Nebraska congressional incumbents easily defeat challengers in GOP primary (2024)

LINCOLN— Incumbents swept their GOP primary elections in Nebraska's congressional races. Sens. Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer, along with Reps. Mike Flood and Adrian Smith, were expected to defeat their Republican challengers and advance to the general election ballot.

In other congressional primaries, a Democratic race in the 3rd Congressional District was too close to call, while Kerry Eddy with the Legal Marijuana NOW party was poised to advance over Kenneth Peterson in her Senate bid. Democrats Preston Love Jr. and Carol Blood also advanced unopposed to the general election.

U.S. Senate, 2-year term

Ricketts was far ahead of Republican challengers John Glen Weaver and Mac Stevens, with five times as many votes as his nearest rival in early returns. The Associated Press has called the race in Ricketts' favor.

"Tonight’s results proved that our party is ready to send commonsense, conservative leaders to represent Nebraska at all levels of government." Ricketts said in a press release.

The former Nebraska governor is running to finish the last two years of the Senate term started by Ben Sasse, who resigned in 2022 to become University of Florida president. In 2006, Ricketts lost a Senate bid to incumbent Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat.

If he wins reelection, Ricketts said his top priorities would be securing the southern border, along with increasing investment in the military. He also wants to renew the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," which is set to expire in 2025. If allowed to sunset, Ricketts said it would effectively raise taxes for Nebraskans.

Ricketts will face Democrat Preston Love Jr. in November. Love previously ran a write-in campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2020, and earned roughly 58,000 votes.

U.S. Senate, 6-year term

Fischer had nearly a 4-to-1 lead over Republican challenger Arron Kowalski. The Associated Press has called the race in Fischer's favor.

"It's very nice to know that Nebraskans trust me," Fischer said of the results.

If reelected, Fischer would be the first Nebraska senator to win a third term since the late Jim Exon won his race in 1990. Her influence increased last year when she landed a seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

She also holds seats on the Armed Services Committee, the Agriculture Committee and the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

In a separate race among Legal Marijuana NOW candidates, Kerry Eddy was ahead of Kenneth Peterson. The winner will advance to the general election ballot.

Fischer is also expected to face independent challenger Dan Osborn, who is working to collect the 4,000 signatures from registered voters that he needs to get on the November ballot. He said Tuesday that he is confident he has those signatures, and expects to submit them earlier than his Sept. 3 deadline.

Osborn recently announced he would take a leave of absence from his steamfitting job to focus on campaigning full-time. He says his fundraising is on track to reach $5 million by November, having raised close to $1 million so far. Fischer has raised $5.7 million as of April.

House of Representatives, 1st District

Flood held a 4-to-1 lead over challenger Michael Connely in the GOP primary. The Associated Press has called the race in Flood's favor.

Flood said the win was the best endorsem*nt he could have received from Nebraska Republicans voters. The Nebraska Republican Party did not endorse Floodor any Republican congressional incumbent.

Flood is seeking his second full term representing Nebraska's 12-county 1st District. He won his House seat in a 2022 special election, replacing former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who had resigned. Flood won a full term later that year.

Flood said his top priority would be securing the southern border. He hopes to renew some of former President Donald Trump's initiatives, such as resuming construction on the border wall. In addition, Flood said he wants to further control government spending and promote Nebraska's agriculture industry.

Flood is set to face former legislative colleague Carol Blood in November. Blood, a Democrat, was unopposed in the primary.

Blood has served in the Nebraska Legislature for eight years — including two years serving alongside Flood — and is set to be term-limited out this year. She also ran for governor in 2022, when she lost to Pillen in the general election.

House of Representatives, 3rd District

Smith is poised to defeat his two Republican challengers, John Walz and Robert McCuiston. He led by a 4-to-1 margin over his nearest rival, Walz.

Smith is a nine-term congressman for the state's sprawling 80-county 3rd District. The largely rural district stretches from border to border across Nebraska, and is heavily dominated by GOP voters.

In the 3rd District's Democratic primary, David Else held a narrow lead against Daniel Ebers in a race that was too close to call.