2018 Nebraska elections

The 2018 Nebraska elections were held on November 6, 2018. All of Nebraska's executive were up for election, as well as a United States Senate seat, all three of Nebraska's seats in the United States House of Representatives, half of the seats in the Nebraska Legislature, and seats on the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the State Board of Education, and the Board of Regents.

2018 Nebraska elections

← 2016 2020 →

United States Senate

Main article: 2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska

Incumbent Republican Senator Deb Fischer ran for re-election to a second term. She defeated former Lancaster County Commissioner Jane Raybould, the Democratic nominee, in the general election with 58% of the vote.

2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Deb Fischer (inc.)	403,151	57.69%	−0.08%
	Democratic	Jane Raybould	269,917	38.62%	−3.61%
	Libertarian	Jim Schultz	25,349	3.63	—
	Write-in		466	0.07%	—
Majority			133,234	19.06%	+3.52%
Total votes			698,883	100.00%
	Republican hold

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska

All three Republican members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska ran for re-election. All three won re-election.

Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska by district:^[1]

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	141,712	60.36%	93,069	39.64%	0	0.00%	234,781	100%	Republican hold
District 2	126,715	51.00%	121,770	49.00%	0	0.00%	248,485	100%	Republican hold
District 3	163,650	76.72%	49,654	23.28%	0	0.00%	213,304	100%	Republican hold
Total	432,077	62.56%	264,493	35.19%	0	0.00%	696,570	100%

Governor and lieutenant governor

Main article: 2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican Governor Pete Ricketts ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged in the general election by State Senator Bob Krist, the Democratic nominee. Ricketts defeated Krist with 59% of the vote.

2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Pete Ricketts (inc.)	411,812	59.00%	+1.85%
	Democratic	Bob Krist	286,169	41.00%	+1.77%
Majority			125,643	18.00%	+0.08%
Total votes			697,981	100.0%
	Republican hold

Secretary of State

2018 Nebraska Secretary of State election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Bob Evnen Spencer Danner Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 406,632 263,982 Percentage 60.6% 39.4%

County results Precinct results Evnen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Danner:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No votes

Secretary of State before election John A. Gale Republican Elected Secretary of State Bob Evnen Republican

Incumbent Republican Secretary of State declined to run for re-election to a fifth term. Bob Evnen, an attorney and former member of the State Board of Education, won the Republican primary against administrative assistant Debra Terrell, with 59% of the vote. In the general election, he was opposed by Spencer Danner, the former head of the Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department.^[2] Evnen defeated Tanner with 61% of the vote.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bob Evnen, attorney and former member of the State Board of Education
• Debra Terrell, administrative assistant^[3]

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Evnen	81,371	58.48%
	Republican	Debra Perrell	57,816	41.52%
Total votes			139,187	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Spencer Danner, consultant, former head of the Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Spencer Danner	76,769	100.00%
Total votes			76,769	100.00%

General election

2018 Nebraska Secretary of State general election results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Evnen	406,632	60.64%	−14.55%
	Democratic	Spencer Danner	263,982	39.36%	—
Majority			142,650	21.27%	−29.11%
Turnout			670,614
	Republican hold

Auditor of Public Accounts

2018 Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Charlie Janssen Jane Skinner Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 380,666 280,669 Percentage 57.56% 42.44%

Janssen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Skinner:      50–60%

Auditor of Public Accounts before election Charlie Janssen Republican Elected Auditor of Public Accounts Charlie Janssen Republican

Incumbent Republican Auditor Charlie Janssen ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged in the general election by Omaha librarian Jane Skinner.^[5] During the campaign, the Omaha World-Herald reported that, during a three-month investigation, Janssen repeatedly took "three-hour beer drinking lunches at a Lincoln sports bar," prompting calls from the Nebraska Democratic Party that he resign.^[6] Ultimately, though Janssen won re-election, it was by the thinnest margin of any statewide Republican candidate.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Charlie Janssen, incumbent Auditor of Accounts

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charlie Janssen (inc.)	132,365	100.00%
Total votes			132,365	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Jane Skinner, Omaha librarian

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jane Skinner	75,699	100.00%
Total votes			75,699	100.00%

General election

2018 Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charlie Janssen (inc.)	380,666	57.56%	−1.51%
	Democratic	Jane Skinner	280,669	42.44%	+1.51%
Majority			99,997	15.12%	−3.01%
Turnout			661,335
	Republican hold

State Treasurer

Incumbent Republican State Treasurer Don Stenberg was unable to seek a third consecutive term. State Senator John Murante defeated public accountant Taylor Royal to win the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general election.

