Unofficial results: Powell leads in Omaha's congressional race

Unofficial results as of 5:58 a.m. CT Nov. 4, with 1,309 of 1,322 precincts fully reporting, per the Nebraska Secretary of State. Another 12 precincts had partly reported. This is a partial count, and every number can still change.

OMAHA - Unofficial results show Democrat Denise Powell leading Republican Brinker Harding in the 2nd Congressional District race, with all 334 district precincts reporting, according to the Nebraska Secretary of State's unofficial results. Statewide, Republican Pete Ricketts leads Dan Osborn, who is on the ballot by petition, for U.S. Senate, and Republican Jim Pillen leads Democrat Lynne Walz for governor.

These numbers can still change. The Douglas County Election Commission says its county canvassing board, the panel that reviews and certifies the count, meets about three weeks after the election (Election Commission results page).

For how and when results are counted and certified, see our explainer.

Congress and statewide offices

• U.S. House, 2nd District: Powell (D) 138,733; Harding (R) 100,895; Eric Michael Foreman (L) 6,310. Results
• U.S. Senate: Ricketts (R) 370,411; Dan Osborn (by petition) 321,218; Robin Richards (Nebraska Working People) 18,937; Mike Marvin (Legal Marijuana Now) 15,848; Chuck Conboy (America First) 8,846. Results
• Governor: Pillen and Joe Kelly (R) 373,465; Lynne Walz and Ben Steffen (D) 311,363; Brett Lindstrom and Michael Picard (America First) 32,362; Rick Beard and Keenya Barnes (Legal Marijuana Now) 19,532.
• Secretary of State: Scott Petersen (R) 390,653; Sarah J. Slattery (D) 292,270; Paul Rumbaugh (Nebraska Working People) 22,343; Bob Krist (America First) 18,636.
• Treasurer: Joey Spellerberg (R) 418,609; Daniel Ebers (D) 296,251.
• Attorney General: Mike Hilgers (R) 403,371; Jocelyn Brasher (D) 313,405.
• Auditor: Mike Foley (R) 488,286; John Knight (America First) 165,626.

Statewide ballot measures

Results are from the Nebraska Secretary of State.

• Amendment 1 (state senators could serve three straight four-year terms instead of two): For 131,396; Against 576,504.
• Measure 440 (changes the state constitution so lawmakers may allow online sports betting through licensed racetrack operators): For 327,203; Against 398,412.
• Measure 441 (state law that would allow and regulate that online betting): For 330,231; Against 395,330.
• Measure 442 (constitutional change requiring schools to label each team boys, girls or coed by biological sex, with girls' teams closed to male students): For 488,432; Against 229,868.

Legislature seats on Douglas County ballots

Totals are district-wide, with all precincts reporting, from the Nebraska Secretary of State.

• District 4: Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek 8,739; R. Brad von Gillern 8,447.
• District 6: Patrick Leahy 7,816; Nate Ostdiek 5,797.
• District 8: Erin Feichtinger 9,120; Josh Livingston 3,373.
• District 10: Cindy Johnson 7,687; Rebecca Rens 5,405.
• District 12: Christy Knorr 6,464; Merv Riepe 5,151.
• District 18: Jess Goldoni 7,755; Taylor Royal 7,388.
• District 20: John Fredrickson 9,501; Chris Anderson 6,150.
• District 36: Rick Holdcroft 8,504; Darin Tompkins 7,768.

The closest margins are in District 4 (292 votes) and District 18 (367 votes). The Election Commission's recount rules call for an automatic recount when the margin is 1% or less of the leader's votes. Both margins are larger than that in this count.

Utility, regulatory and education boards

• MUD board, Subdivision 3: Gwen Howard 12,664; Andrew Adams 7,667. Tim Cavanaugh (Subdivision 4) and Tanya Cook (Subdivision 5) ran unopposed. Results
• Public Service Commission, District 2: Wendy DeBoer (D) 84,500; Dennis McCann (R) 39,509. Results
• NU Board of Regents: District 2, Elizabeth Butler 45,140, Jill Wolfe 37,330; District 4, Justin Solomon 31,586, Susanne Shore 20,109. Results
• State Board of Education, District 8: Lou Ann Goding 40,352; Sherrye Hutcherson 38,469. Results

Results for Omaha's two bond questions, $155 million for public facilities and $30 million for parks, and for Douglas County races weren't available Wednesday morning. We'll update this story when they are. See the sample ballot.

Source: Nebraska Secretary of State unofficial results: statewide, Congress, Legislature, ballot measures, MUD, Public Service Commission, Regents, State Board of Education, Douglas County; Secretary of State 2026 ballot measures pamphlet; Legislative Council LR19CA ballot statement; Douglas County Election Commission election results, recount information and sample ballots.

How we checked this: Reported from the Nebraska Secretary of State's unofficial results pages, its 2026 ballot measures pamphlet, the LR19CA ballot statement and the Douglas County Election Commission's results, recount and sample ballot pages, first opened Nov. 4, 2026, between 6:10 and 6:13 a.m. CT. We re-read every figure on the Secretary of State's pages at 6:35 a.m. CT Nov. 4; the page still said results were last updated at 5:58 a.m. CT. Checked against the record by our copy desk before publishing.