Jump to content

Nebraska's 2nd congressional district

Coordinates: 41°15′N 96°00′W / 41.250°N 96.000°W / 41.250; -96.000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from NE-02)

Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
Nebraska's 2nd congressional district since January 3, 2023
Representative
Distribution
  • 97.86% urban
  • 2.14% rural
Population (2023)664,285
Median household
income
$80,900[1]
Ethnicity
Cook PVIEVEN[2]

Nebraska's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses the core of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It includes all of Douglas County, which includes the state's largest city Omaha; it also includes Saunders County and areas of western Sarpy County. It has been represented in the United States House of Representatives since 2017 by Don Bacon, a member of the Republican Party. It was one of 18 districts that would have voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election had they existed in their current configuration while being won or held by a Republican in 2022.

With a Cook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI) rating of EVEN, the district is the least Republican of the congressional districts in Nebraska, a state with an all-Republican congressional delegation.[2] It is also one of seven districts in the country with a CPVI of EVEN, meaning the district votes almost identically to the national electorate.

History

[edit]

While the rest of the state's electorate tends to be solidly Republican, the 2nd district is much more closely divided between the Republican and Democratic parties.[3] In the 2010s, the district became known as a swing district; it was one of two districts with a margin of less than 5% in all elections held after the 2010 census. Since 2000, it has backed the electoral winner of the presidential election with the exception of 2012.

Since 1992, Nebraska is one of only two states in the United States that distributes their electoral votes for president by both congressional district and statewide popular vote (the other being Maine). In the 2008 United States presidential election, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama targeted the district as a strategy of breaking a potential electoral-vote tie.[4] He won the district's electoral vote by a margin of 3,325 votes over Republican John McCain, who won the state's other four electoral votes.[5] Obama's victory in the 2nd district meant that Nebraska's electoral delegation was split for the first time ever, and the first Nebraskan electoral vote for a Democrat since 1964.[5] However, he subsequently failed to win the district in 2012 against Mitt Romney.[6] In 2014, longtime Representative Lee Terry, a Republican, was ousted by Democratic challenger Brad Ashford, one of only two Republican incumbents that cycle to lose their seat.[7]

In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won only a plurality of the 2nd district over Democrat Hillary Clinton; he won only 2% over Clinton, a sharp reduction of Romney's seven-point advantage over Obama. Republican Don Bacon also bested one-term Democrat Brad Ashford to win the seat and has held the seat since. In 2020, Trump notably targeted the district in a fashion similar to Obama as Democrat Joe Biden polled at an advantage in the district.[8] Trump's campaigning in the district drew criticism after rally attendees were left stranded in freezing temperatures due to transportation issues.[9] Biden ultimately won in the district over Trump by six points, nearly matching Romney's margin over Obama.[10] Precious McKesson cast the electoral vote, making her the first woman of color in the state to cast an Electoral college ballot.[11][12] On August 17, 2024, Nebraska native and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz campaigned in the district to win it over once again. [13] Democrats have nicknamed the district the blue dot from its depiction on electoral maps surrounded by red states.[14]

Demographics

[edit]

According to the APM Research Lab's Voter Profile Tools[15] (featuring the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey), the district contained about 473,000 potential voters (citizens, age 18+). Of these, 80% are White, 9% Black, and 6% Latino. Immigrants make up 5% of the district's potential voters. The median income among households (with one or more potential voters) in the district is about $73,400, while 8% of households live below the poverty line. As for the educational attainment of potential voters in the district, 40% hold a bachelor's or higher degree.

