Nebraska's 2nd congressional district

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.

Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
Nebraska's 2nd congressional district since January 3, 2023
Representative	Don Bacon R–Papillion
Distribution	97.86% urban 2.14% rural
Population (2023)	664,285
Median household income	$80,900[1]
Ethnicity	67.8% White 12.8% Hispanic 9.8% Black 4.4% Asian 4.3% Two or more races 0.9% other
Cook PVI	EVEN[2]

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 one of seven districts in the country with a CPVI of EVEN, meaning the district votes almost identically to the national electorate.

History

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 exceptions of 2012 and 2024.

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

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

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]

Recent election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results[20][21][22][23]
2008	President	Obama 50% - 48%
2012	President	Romney 53% - 47%
2016	President	Trump 48% - 46%
2018	Senate	Fischer 48.4% - 48.2%
	Governor	Krist 51% - 49%
2020	President	Biden 52% - 46%
2022	Governor	Pillen 48.2% - 48.1%
2024	President	Harris 51% - 47%
	Senate (Reg.)	Osborn 56% - 44%
	Senate (Spec.)	Ricketts 50.2% - 49.8%

Composition

#	County	Seat	Population
55	Douglas	Omaha	589,540
153	Sarpy	Papillion	199,886
155	Saunders	Wahoo	23,463

Cities and CDPs with 10,000 or more people

• Omaha – 483,335
• Papillion – 23,791

2,500 – 10,000 people

• Gretna – 9,054
• Ralston – 6,401
• Wahoo – 4,987
• Ashland – 3,367
• Valley – 3,236

List of members representing the district

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 119th	Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.
					2023–present: Douglas, Part of Sarpy, Saunders

Election history

2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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%
	Republican hold		Swing
Turnout			336,962

2022

2022 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Bacon (incumbent)	112,663	51.33%	+0.56%
	Democratic	Tony Vargas	106,807	48.67%	+2.46%
Total votes			219,470	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

2024

2024 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Don Bacon (incumbent)	160,198	50.93%	−0.4%
	Democratic	Tony Vargas	154,369	49.07%	+0.4%
Total votes			314,567	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• United States portal

• Nebraska's congressional districts
• Maine's 2nd congressional district
• List of United States congressional districts

References

1. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
2. "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. 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. "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. https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::9de1188c-2169-4c5a-a4f3-76179d22b279
21. Results. docs.google.com (Report).
22. "2024 Nebraska Election Results by Congressional District".
23. "Official Results" (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
24. Evnen, Robert B. (November 8, 2022). 2022 General Canvass Book (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. p. 10. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
25. "Official Results" (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved December 3, 2024.

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

• Rep. Don Bacon's official House of Representatives website

41°15′N 96°00′W