. senator from Connecticut (1989–2013)^[82] (Independent / Democratic)
• Jim Moran, former U.S. representative (VA-08) (1991–2015)^[83] (Democratic)

State officials

• Bob Krist, former state senator (2009–2019) and 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee^[84] (Democratic)
• Pete Ricketts, Governor^[85]

Local officials

• Carroll Smith, mayor of Valley^[86] (Democratic)
• Jean Stothert, mayor of Omaha^[87]

Organizations

• National Right to Life Committee^[88]

Individuals

• Barry Rubin, former Nebraska Democratic Party executive director (2003–2006)^[89] (Democratic)

Kara Eastman (D)

Former US Executive Branch officials

• Joe Biden, 47th vice president of the United States and 2020 Democratic nominee for President^[90]
• Barack Obama, former president of the United States (2009–2017, former senator from Illinois (2005–2008)^[91]

Federal officials

• Judy Chu, U.S. representative (CA-27)^[92]
• John Delaney, former U.S. representative (MD_06)^[92]
• Debbie Dingell, U.S. representative from (MI-12)^[92]
• Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. senator from New York and former 2020 presidential candidate^[93]
• Deb Haaland, U.S. representative (NM-01)^[92]
• Kamala Harris, U.S. senator from California; 2020 vice presidential nominee^[94]
• Bob Kerrey, former U.S. senator from Nebraska (1989–2001) and Governor (1983–1987)^[95]
• Andy Levin, U.S. representative (MI-09)^[92]
• Ted Lieu, U.S. representative (CA-33)^[92]
• Katie Porter, U.S. representative (CA-45)^[96]
• Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont and former 2016 and 2020 presidential candidate^[97]
• Jan Schakowsky, U.S. representative (IL-09)^[92]
• Eric Swalwell, U.S. representative (CA-15)^[92]
• Mark Takano, U.S. representative (CA-41)^[92]

State officials

• Kate Bolz, state senator and 2020 Democratic nominee in NE-01^[98]
• John S. McCollister, Nebraska state senator (Republican)^[99]

Local officials

• Chris Jerram, Omaha City Council president^[100]

Individuals

• Jamaal Bowman, 2020 Democratic nominee for New York's 16th congressional district^[101]
• Gladys Harrison, local business owner and 2020 Democratic candidate in NE-02^[102]
• Mondaire Jones, 2020 Democratic nominee for New York's 17th congressional district^[58]
• Jim Simon, business owner and 2002 Democratic nominee in NE-02^[103]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee^[104]
• EMILY's List^[105]
• End Citizens United^[106]
• Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund^[107]
• League of Conservation Voters Action Fund^[108]
• Let America Vote^[109]
• Nebraska Democratic Party^[110]
• Planned Parenthood Action Fund^[111]

Results

Despite Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden winning the district by 6.5 points, Bacon defeated Eastman by 4.6 points. Eastman underperformed Biden by over 11 points.^[112]

Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, 2020^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Don Bacon (incumbent)	171,071	50.8
	Democratic	Kara Eastman	155,706	46.2
	Libertarian	Tyler Schaeffer	10,185	3.0
Total votes			336,962	100.0
	Republican hold

By county

County	Don Bacon Republican		Kara Eastman Democratic		Tyler Schaeffer Libertarian		Total votes
	%	#	%	#	%	#
Douglas	48.20%	132,230	48.79%	133,827	3.01%	8,252	274,309
Sarpy	61.99%	38,841	34.92%	21,879	3.09%	1,933	62,653

District 3

2020 Nebraska's 3rd congressional district election

← 2018 2022 →

Nominee Adrian Smith Mark Elworth Jr. Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 225,157 50,690 Percentage 78.5% 17.7%

County results Smith:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

U.S. Representative before election Adrian Smith Republican Elected U.S. Representative Adrian Smith Republican

See also: Nebraska's 3rd congressional district

The 3rd district covers most of the rural western part of the state, and includes Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings, North Platte, Alliance, and Scottsbluff. The incumbent was Republican Adrian Smith, who was re-elected with 76.7% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Larry Lee Scott Bolinger,^[113] veteran, graduate from UNO, business owner in property preservation, author of 16 books, and self-defense instructor^[2]
• William Elfgren, grocery worker^[2][114]
• Arron Kowalski, farmer^[2]
• Justin Moran, architectural draftsman, firefighter and welder^[2]
• Adrian Smith, incumbent U.S. representative^[115]

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Adrian Smith (incumbent)	96,260	82.6
	Republican	Arron Kowalski	6,424	5.5
	Republican	Justin Moran	6,374	5.5
	Republican	William Elfgren	4,063	3.5
	Republican	Larry Lee Scott Bolinger	3,389	2.9
Total votes			116,510	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Mark Elworth, Jr., acting chair of the Cannabis Rights Party of Nebraska, former Legal Marijuana Now nominee for president in 2020^[2][116]

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Elworth, Jr.	26,772	100.0
Total votes			26,776	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

• Dustin C. Hobbs, reality television show participant^[2][117]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Dustin C. Hobbs	561	100.0
Total votes			561	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[21]	Safe R	July 2, 2020
Inside Elections[22]	Safe R	June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[23]	Safe R	July 2, 2020
Politico[24]	Safe R	September 9, 2020
Daily Kos[25]	Safe R	June 3, 2020
RCP[26]	Safe R	June 9, 2020
Niskanen[27]	Safe R	June 7, 2020

Results

Nebraska's 3rd congressional district, 2020^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Adrian Smith (incumbent)	225,157	78.5
	Democratic	Mark Elworth Jr.	50,690	17.7
	Libertarian	Dustin C. Hobbs	10,923	3.8
Total votes			286,770	100.0
	Republican hold

See also

• 2020 Nebraska elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Did not vote and "Don't recall" with 0%
3. With voters who lean towards a given candidate
4. Would not vote with 1%; "someone else" with 0%
5. Includes "Refused"

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC exclusively supports Democratic candidates.
2. Poll conducted for the House Majority PAC.
3. Poll sponsored by Eastman's campaign
4. Poll sponsored by the DCCC.