Nebraska Democrats In Array
The 2024 election was very close. A change of 115,000 votes in three battleground states would have changed the outcome of the presidential election. The Republicans won their very narrow majority in the House by a mere 7,309 votes across America. Nevertheless, the pundits, the GOP and even some Democrats wrote the premature political obituary of the Democratic Party.
Then elections started happening that proved the so-called “conventional wisdom” was wrong. Democrats flipped two Republican held legislative seats in Iowa in districts that had been carried by Trump by a wide margin. The most significant result occurred in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race where the Democratic candidate won by 10 points after Elon Musk spent a whopping $25 million. Overall, the Democrats have out performed Harris by 10 to 20 points in 2025. The backlash to Trump has begun early.
The Trump backlash has carried over to the elections in Lincoln and Omaha. In both cities, the Democrats won sweeping, landslide victories. It wasn’t even close.
The first big win was in Lincoln on May 6. Here’s how I described it in a post on Facebook on May 7:
“We came. We saw. We conquered!
Lancaster County Democrats won a landslide election last night!
All three City Council incumbents were easily re-elected.
Bennie Shobe
Tom Beckius
Sandra Washington
We re-elected Barb Baier to the School Board.
John Goodwin, Maria Krivohlavek and Marilyn Johnson were elected to the School Board.
Vanessa Emlich was elected to the Airport Authority.
We won EVERY election! The Republicans won ZERO elections!
The Democrats control all of the local governmental units. Lincoln is a blue city!”
Now Republicans have told me that Lincoln is a blue city and the Democrats were always a lock. My rebuttal to that talking point is that the Republicans before that election result claimed that the Democrats were a dead party and the GOP had a permanent governing majority. If the Democrats were truly going the way of the Whigs, the Republicans would have won some elections in Lincoln. Instead, the Republicans lost every election. Every one of them.
We then had a political earthquake in Omaha on May 13 that shocked the world. Democrat John Ewing defeated three term incumbent GOP mayor Jean Stothert by a 57% to 43% margin. It was an epic upset that has received national attention. Stothert had never had a close race in her three previous runs for mayor. She won her 2021 election with 65% of the vote. That is an amazing 21 point swing from four years ago.
“Don’t sleep on how massive the upset in Omaha was last night. Jean Stothert wasn’t just any mayor — she was seen as unbeatable. She won her last race with 65% of the vote. Last night, she got thumped by the Democrats. That’s a political shockwave. Republicans are panicking.” Mike Nellis post.
Stothert outspent Ewing 2–1 and lied shamelessly about his record on transgender issues.
From the Omaha World Herald:
“Stothert was turned out of office in spite of the city’s significant development and progress on her watch, including a revitalized riverfront, an altered downtown skyline and strong growth. She had made continuing that energy and momentum the centerpiece of her campaign.
But it appeared a number of other political currents played into the race: a tumultuous national political climate driven by President Donald Trump that weighed on fellow Republican Stothert.
With the unpopularity of many of Trump’s policies, Democratic enthusiasm to vote appeared higher. During the campaign, Ewing sought to link Stothert to the Trump “chaos” — an understandable strategy in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans.
Stothert late in the race seemed concerned about Republican turnout, putting out an ad featuring the issue of gender in youth sports and bathrooms — an issue that fires up the GOP conservative base.”
A statement from the Nebraska Democratic Party:
“Tonight’s victory comes on the heels of Nebraska Democrats’ sweeping local elections last week in Lincoln and proves what we already know: voters are sick of Republicans’ one-party rule and endless attacks on working families. Nebraskans are demanding change. As a public servant for 43 years, Mayor-elect Ewing’s commitment to the people of the great state of Nebraska speaks for itself, and I have no doubt that Omaha’s future is bright under his leadership. My fellow Nebraskans: We made historic progress tonight, and tomorrow, the hard work continues on as we look to 2026. Democrats are here to do the work for the people.” — Chair Jane Kleeb
Trump’s political brand has become so politically radioactive that the Republican Mayor of Omaha lost her race for a fourth term, in part because she had endorsed him in 2024. It’s only 100 days in and the voters have already had enough.
“Jean Stothert’s internal polling had her down by single digits, so they called in the Ricketts team, who insisted on having Jessica Flanagan/Axiom take over the campaign and go all in on anti-trans hate. She ended up losing by an even greater margin.” Tim Royers post.
Ewing’s win signals a rejection of Stothert’s hateful anti-trans messaging — which was a center piece of GOP campaigns during the 2024 election cycle. Ewing called the controversy a “made-up issue by Jean Stothert and the Republican Party.”
The Nebraska Democratic Party fought back by arguing that Stothert was focused on potties and Ewing was focused on potholes. The Nebraska Democratic Party’s response to Stothert’s anti-trans hate should be a template for Democrats going forward. “The response to “That guy thinks boys should be in girls sports” isn’t “No I don’t,” it’s “Why does that right-wing pervert want to do genital inspections on your daughter?” Talking about issues is good, but you have to lead with identity.” Paul Waldman.
The Democrats also maintained their 4–3 majority on the Omaha City Council.
Worse for Nebraska Republicans, Stothert’s loss is bad news for Representative Don Bacon, a Republican whose district includes all of the city of Omaha as well as some suburbs. Bacon is one of only three Republicans in the house from districts both Biden and Harris won. The incumbent GOP House member is considering retirement and says he will make an announcement of his intentions later this year.
It’s been fashionable since November 2024 for the mainstream press to crap on the Democratic Party. Beltway reporters can demonstrate their alleged savvy and independence by trashing Democrats, while simultaneously grading Trump and MAGA on a curve. It’s high time that the Democrats get some credit for turning things around. That’s why I post. If we don’t defend our party, nobody else will do it for us.
The Democrats are winning big in 2025. This is the most under reported story in American politics. The mainstream press is addicted to a “Democrats in disarray narrative.” Despite our divisions, we keep winning elections. We are united against the threat to freedom and democracy posed by Trump and MAGA.
The tide is turning. Be confident going forward. Take nothing for granted. Keep working hard. Blue wave 2026!
Blue wave 2026! Let’s f*cking go!
Sources consulted: