Omaha saw narrowest primary elections for Nebraska Legislature, with a recount possible

It remains too close to determine the top two candidates for the Nebraska Legislature's north-central Omaha District 13 seat. Nick Batter, left, had a significant lead at about 38%. The next two in the race were separated by five votes as of the end of Tuesday, May 14, with about 23% each: Ashlei Spivey, center, and Tracy Hightower-Henne. Matthew Clough, a fourth candidate, received 15% of the votes tallied. (Photos courtesy of the candidates; Capitol photo by Rebecca Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)

OMAHA — Some of the narrowest primary races for Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday came in the state’s largest city, Omaha, with one contest possibly headed to a recount.

The Legislature has 25 seats up for election in 2024. The top-two vote getters in all but one of 15 crowded primaries — those with at least three candidates — were leading by more than 1%. 

The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office said at midday Wednesday that approximately 13,000 ballots remained to be counted in some county election offices. 

Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse said his office will have exact numbers Thursday morning, but he said more than 8,500 early voting and 400 provisional ballots are yet to be counted.

Kruse said the remaining early ballots will be counted Friday and provisional ballots will be counted May 23.

Jackie Ourada, a spokesperson in the Secretary of State’s Office, said there were also 2,400 ballots still to be counted in Lancaster County, including the capital of Lincoln. Those ballots will be counted Thursday while nearly 400 provisional ballots will be counted May 22.

District 13 within five votes

The closest primary race is in the north-central Omaha contest to succeed term-limited State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. Frontrunner Nick Batter, a registered nonpartisan and corporate counsel for Hawkins Construction, led his closest opponent by 790 votes, or 15% of votes tallied so far.

“Voters in my community have sent a clear message that they’re tired of being overlooked by their political leaders, and by the national interest groups that have taken over our local politics,” Batter, an Army veteran, said in a statement.

Two Democrats vying for the second spot on the fall ballot were separated by only five votes as of Tuesday (0.09%): Ashlei Spivey, an abortion-rights advocate who leads the nonprofit I Be Black Girl, and Tracy Hightower-Henne, a lawyer and former leader with the Nebraska Innocence Project and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska.

Spivey said the close margin is a “direct reflection” of the “unwavering support” from her community in the past 10 weeks and her commitment to serving the district and state remains.

“To honor this and the spirit of true democracy, I want to ensure that every vote — from every corner of our district — is accounted for,” she said in a text.

Hightower-Henne said she will be closely watching the final results and looks forward to seeing the final tally.

“I’m really proud of the campaign I’ve run and hope I’ll have the opportunity to continue to earn more votes and serve my neighbors in LD13 in the Legislature,” Hightower-Henne said in a text.

Matthew Clough, a former chief operating officer of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, finished in fourth.

A recount may be requested by any defeated candidate, but the process is automatic if the margin for second- and third-place finishers remains 1% or less.

Other close Omaha races

Just south of District 13 is Omaha’s District 7, currently held by term-limited State Sen. Tony Vargas, is another close race. 

Twenty-six votes, or 1.29%, separate Tim Pendrell, an aide to State Sen. Mike McDonnell, and Ben Salazar, a veteran and former publisher of a Spanish-English newspaper.

Omaha similarly had close finishes for top-two candidates, though they hold significant leads over additional candidates. 

This includes the North Omaha race for District 11, where State Sen. Terrell McKinney is seeking a second term. He is fending off a challenge from former State Sen. Ernie Chambers, who edged McKinney by 21 votes, or 0.78%. Chambers finished with 44.8% of the vote, McKinney with 44.02%.

The third-place candidate, Calandra Cooper, received 11.18% of the vote as of late Tuesday. 

In South Omaha’s District 5, Gilbert Ayala, a Republican, came 18 votes above Margo Juarez, a Democratic member of the Omaha School Board.

Flint Harkness, a special education teacher and a Democrat, finished third with 27% of the votes.

The winner will replace McDonnell, who is term-limited.

Ideological split of Legislature

Beyond Omaha, three races in eastern Nebraska could decide the ideological split of the officially nonpartisan Legislature, where members do not organize by registered political party but do sometimes vote along or close to party lines.

In the 49-member body, Republicans currently hold 33 seats and Democrats hold 15 seats. There is one progressive independent.

In Sarpy County, just south of Omaha, State Sen. Jen Day, a Democrat, is seeking a second four-year term in District 49. In 2020, Day narrowly ousted State Sen. Andrew La Grone, a Republican appointee, by 267 votes, or 1.08%. She faced two Republican challengers this time.

Day finished with about 42% of the votes tallied Tuesday, coming in 432 votes, or 8%, above Bob Andersen, a defense contractor and U.S. Air Force veteran.

Caleb Muhs, a former FBI analyst now in the insurance industry, finished third with 22% of votes.

In District 3, consisting of portions of Bellevue and Papillion, Republican Felix Ungerman finished first in the race to succeed term-limited State Sen. Carol Blood, a Democrat. Victor Rountree, a Democrat, will face off with Ungerman again this fall.

Republicans will pick up one seat currently held by a Democrat in District 15, which encompasses  Dodge County and Valley in the district’s sliver of Douglas County. Dave “Woody” Wordekemper and Roxie Kracl, both of Fremont, will face off in the campaign to replace term-limited State Sen. Lynne Walz.

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