The November ballot
Raised so far, filed with the FEC
General-election ballot as recorded August 27, 2026. Not a prediction.
The seat
Donald Bacon
Republican · Holds the seat now
How to vote in Nebraska
- General electionNovember 3, 2026In 10 weeks
Register 18 days before online or by mail, or 11 days before in person.

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How they won the primary
The primary · 58,004 votes
- Denise PowellWon38.8%22,516
- John Cavanaugh36.4%21,115
- Crystal Rhoades14.1%8,180
- Kishla Askins6%3,499
- Melanie Williams3.8%2,222
2 more candidates on the full canvass.
The primary · 39,689 votes
- Brinker HardingWon100%39,689
Primary results as recorded August 27, 2026, in the canvass's own published order. Via Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), which cites each state's canvass. A primary result is a filed fact about a past contest, not a prediction of November.
The money on this race
- Raised by candidates
- $9.4M
- Outside money
- $5.6M
Outside money, for and against
Independent expenditures; direction is each filer's own declared filing.
Where each candidate's money comes from
Small donors give under $200; PACs are political action committees. Shares of each candidate's own receipts on file with the FEC. Outside money is not part of these figures.
Who is spending on this race
The 14 groups spending independently here, ranked; open a row for whose race the money went into.
Independent expenditures reported to the FEC; direction is each group's own declared filing. The groups named here account for $5.2M of the $5.6M total; the rest is smaller filers.
Not on the November ballot
10 filed- Donald BaconRepublican$1.5M
- Kishla AskinsDemocrat$902K
- John CavanaughDemocrat$1.4M
- James LeuschenDemocrat$394K
- Brett LindstromRepublican$375K
Primary candidates who did not advance, committees still on file, and candidacies that ended. Being here is a filing fact, not a mark against anyone.
The district
Census context- People
- 664K
- Median household income
- $84K
- Unemployment
- 3.6%
- Living below the poverty line
- 11.0%
- Without health insurance
- 7.6%
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Context about the district, not a statement about any candidate.
How this seat voted last time
R+1.8 in 2024
- Don BaconWon50.9%
- Tony Vargas49.1%
314,567 votes for candidates. A past result is a filed fact, not a prediction of November.
Certified returns via MIT Election Data and Science Lab, from the House Clerk's election statistics and state canvasses.
Candidates and financing from the FEC, public domain; money figures carry their own coverage dates. Dataset built 2026-08-27. Nothing here is a forecast, a grade, or a ranking of candidates.