Republican primary

Candidates

• John Murante, State Senator
• Taylor Royal, public accountant, 2017 candidate for Mayor of Omaha^[7]

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Murante	82,667	56.42%
	Republican	Taylor Royal	63,844	43.58%
Total votes			146,511	100.00%

General election

2018 Nebraska State Treasurer general election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Murante	516,210	100.00%
Total votes			516,210	100.00%
	Republican hold

Attorney General

Incumbent Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson ran for re-election to a second term. He won the Republican primary unopposed and was originally set to face Democratic nominee Evangelos Argyrakis, an Omaha-area attorney. However, after Argyrakis won the primary unopposed, he was arrested for strangulation after an altercation involving his father, and he dropped out of the race.^[8] Though Democrats originally planned on replacing Argyrakis on the ballot, they ultimately did not do so,^[9] and Peterson was re-elected unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Doug Peterson, incumbent Attorney General

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Doug Peterson (inc.)	140,675	100.00%
Total votes			140,675	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Evangelos Argyrakis, Omaha attorney

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Evangelos Argyrakis	67,022	100.00%
Total votes			67,022	100.00%

General election

2018 Nebraska Attorney General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Doug Peterson (inc.)	516,777	100.00%
Total votes			516,777	100.00%
	Republican hold

Public Service Commission

District 1

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Frank E. Landis declined to seek a sixth term. State Senator Dan Watermeier ran in the Republican primary against former Cass County Commissioner Ron Nolte and Scott Smathers, the executive director of the Nebraska Sportsmen's Foundation. Community organizer Christa Yoakum and software developer John Atkeison both ran in the Democratic primary. ^[10] Watermeier won the Republican primary in a landslide, winning 59% of the vote, while Yoakum defeated Atkeison with 77% of the vote. In the general election, Watermeier and Yoakum took opposite positions on whether the Commission should ultimately approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, with Watermeier supporting the project and Yoakum opposing it.^[11] Watermeier ended up narrowly defeating Yoakum with 52% of the vote.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Dan Watermeier, State Senator
• Ron Nolte, former Cass County Commissioner
• Scott Smathers, Executive Director of the Nebraska Sportsmen's Foundation

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Watermeier	15,997	59.06%
	Republican	Ron Nolte	6,518	24.06%
	Republican	Scott Smathers	4,570	16.87%
Total votes			27,085	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Christa Yoakum, community organizer
• John Atkeison, software developer

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christa Yoakum	18,510	76.67%
	Democratic	John Atkeison	5,634	23.33%
Total votes			24,144	100.00%

General election

2018 Nebraska Public Service Commission, District 1 election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Watermeier	73,891	51.68%
	Democratic	Christa Yoakum	70,595	48.32%
Total votes			144,486	100.00%
	Republican hold

District 3

Incumbent Republican Commissioner Tim Schram ran for re-election to a third term. He and his Democratic opponent, retired business executive Mike Forsythe, were both unopposed in their respective primary elections. Schram defeated Forsythe by a wide margin, winning 62% of the vote.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Tim Schram, incumbent Public Service Commissioner

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Schram	24,596	100.00%
Total votes			24,596	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mike Forsythe, retired business executive

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Forsythe	14,439	100.00%
Total votes			14,439	100.00%

General election

2018 Nebraska Public Service Commission, District 3 election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Schram (inc.)	99,986	62.19%
	Democratic	Mike Forsythe	61,133	37.81%
Total votes			161,119	100.00%
	Republican hold

State Board of Education

District 5

2018 Nebraska State Board of Education District 5 election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Patricia Timm Maris Bentley Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 38,800 22,713 Percentage 63.1% 36.9%

Timm:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Bentley:      50–60%

Board Member before election Patricia Timm Republican Elected Board Member Patricia Timm Republican

Incumbent Board member Patricia H. Timm ran for another term. She was challenged by retired teacher Maris Bentley, who founded a conservative advocacy group, Nebraskans for Founders' Values, which opposed changes made to the Omaha Public Schools sex education curriculum.^[12] Timm led Bentley in the nonpartisan primary with 70% of the vote and defeated her in a landslide in the general election, winning 63% of the vote.

Candidates

• Patricia H. Timm, incumbent Board member
• Maris Bentley, retired Plattsmouth teacher

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patricia H. Timm (inc.)	21,273	70.22%
	Nonpartisan	Maris Bentley	9,023	29.78%
Total votes			30,296	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patricia H. Timm (inc.)	38,800	63.08%
	Nonpartisan	Maris Bentley	22,713	36.92%
Total votes			61,513	100.00%

District 6

Incumbent Board member Maureen Nickels was unopposed for another term.

