2021 Omaha mayoral election

The 2021 Omaha mayoral election was held in 2021. Incumbent Republican mayor Jean Stothert was re-elected to a third term in office.^[1] Stothert is the first person elected to a third consecutive term as mayor of Omaha in the modern era.^[2]

2021 Omaha mayoral election

← 2017 May 11, 2021 (2021-05-11) 2025 →

Candidate Jean Stothert RJ Neary Popular vote 62,646 33,822 Percentage 64.37% 34.75%

City council district results Precinct results Stothert:   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Neary:   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% No Votes

Mayor before election Jean Stothert Republican Elected mayor Jean Stothert Republican

The position of mayor in Omaha is officially a non-partisan position. A blanket primary was held on April 6, 2021.^[3] The top two finishers in the primary moved on to the general election which was held on May 11, 2021.

Alongside the mayor, the Omaha City Council was up for re-election. It is also officially non-partisan. However, it remained controlled by a Democratic majority, as only district 7 has a general election between a Democrat and a Republican. Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 remained Democratic whereas districts 5 and 6 remained Republican. The incumbent Republican in district 7 was re-elected as well.

Primary election

Candidates

Declared

• Mark Gudgel, high school English teacher (Party preference: Democratic)^[3]
• Jasmine Harris, public health official (Party preference: Democratic)^[4]
• RJ Neary, real estate broker (Party preference: Democratic)^[5]
• Kimara Snipes, member of the Omaha school board (Party preference: Democratic)^[6]
• Jean Stothert, incumbent mayor (Party preference: Republican)^[1]

Failed to qualify

• Dawaune Hayes, founder and director of North Omaha Information Support Everyone ^[7] (endorsed Harris, then Neary)
• Bill Queen, comedian (Party preference: Libertarian)

Declined

• Jim Cavanaugh, Douglas County commissioner (Party preference: Democratic)^[8]

Debates and forums

2021 Omaha mayoral primary debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Stothert	Neary	Harris	Snipes	Gudgel	Hayes
1	March 31, 2021	Big Mama's Black Men United	N/A	Facebook	P	P	P	P	A	A

Endorsements

Kimara Snipes (D)

Federal officials

• Ben Nelson, former U.S. Senator and former Governor of Nebraska^[9]

Local officials

• Don Preister, Bellevue city councilor, former president of the Bellevue city council, and former state senator^[9]

Individuals

• Ann Ashford, attorney, wife of former U.S. Representative Brad Ashford, and candidate for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2020^[9]
• Kara Eastman, nonprofit executive and nominee for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2018 and 2020^[9]

Jean Stothert (R)

• Omaha Police Union^[10]

Individuals

• Warren Buffett, investor, business tycoon, philanthropist, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and world's seventh-wealthiest person. (Democrat)^[11]

RJ Neary (D)^[12]

Federal officials

• Bob Kerrey, former U.S. Senator and former Governor of Nebraska^[13]
• John Joseph Cavanaugh III, former U.S. representative for NE-02 (1977-1981)^[14]

State officials

• Burke Harr, former state senator^[15]

Local officials

• Mike Fahey, former mayor^[16]
• Jim Suttle, former mayor^[17]
• Garry Gernandt, former Omaha City Councillor^[18]
• Vinny Palermo, Omaha City Council

Organizations

• Omaha Federation of Labor^[19]
• Omaha Labor Council^[20]

Jasmine Harris (D)

Local officials

• Dawaune Hayes^[7]

Mark Gudgel (D)

Individuals

• Steven Bonnell II, popular Twitch streamer, political commentator, YouTube personality, and Omaha native^[21]

Results

Primary results by precinct

  Stothert

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

  Harris

•   30–40%
•   40–50%

  Snipes

•   30–40%

  No votes

•   

Omaha mayoral primary results, April 6, 2021^[22]

