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The 1994 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Governor Ben Nelson won a re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican businessman Gene Spence by 47.4 percentage points and sweeping all but two counties in the state. As of 2024, this is the last time that a Democrat was elected governor of Nebraska.
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![]() County results Nelson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Spence: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Ben Nelson (incumbent) | 101,422 | 88.10 | |
Democratic | Robert Franklin Winingar | 6,993 | 6.07 | |
Democratic | Robb Nimic | 6,373 | 5.54 | |
Democratic | Write-ins | 327 | 0.28 | |
Total votes | 115,115 | 100.00 |
Kim M. Robak ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.[2] She was the incumbent Nebraska Lieutenant Governor who was appointed in 1993 by Governor Ben Nelson after Maxine Moul resigned.[3]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kim M. Robak (incumbent) | 94,936 | 99.53 | |
Democratic | Write-ins | 447 | 0.47 | |
Total votes | 95,383 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Gene Spence | 69,529 | 38.07 | |
Republican | Ralph Knobel | 57,719 | 31.60 | |
Republican | Alan Jacobsen | 27,374 | 14.99 | |
Republican | John DeCamp | 24,414 | 13.37 | |
Republican | Mort Sullivan | 3,363 | 1.84 | |
Republican | Write-ins | 234 | 0.13 | |
Total votes | 182,633 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Kate Witek | 68,113 | 44.80 | |
Republican | De Carlson | 47,262 | 31.09 | |
Republican | Hoss Dannehl | 20,437 | 13.44 | |
Republican | Willie J. Carr, Jr. | 16,111 | 10.60 | |
Republican | Write-ins | 114 | 0.07 | |
Total votes | 152,037 | 100.00 |
Though Nelson ultimately did approve of an action to prevent foster children from living with homosexuals or unmarried couples after he was re-elected, Spence hammered the governor for not supporting restrictions on foster homes.[7] Ultimately, four weeks before the elections, many prominent Republicans accused Spence of "throwing in the towel" and essentially conceding defeat to Nelson before any ballots were cast.[8] The divided Republican primary and Gene Spence's inability to unite the party following his plurality victory in the primary eventually led to Nelson's overwhelming re-election.[9]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Ben Nelson (incumbent) | 423,270 | 73.0% | ||
Republican | Gene Spence | 148,230 | 25.6% | ||
Write-in | Ernie Chambers | 2,510 | 0.4% | ||
Write-in | Others | 5,551 | 1.0% | ||
Total votes | 579,561 | 100.0% | |||
Democratic hold |
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