Candidates

• Maureen Nickels, incumbent Board member

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Maureen Nickels (inc.)	27,904	100.00%
Total votes			27,904	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Maureen Nickels (inc.)	56,395	100.00%
Total votes			56,395	100.00%

District 7

Incumbent Board member Molly O'Holleran declined to seek another term. Robin Stevens, the former superintendent of Schuyler Public Schools and O'Holleran's 2018 opponent, ran to succeed her and won unopposed.

Candidates

• Robin R. Stevens, former superintendent of Schuyler Public Schools, 2018 candidate for Board

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Robin R. Stevens	30,727	100.00%
Total votes			30,727	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Robin R. Stevens	58,764	100.00%
Total votes			58,764	100.00%

District 8

Incumbent Board member Pat McPherson ran for re-election. He was challenged by retired teacher Bob Meyers, who ran for the position in 2018, and Deborah Neary, the Executive Director of the Midlands Mentoring Partnership. During McPherson's term on the Board, he attracted controversy over a post on a defunct blog that he ran that referred to former President Barack Obama as a "half breed." McPherson denied that he authored the post and disavowed it, keeping a low profile on the Board thereafter.^[13] Neary emerged as the frontrunner, winning 51% of the vote in the primary to McPherson's 28%. In the ensuing general election, Neary defeated McPherson with 59% of the vote.

Candidates

• Deborah Neary, Executive Director of the Midlands Mentoring Partnership
• Pat McPherson, incumbent Board member
• Bob Meyers, retired teacher, 2018 candidate for Board

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Deborah Neary	15,018	50.86%
	Nonpartisan	Pat McPherson (inc.)	8,137	27.56%
	Nonpartisan	Bob Meyers	6,373	21.58%
Total votes			29,528	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Deborah Neary	46,697	59.12%
	Nonpartisan	Pat McPherson (inc.)	32,292	40.88%
Total votes			78,989	100.00%

Board of Regents

Incumbent Regent Jim Pillen was unopposed for re-election.

District 3

Candidates

• Jim Pillen, incumbent Regent

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jim Pillen (inc.)	29,077	100.00%
Total votes			29,077	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jim Pillen (inc.)	55,440	100.00%
Total votes			55,440	100.00%

District 4

Incumbent Regent Bob Whitehouse declined to seek re-election. Two Democrats, attorney Elizabeth O'Connor and adjunct professor Larry Bradley, who ran for this seat in 2012, ran to succeed him.^[14] O'Connor defeated Bradley in a landslide.

Candidates

• Elizabeth O'Connor, attorney
• Larry Bradley, adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha, member of the Papio Missouri Natural Resources District, 2012 Regent candidate

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Elizabeth O'Connor	15,418	72.14%
	Nonpartisan	Larry Bradley	5,958	27.86%
Total votes			21,376	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Elizabeth O'Connor	38,304	72.58%
	Nonpartisan	Larry Bradley	14,478	27.42%
Total votes			52,782	100.00%

District 5

Incumbent Regent Rob Schafer ran for re-election. He was challenged by former Regent Robert J. Prokop and photographer Joshua Redwine.^[15] Schafer and Prokop advanced to the general election from the primary, winning 43% and 24% of the vote, respectively. Schafer defeated Prokop in the general election by a wide margin, winning 61% of the vote to Prokop's 39%.

Candidates

• Rob Schafer, incumbent Regent
• Robert J. Prokop, former Regent
• Joshua Redwine, Lincoln photographer

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Rob Schafer (inc.)	16,354	43.30%
	Nonpartisan	Robert J. Prokop	9,047	23.97%
	Nonpartisan	Joshua Redwine	6,962	18.43%
Total votes			32,363	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Rob Schafer (inc.)	39,538	60.57%
	Nonpartisan	Robert J. Prokop	25,732	39.43%
Total votes			65,270	100.00%

District 8

Incumbent Regent Hal Daub, the former Mayor of Omaha and former Congressman, ran for re-election to a second term on the Board of Regents. He was challenged by Barbara Weitz, a retired faculty member at the University of Nebraska Omaha, and attorney Ryan Wilkins.^[16] Weitz and Daub placed first and second in the primary election and advanced to the general election, where Weitz narrowly defeated Daub with 53% of the vote.

Candidates

• Barbara Weitz, retired social work professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha
• Hal Daub, incumbent Regent
• Ryan Wilkins, attorney

Primary election results

Nonpartisan primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Barbara Weitz	14,487	41.23%
	Nonpartisan	Hal Daub (inc.)	13,774	39.22%
	Nonpartisan	Ryan Wilkins	4,844	13.78%
Total votes			35,105	100.00%

General election results

Nonpartisan general results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Barbara Weitz	48,265	52.92%
	Nonpartisan	Hal Daub (inc.)	42,941	47.08%
Total votes			91,206	100.00%