2018 Nebraska State Legislature election

The 2018 Nebraska State Legislature elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Nebraska voters elected state senators[lower-alpha 1] in the 24 even-numbered seats of the 49[lower-alpha 2] legislative districts in the Nebraska Unicameral. Nebraska is unique among American states in that there is only one chamber in its state legislature, and this chamber is called the Unicameral and the State Legislature interchangeably. State senators serve four-year terms in the Nebraska Unicameral.

2018 Nebraska State Legislature election

November 6, 2018
24 of the 49 seats in the Nebraska Legislature 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Jim Scheer Burke Harr Ernie Chambers Party Republican Democratic Independent Leader's seat 19th 8th 11th Last election 32 15 1 Seats before 31 16 1 Seats won 30 18 1 Seat change 1 2   Fourth party   Leader Laura Ebke (lost re-election) Party Libertarian Leader's seat 32nd Last election 1 Seats before 1 Seats won 0 Seat change 1
Speaker before election Jim Scheer Republican Elected Speaker Jim Scheer Republican

A top two primary election on May 15, 2018 determined which candidates appear on the November 6 general election ballot. Each candidate technically runs as a non-partisan (i.e., no party preference). The Nebraska State Legislature's website offers a statewide map of the 49 legislative districts here and maps for each individual district can be found on the website.[1]

Following the 2016 elections, Republicans maintained effective control of the Nebraska State Legislature with 32 seats. Democrats increased their numbers from 15 to 16 seats when State Senator Bob Krist of the 10th legislative district switched parties from Republican to Democrat.[2] Furthermore, Republican State Senator Jim Smith resigned from office, leaving an open seat for Republicans to defend in the 14th legislative district.[3]

On election day 2018, the Unicameral consisted of 31 Republican seats[lower-alpha 3], 16 Democratic seats, and 1 seat each for Independent Sen. Ernie Chambers and Libertarian Sen. Laura Ebke. The Democrats net gained 2 seats, while the Republicans net lost one and the chamber's lone Libertarian was defeated.

Summary of Results by State Legislative District

• Note: All elections are technically non-partisan in the Nebraska State Legislature; therefore, parties listed here are from candidates' websites and official party endorsement lists. Candidates all appear on the ballot as nonpartisan.

• Districts not shown are not up for election until 2020.

State Legislative District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
2nd	Robert Clements		Rep	Robert Clements		Rep
4th	Robert Hilkemann		Rep	Robert Hilkemann		Rep
6th	Theresa Thibodeau		Rep	Machaela Cavanaugh		Dem
8th	Burke Harr		Dem	Megan Hunt		Dem
10th	Bob Krist		Dem	Wendy DeBoer		Dem
12th	Merv Riepe		Rep	Steve Lathrop		Dem
14th	Vacant[3]		Rep	John Arch		Rep
16th	Lydia Brasch		Rep	Ben Hansen		Rep
18th	Brett Lindstrom		Rep	Brett Lindstrom		Rep
20th	John S. McCollister		Rep	John S. McCollister		Rep
22nd	Paul Schumacher		Rep	Mike Moser		Rep
24th	Mark Kolterman		Rep	Mark Kolterman		Rep
26th	Matt Hansen		Dem	Matt Hansen		Dem
28th	Patty Pansing Brooks		Dem	Patty Pansing Brooks		Dem
30th	Roy Baker		Rep	Myron Dorn		Rep
32nd	Laura Ebke		Lib	Tom Brandt		Rep
34th	Curt Friesen		Rep	Curt Friesen		Rep
36th	Matt Williams		Rep	Matt Williams		Rep
38th	John Kuehn		Rep	Dave Murman		Rep
40th	Tyson Larson		Rep	Tim Gragert		Rep
42nd	Mike Groene		Rep	Mike Groene		Rep
44th	Dan Hughes		Rep	Dan Hughes		Rep
46th	Adam Morfeld		Dem	Adam Morfeld		Dem
48th	John Stinner		Rep	John Stinner		Rep

Sources:[4][5]