Redistricting controversies

[edit]

During redistricting in 2011, state lawmakers removed the city of Bellevue — an area with a large minority population — and Offutt Air Force Base from the district, and moved it to Omaha's Republican-heavy suburbs in western Sarpy County. The move was criticized by Democrats as a gerrymander meant to dilute the urban vote due to its support of Obama in 2008.[16]

Following its support of Joe Biden in the 2020 election, State Senator Lou Ann Linehan proposed a new map that would again dilute the Democratic vote by splitting the city of Omaha into two separate districts, and adding heavily Republican-leaning Sarpy and Saunders Counties.[17][18] State Senator Justin Wayne proposed an alternative map that would restore the map to its pre-2011 movement by adding Bellevue back to the district and remove areas that lean Republican. Linehan's congressional redistricting plan passed the committee 5-4 on a party-line vote, but failed a cloture vote following a filibuster; both maps received bipartisan criticism for splitting Douglas and/or Sarpy counties.[18] The legislature ultimately passed a map that kept Douglas County intact, while retaining rural parts in Western Sarpy County and adding the rural Saunders County. The resulting maps have again been criticized as gerrymanders, and both Linehan's and the final maps have again been characterized as diluting urban voters.[19]

Election results from statewide races

[edit]
Year Office Results
1992 President George H.W. Bush 48% – Bill Clinton 32%
1996 President Bob Dole 53% – Bill Clinton 38%
2000 President George W. Bush 57% – Al Gore 39%
2004 President George W. Bush 60% – John Kerry 38%
2008 President Barack Obama 50% – John McCain 49%
2012 President Mitt Romney 53% – Barack Obama 46%
2016 President Donald Trump 48% – Hillary Clinton 46%
2020 President Joe Biden 52% – Donald Trump 46%
2022 Governor Jim Pillen 48.2% – Carol Blood 48.1%

List of members representing the district

[edit]
Member Party Years of Service Cong
ress
Electoral history Counties
District established March 4, 1883

James Laird
(Hastings)
Republican March 4, 1883 –
August 17, 1889
48th
49th
50th
Elected in 1882.
Re-elected in 1884.
Re-elected in 1886.
Re-elected in 1888.
Died.
1883–1893:
Cass, Douglas, Gage, Johnson, Lancaster, Otoe, Pawnee, Richardson, Sarpy, Saunders, Washington

Gilbert L. Laws
(McCook)
Republican December 2, 1889 –
March 3, 1891
51st Elected to finish Laird's term.
Retired.

William A. McKeighan
(Red Cloud)
Populist March 4, 1891 –
March 3, 1893
52nd Elected in 1890.
Redistricted to the 5th district.

David Henry Mercer
(Omaha)
Republican March 4, 1893 –
March 3, 1903
53rd
54th
55th
56th
57th
Elected in 1892.
Re-elected in 1894.
Re-elected in 1896.
Re-elected in 1898.
Re-elected in 1900.
Lost re-election.
1893–1943:
Douglas, Sarpy, Washington

Gilbert M. Hitchcock
(Omaha)
Democratic March 4, 1903 –
March 3, 1905
58th Elected in 1902.
Lost re-election.

John L. Kennedy
(Omaha)
Republican March 4, 1905 –
March 3, 1907
59th Elected in 1904.
Lost re-election.

Gilbert M. Hitchcock
(Omaha)
Democratic March 4, 1907 –
March 3, 1911
60th
61st
Elected in 1906.
Re-elected in 1908.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.

Charles O. Lobeck
(Omaha)
Democratic March 4, 1911 –
March 3, 1919
62nd
63rd
64th
65th
Elected in 1910.
Re-elected in 1912.
Re-elected in 1914.
Re-elected in 1916.
Lost re-election.

Albert W. Jefferis
(Omaha)
Republican March 4, 1919 –
March 3, 1923
66th
67th
Elected in 1918.
Re-elected in 1920.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.

Willis G. Sears
(Omaha)
Republican March 4, 1923 –
March 3, 1931
68th
69th
70th
71st
Elected in 1922.
Re-elected in 1924.
Re-elected in 1926.
Re-elected in 1928.
Lost renomination.

H. Malcolm Baldrige
(Omaha)
Republican March 4, 1931 –
March 3, 1933
72nd Elected in 1930.
Lost re-election.

Edward R. Burke
(Omaha)
Democratic March 4, 1933 –
January 3, 1935
73rd Elected in 1932.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.

