Skip to content
Project Curia

Elections · U.S. House · Nebraska

Nebraska House race, District 2

Donald Bacon holds this seat but is not on the November ballot. Denise Powell and Brinker Harding are competing for it.

The November ballot

Harding
$2.0M
Powell
$2.7M

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

See their record

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.

All dates and rules
Preview of this page's shareable card

Share this

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.

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

Supporting Harding-
Opposing Harding$17K
Supporting Powell$3M
Opposing Powell-

Independent expenditures; direction is each filer's own declared filing.

Where each candidate's money comes from

19%$494KSmall donors$52K3%
67%$1.8MLarge donors$1.3M65%
12%$309KPACs$256K13%
2%$65KSelf-funding$3.5K<1%
<1%$5KOther$407K20%

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.

1 to 5 of 14 groups

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

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.

More on the Nebraska ballot3 House races statewideNebraska Senate raceFind your races by ZIP →

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.