Democrats Vie for Open Nebraska House Seat as Primaries Underway in Nebraska, West Virginia

Voters head to the polls in Nebraska and West Virginia on Tuesday, with Democrats competing for a chance at an open seat in Nebraska that the party has targeted for years.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon plans to retire in January, vacating a seat in a district that backed Democrats in the past five presidential elections. Several Democrats seek the nomination to face presumptive Republican nominee Brinker Harding, an Omaha City Council member running unopposed in the GOP primary.

In the Nebraska Senate race, GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts confronts multiple primary challengers, while two Democrats appear on the primary ballot. The state Democratic Party has endorsed Dan Osborn, who plans to run as an independent in November.

In West Virginia, GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito faces five challengers, and five Democrats compete for their party's nomination for November.

Nebraska 2nd District

Top Democratic contenders in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District debate whether one candidate's campaign hurts the party's chances locally.

State Sen. John Cavanaugh and political organizer Denise Powell lead a crowded Democratic primary for Bacon's Omaha-area seat, which he has held for five terms.

The dispute centers on Nebraska's method of allocating electoral college votes in presidential elections. Powell contends that Cavanaugh's potential win could let Republicans switch to a winner-take-all system. The state now awards most votes by congressional district, allowing Democrats to claim at least one from the 2nd District.

Nebraska Senate

Ricketts secured a 2023 appointment to complete former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse's term and won a special election the next year to finish it. He now seeks his first full term.

The former governor and son of Nebraska billionaire Joe Ricketts faces four primary challengers Tuesday. President Trump and the Nebraska Farm Bureau support him. Ricketts already eyes a November contest against Osborn.

Osborn, a former Omaha labor leader, runs as an independent with the Nebraska Democratic Party's endorsement for the general election. He challenged Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024 and lost by under seven points in a state Trump carried by more than 20 points. Ricketts appeared on that ballot too and beat his Democratic opponent by over 25 points.

Nebraska last sent a Democrat to the Senate in 2006, when Sen. Bill Nelson defeated Ricketts.

Two Democrats appear on Tuesday's ballot, though Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen tried in March to remove Cindy Burbank for lacking good faith. Burbank has said she will support Osborn in November. The Nebraska Supreme Court reinstated her, ruling Evnen's challenge came too late.

Burbank's campaign website claims the other Democrat, pastor William Forbes, seeks the ballot to siphon votes from Osborn. It says Osborn merits a fair chance against Ricketts.

"William Forbes is a Ricketts plant," Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb posted on social media last week. "Don't let the MAGA Republicans mess with our primary. Vote for Cindy Burbank."

Ricketts and Forbes both maintain Forbes runs in good faith. The anti-abortion Forbes told CNN he voted for Trump several times but called himself a lifelong Democrat.

Two Legal Marijuana NOW party candidates also run Tuesday. One, Early Starkey, and the former party chair called the other, Mike Marvin, a "Dan Osborn plant," which Marvin denied to the Nebraska Examiner. The Examiner reported Burbank covered Marvin's filing fee because his check exceeded the amount by ten dollars.

Osborn, off Tuesday's ballot as an independent, raised more than $3.8 million this year. He faces an Aug. 3 deadline for signatures to qualify for November. Ricketts raised over $4.8 million.

Other races

Nebraska Republican Gov. Tom Pillen faces five primary challengers, with two Democrats vying for their nomination.

In West Virginia, two-term Republican incumbent Capito faces state Sen. Tom Willis and four others Tuesday. She holds Trump's endorsement. Five Democrats seek their Senate nomination.