Charles F. McLaughlin
(Omaha)
Democratic January 3, 1935 –
January 3, 1943
74th
75th
76th
77th
Elected in 1934.
Re-elected in 1936.
Re-elected in 1938.
Re-elected in 1940.
Lost re-election.

Howard Buffett
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1943 –
January 3, 1949
78th
79th
80th
Elected in 1942.
Re-elected in 1944.
Re-elected in 1946.
Lost re-election.
1943-1963:
Cass, Douglas, Otoe, Sarpy, Washington

Eugene D. O'Sullivan
(Omaha)
Democratic January 3, 1949 –
January 3, 1951
81st Elected in 1948.
Lost re-election.

Howard Buffett
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1951 –
January 3, 1953
82nd Elected in 1950.
Retired.

Roman Hruska
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1953 –
November 8, 1954
83rd Elected in 1952.
Resigned when elected U.S. Senator.

Jackson B. Chase
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1955 –
January 3, 1957
84th Elected in 1954.
Retired.

Glenn Cunningham
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1957 –
January 3, 1971
85th
86th
87th
88th
89th
90th
91st
Elected in 1956.
Re-elected in 1958.
Re-elected in 1960.
Re-elected in 1962.
Re-elected in 1964.
Re-elected in 1966.
Re-elected in 1968.
Lost renomination.
1963-1969:
Cass, Douglas, Sarpy, Washington
1969-1983:
Burt, Cass, Douglas, Sarpy, Washington

John Y. McCollister
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1971 –
January 3, 1977
92nd
93rd
94th
Elected in 1970.
Re-elected in 1972.
Re-elected in 1974.
Retired to run for U.S. Senator.

John J. Cavanaugh III
(Omaha)
Democratic January 3, 1977 –
January 3, 1981
95th
96th
Elected in 1976.
Re-elected in 1978.
Retired.

Hal Daub
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1981 –
January 3, 1989
97th
98th
99th
100th
Elected in 1980.
Re-elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
1983-1993:
Burt, Cass, Douglas, Sarpy, Washington

Peter Hoagland
(Omaha)
Democratic January 3, 1989 –
January 3, 1995
101st
102nd
103rd
Elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1992.
Lost re-election.
1993-2003:
Part of Cass, Douglas, Sarpy

Jon Christensen
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1995 –
January 3, 1999
104th
105th
Elected in 1994.
Re-elected in 1996.
Retired to run for Governor.

Lee Terry
(Omaha)
Republican January 3, 1999 –
January 3, 2015
106th
107th
108th
109th
110th
111th
112th
113th
Elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Lost re-election.
2003–2013:
Douglas, Part of Sarpy
2013–2023:
Douglas, Part of Sarpy


Brad Ashford
(Omaha)
Democratic January 3, 2015 –
January 3, 2017
114th Elected in 2014.
Lost re-election.

Don Bacon
(Papillion)
Republican January 3, 2017 –
present
115th
116th
117th
118th
Elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Re-elected in 2022.
2023–present:
Douglas, Part of Sarpy, Saunders

Election history

[edit]

2006

[edit]
2006 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lee Terry (Incumbent) 99,475 54.7% −6.4%
Democratic Jim Esch 82,504 45.3% +9.1%
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 181,979

2008

[edit]
2008 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lee Terry (Incumbent) 142,473 51.9% −2.8%
Democratic Jim Esch 131,901 48.1% +2.8%
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 274,374

2010

[edit]
2010 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lee Terry (Incumbent) 93,840 60.8% +8.9%
Democratic Tom White 60,486 39.2% −8.9%
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 154,326

2012

[edit]
2012 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lee Terry (Incumbent) 133,964 50.8% −10.0%
Democratic John Ewing 129,767 49.2% +10.0%
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 263,731

2014

[edit]
2014 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Brad Ashford 83,872 49.0% −0.2%
Republican Lee Terry (Incumbent) 78,157 45.7% −5.1%
Libertarian Steven Laird 9,021 5.3% +5.3%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing
Turnout 171,050