Candidate		Votes	%
Jean Stothert (incumbent)		47,966	56.58
RJ Neary		13,162	15.52
Jasmine Harris		11,993	14.15
Kimara Snipes		7,469	8.81
Mark Gudgel		4,087	4.82
Write-in		106	0.13
Total votes		84,783	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Jean Stothert, incumbent mayor (Republican)
• RJ Neary, real estate broker (Democratic)

Debate and forums

2021 Omaha mayoral general debates and forums

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Participants
P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Non-invitee   I  Invitee W  Withdrawn
					Stothert	Neary
1	April 22, 2021	WOWT	Brian Mastre	Facebook[23]	P	P
2	April 26, 2021	KMTV	Jon Kipper	Facebook[24]	P	P
3	May 2, 2021	KETV	Rob McCartney	KETV[25]	P	P
4	May 4, 2021	Omaha by Design	N/A	Facebook	P	P
5	May 6, 2021	KFAB	N/A	Facebook	P	P

Endorsements

Jean Stothert (R)

U.S. Governors

• Dave Heineman, former Governor and former Lieutenant Governor^[26]

Local officials

• Donald Kleine, Douglas County Attorney, and former sheriff^[27]

Organization

• Omaha Police Union^[10]
• Omaha World-Herald^[28]

Individual

• Warren Buffett, investor and fifth-richest man in the world (Democrat) ^[29]

RJ Neary (D)^[12]

U.S. Senators

• Bob Kerrey, former U.S. Senator and former Governor of Nebraska^[13]

U.S. Representatives

• John Joseph Cavanaugh III, former U.S. representative for NE-02 (1977-1981)^[14]

State Senator

• Burke Harr, former state senator^[30]
• Steve Lathrop, state senator^[31]

County commission

• Mike Boyle, Douglas County Commissioner, former mayor^[32]

Country Treasurer

• John Ewing, Douglas County Treasurer^[33]

Local officials

• Ben Gray, Omaha City Council^[34]
• Chris Jerram, Omaha City Council^[34]
• Dawaune Hayes, founder and director of North Omaha Information Support Everyone^[34]
• Garry Gernandt, former Omaha City Councillor^[18]
• Jasmine Harris, public health official^[34]
• Jim Suttle, former mayor^[17]
• Mark Gudgel, high school English teacher^[34]
• Mike Fahey, former mayor^[16]
• Vinny Palermo, Omaha City Council^[34]

Organizations

• Omaha Federation of Labor^[19]
• Omaha Labor Council^[20]
• Nebraska Democratic Party^[35]

Individuals

• Jane Kleeb, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party^[36]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of April 26, 2021
Candidate (party)	Total receipts	Total disbursements	Cash on hand
Jean Stothert (R)	$1,129,681	$1,535,900	$406,219
RJ Neary (D)	$675,381	$728,668	$53,287
Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission[37][38]

Results

Omaha mayoral election results, May 11, 2021^[39]

Candidate		Votes	%
Jean Stothert (incumbent)		62,646	64.37
RJ Neary		33,822	34.75
Write-in		859	0.88
Total votes		97,327	100.00

Results by city council district

District	Jean Stothert Republican		RJ Neary Democratic		Write-ins		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%
1	8,538	56.36%	6,424	42.41%	186	1.23%	15,148
2	3,101	40.51%	4,433	57.92%	120	1.57%	7,654
3	6,345	48.72%	6,425	49.34%	253	1.94%	13,023
4	4,563	64.13%	2,485	34.93%	67	0.94%	7,115
5	12,195	75.23%	3,959	24.42%	56	0.35%	16,210
6	15,389	74.96%	5,058	24.64%	83	0.40%	20,530
7	12,515	70.92%	5,038	28.55%	94	0.53%	17,647

^[40]

