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Nebraska, U.S. House, District 2


Incumbent Don Bacon (R) defeated challenger Kara Eastman (D) in the election for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District on November 6, 2018.

This swing district backed Donald Trump (R) by two percentage points in 2016, Mitt Romney (R) by seven percentage points in 2012, and Barack Obama (D) by one percentage point in 2008. Bacon won the seat by one percentage point in 2016. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included the district in its list of targets for 2018.

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.

Polls

Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

Poll Poll sponsor Don Bacon (R) Kara Eastman (D)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
DFM Research
October 23-25, 2018
None 52%45%3%+/-5.2350
Rob Autry and Kayla Dunlap
October 1-2, 2018
Bacon campaign 49%40%11%+/-4.9400
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research
September 27-30, 2018
Eastman campaign 49%45%6%+/-4.9400
NYT Upshot/Siena College
September 23-26, 2018
The New York Times 51%42%7%+/-4.5512


Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Kara Eastman Democratic Party $2,632,576 $2,549,875 $82,701 As of December 31, 2018
Don Bacon Republican Party $2,619,424 $2,600,432 $49,728 As of December 31, 2018

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Nebraska from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Nebraska Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Nebraska every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Nebraska 2000-2016

Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 58.7% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 33.7% 25.0%
2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 59.8% Democratic Party Barack Obama 38.0% 21.8%
2008 Republican Party John McCain 56.5% Democratic Party Barack Obama 41.6% 14.9%
2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 65.9% Democratic Party John Kerry 32.7% 33.2%
2000 Republican Party George W. Bush 62.2% Democratic Party Al Gore 33.3% 28.9%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Nebraska from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Nebraska 2000-2016

Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Ben Sasse 64.3% Democratic Party Dave Domina 31.5% 32.8%
2012 Republican Party Deb Fischer 57.8% Democratic Party Bob Kerrey 42.2% 15.6%
2008 Republican Party Mike Johanns 57.5% Democratic Party Scott Kleeb 40.1% 17.4%
2006 Democratic Party Ben Nelson 63.9% Republican Party Pete Ricketts 36.1% 27.8%
2002 Republican Party Chuck Hagel 82.3% Democratic Party Charlie Matulka 14.6% 67.7%
2000 Democratic Party Ben Nelson 51.1% Republican Party Don Stenberg 48.9% 2.2%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Nebraska.

Election results (Governor), Nebraska 2000-2016

Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Pete Ricketts 57.2% Democratic Party Chuck Hassebrook 39.2% 18.0%
2010 Republican Party Dave Heineman 73.9% Democratic Party Mike Meister 26.1% 47.8%
2006 Republican Party Dave Heineman 73.4% Democratic Party David Hahn 24.5% 48.9%
2002 Republican Party Mike Johanns 68.7% Democratic Party Stormy Dean 27.5% 41.2%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Nebraska in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Nebraska 2000-2016

Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2014 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1
2012 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2010 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2008 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2006 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2004 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2002 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3
2002 Republican Party 3 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls the state legislature and the governor's office.

Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2019
Seven years of Democratic trifectas21 years of Republican trifectas

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Governor D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Demographics

Demographic data for Nebraska

NebraskaU.S.
Total population:1,893,765316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):76,8243,531,905
Gender
Female:50.3%50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:88.1%73.6%
Black/African American:4.7%12.6%
Asian:2%5.1%
Native American:0.9%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:2.2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:10%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:90.7%86.7%
College graduation rate:29.3%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$52,997$53,889
Persons below poverty level:14.6%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Nebraska.

As of July 2017, Nebraska had a population of approximately 1,920,000 people, with its three largest cities being Omaha (pop. est. 450,000), Lincoln (pop. est. 280,000), and Bellevue (pop. est. 54,000).