2016

[edit]
2016 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Bacon 141,066 48.9% +3.2%
Democratic Brad Ashford (Incumbent) 137,602 47.7% −1.3%
Libertarian Steven Laird 9,640 3.3% −2.0%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing
Turnout 288,308

2018

[edit]
2018 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Bacon (Incumbent) 126,715 51.0% +2.1%
Democratic Kara Eastman 121,770 49.0% +1.3%
Republican hold Swing
Turnout 248,485

2020

[edit]
2020 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Don Bacon (Incumbent) 171,071 50.8% −0.2%
Democratic Kara Eastman 155,706 46.2% −2.8%
Libertarian Tyler Schaeffer 10,185 3% +3%
Turnout 336,962
Republican hold Swing

2022

[edit]
2022 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Don Bacon (incumbent) 112,663 51.33%
Democratic Tony Vargas 106,807 48.67%
Total votes 219,470 100.0%
Republican hold

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
  2. ^ a b "2023 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. April 5, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Sanderford, Aaron (November 15, 2022). "In Nebraska's Sea of Red, few felt splash from 'Republican wave'". Nebraska Examiner. Retrieved March 20, 2023. Nebraska's most competitive congressional race in the Omaha area is starting to settle into a pattern that nearly matches the district's 4 percentage point GOP registration advantage. An analysis of 2nd District election results and voting patterns show U.S. Rep. Don Bacon did not secure more votes this year than in 2020 or 2018.
  4. ^ Curry, Tom (November 2, 2008). "Is Obama-Terry the winning ticket in Omaha?". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2008. If the national electoral vote tally is close, then the one electoral vote in Omaha would loom large. But with Obama apparently ahead in competitive states such as Virginia, the presidency may not hinge on Omaha's vote.
  5. ^ a b Staff reporter (November 14, 2008). "Obama wins 1 of Nebraska's electoral votes". NBC News. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  6. ^ Walton, Don (November 7, 2012). "Romney wins 2nd District electoral vote". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved December 12, 2022. Republican nominee Mitt Romney appeared to have won the battle for Nebraska's only competitive presidential electoral vote Tuesday night. [...] Romney held comfortable leads in both the 1st District, which includes Lincoln, and the vast 3rd District, as well as statewide.
  7. ^ Robertson, Ryan; Peterson, Lindsey (November 5, 2014). "Lee Terry concedes 2nd Dist. to Brad Ashford". Nebraska Public Media. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "The Latest: Trump heaping attention on 1 Nebraska district". Associated Press. October 27, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  9. ^ Zeleny, Jeff (October 28, 2020). "Hundreds stranded in the cold waiting for buses in chaotic post-Trump rally scene". CNN. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Joe Biden wins one electoral vote from Nebraska's District 2". KETV. November 4, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  11. ^ Sanderford, Aaron (November 29, 2020). "The Elector: Precious McKesson will cast Nebraska's 2nd District electoral vote for Biden". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  12. ^ Behrmann, Savannah (December 15, 2020). "First woman of color elector in Nebraska casts Electoral College vote for Joe Biden". USA Today. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  13. ^ Sanderford, Aaron (August 17, 2024). "Nebraskan Tim Walz gives Republican ticket the business in La Vista". Nebraska Examiner. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "How One Man's Vote in Nebraska Could Change the Presidential Election". The New York Times. September 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Representing US: 2020 Voter Profiles". APM Research Lab. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Schulte, Grant (May 27, 2011). "Nebraska Redistricting Maps Approved". AP. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  17. ^ "Nebraska redistricting panel hits impasse, turns to public".
  18. ^ a b "First-round debate begins on congressional redistricting plan". September 17, 2021.
  19. ^ Kipper, Jon (January 28, 2022). "Nebraska's redistricting maps finalized for now, but Unicameral's methods still questioned". KMTV. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  20. ^ Evnen, Robert B. (November 8, 2022). 2022 General Canvass Book (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. p. 10. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
[edit]

41°15′N 96°00′W / 41.250°N 96.000°W / 41.250; -96.000