References

1. "Harris announces mayoral bid to challenge Stothert in 2021". KMTV. October 20, 2020.
2. Bandur, Michelle (May 13, 2021). "'It definitely was historic,' Mayor Jean Stothert celebrates unprecedented third consecutive term in office". KETV. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
3. "Local teacher running for Omaha mayor". KETV. September 29, 2020.
4. Mastre, Brian (October 20, 2020). "Jasmine Harris declares candidacy for Omaha mayor". wowt.com.
5. Sanderford, Aaron (December 9, 2020). "Local developer RJ Neary steps into Omaha mayor's race to challenge Stothert". Omaha.com.
6. "Kimara Snipes for Mayor". www.kimarasnipes.com.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
7. "This Election Could Transform Policing in Omaha". The Appeal Political Report. March 30, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
8. "Cavanaugh says no to bid for Omaha Mayor". KETV. February 10, 2021.
9. Lundgren, Harper (February 2021). "Kimara Snipes formally announces candidacy for Omaha mayor". www.wowt.com.
10. Mastre, Brian (March 2, 2021). "Omaha Police Union endorses Mayor Stothert". www.wowt.com.
11. Henry Codes (April 16, 2021). "Warren Buffett endorses Jean Stothert for third term as Omaha mayor". Omaha World-Herald.
12. "Rj Neary for Mayor - Endorsements". Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
13. Ristau, Reece (February 22, 2021). "Former Rep. Cavanaugh, previous mayors endorse RJ Neary in Omaha mayor's race". www.omaha.com.
14. Neary, Rj. "John Cavanaugh is have backed Rj Neary". Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
15. Neary, Rj. "Burke Harr Endorses..." Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
16. Ryan, Matt (December 10, 2020). "Democratic candidate R.J. Neary kicked off his campaign along with former Omaha mayor Mike Fahey who introduced him via zoom". KMTV.
17. sambel, john (February 23, 2021). "Jim Suttle is have backed Rj Neary for mayor". Reddit.
18. Neary, Rj. "Garry Gernandt endorses rj Neary for mayor". Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
19. Jordan, Joe. "City's police union backs Stothert, Federation of Labor sides with Neary". News Channel Nebraska.
20. Dvorak, Gina. "Omaha labor council endorses mayoral candidate RJ Neary". wowt.
21. "This Week In Omaha - Episode 17"
22. "2021 Primary Election Official Results" (PDF). Douglas County Election Commission. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
23. Facebook
24. Facebook
25. KETV
26. "Primary Night". Facebook. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
27. "Mayor Stothert receives endorsements from FOP, Douglas County Attorney, and former sheriff". ketv.com. April 2021.
28. "Editorial stothert is an effective leader who deserves reelection". Omaha.com. April 25, 2021.
29. "Warren Buffett endorses Jean Stothert for third term as Omaha mayor". Omaha.com. April 16, 2021.
30. Neay, Rj. "Burke Harr Endorses..." Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
31. Neary, RJ. "Steve Lathrop endorsed Neary for mayor". www.nearyforomaha.com/. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
32. "Noteworthy endorsements". ballotpedia.org.
33. "Here is a list of our endorsements". www.nearyforomaha.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
34. Democratic Party, Nebraska. "Neary for Omaha Virtual Campaign Kick Off!". nebraskademocrats.org/.
35. Democratic Party, Nebraska. "2021 Candidates". nebraskademocrats.org/.
36. Kleeb, Jane. "Congrats! We move forward together as a Democratic family". Twitter.
37. "Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission". Federal Election Commission. April 26, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
38. staff, Ballotpedia (April 26, 2021). "Mayoral election in Omaha, Nebraska (2021):Campaign finance". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
39. "2021 General Election Official Results" (PDF). Douglas County Election Commission. May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
40. "Douglas County Election Commission | May 11, 2021, City of Omaha General Election | Official Results". Douglas County Election Commission. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.

External links

Official websites for mayoral candidates

• RJ Neary (D) for Mayor Archived January 7, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Jean Stothert (R) for Mayor Archived January 25, 2021, at the Wayback Machine