Detailed Results

District 2 • District 4 • District 6 • District 8 • District 10 • District 12 • District 14 • District 16 • District 18 • District 20 • District 22 • District 24 • District 26 • District 28 • District 30 • District 32 • District 34 • District 36 • District 38 • District 40 • District 42 • District 44 • District 46 • District 48

• Note: All elections are technically non-partisan in the State Legislature; therefore, parties listed here are from candidates' websites and official party endorsement lists. Candidates all appear on the ballot as nonpartisan.
  • Candidates endorsed by the Republican Party:[6]
  • Candidates endorsed by the Democratic Party:[7]

District 2

Nebraska's 2nd Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Clements (incumbent)	2,867	47.81
	Democratic	Susan D. Lorence	2,252	37.55
	Republican	James Bond[lower-alpha 4][8]	878	14.64
Total votes			5,997	100.0
General election
	Republican	Robert Clements (incumbent)	7,965	56.96
	Democratic	Susan D. Lorence	6,019	43.04
Total votes			13,984	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

Nebraska's 4th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert "Bob" Hilkemann (incumbent)	2,842	56.70
	Democratic	Shannon Coryell	2,170	43.30
Total votes			5,012	100.0
General election
	Republican	Robert "Bob" Hilkemann (incumbent)	8,964	60.95
	Democratic	Shannon Coryell	5,743	39.05
Total votes			14,707	100.0
	Republican hold

District 6

Nebraska's 6th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Theresa Thibodeau (incumbent)	3,641	51.30
	Democratic	Machaela Cavanaugh	3,027	42.65
	Independent	Ricky Fulton	429	6.04
Total votes			7,097	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Machaela Cavanaugh	7,733	50.95
	Republican	Theresa Thibodeau (incumbent)	7,445	49.05
Total votes			15,178	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 8

Nebraska's 8th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Megan Hunt	3,284	56.38
	Democratic	Mina Davis	1,299	22.30
	Democratic	Josh Henningsen	1,242	21.32
Total votes			5,825	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Megan Hunt	7,634	64.11
	Democratic	Mina Davis	4,274	35.89
Total votes			11,908	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 10

Nebraska's 10th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wendy DeBoer	3,253	57.31
	Republican	Matt Deaver	2,423	42.69
Total votes			5,676	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Wendy DeBoer	8,306	50.32
	Republican	Matt Deaver	8,201	49.68
Total votes			16,507	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 12

Nebraska's 12th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Lathrop	2,658	53.47
	Republican	Merv Riepe (incumbent)	2,313	46.53
Total votes			4,971	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Steve Lathrop	7,030	55.84
	Republican	Merv Riepe (incumbent)	5,559	44.16
Total votes			12,589	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 14

Nebraska's 14th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Arch	3,462	60.02
	Democratic	Jeff Parris	2,306	39.98
Total votes			5,768	100.0
General election
	Republican	John Arch	7,625	55.82
	Democratic	Jeff Parris	6,035	44.18
Total votes			13,660	100.0
	Republican hold

District 16

Nebraska's 16th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ben Hansen	4,620	58.77
	Democratic	Chuck Hassebrook	3,241	41.23
Total votes			7,861	100.0
General election
	Republican	Ben Hansen	9,109	61.59
	Democratic	Chuck Hassebrook	5,680	38.41
Total votes			14,789	100.0
	Republican hold

District 18

Nebraska's 18th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Lindstrom (incumbent)	2,922	56.15
	Democratic	Scott Winkler	1,937	37.22
	Democratic	Austin Hennrich	345	6.63
Total votes			5,204	100.0
General election
	Republican	Brett Lindstrom (incumbent)	6,874	53.60
	Democratic	Scott Winkler	5,950	46.40
Total votes			12,824	100.0
	Republican hold

District 20

Nebraska's 20th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John S. McCollister (incumbent)	4,213	63.23
	Democratic	Jackie Collett	1,968	29.54
	Democratic	Chris Anne Dienstbier	482	7.23
Total votes			6,663	100.0
General election
	Republican	John S. McCollister (incumbent)	8,689	58.80
	Democratic	Jackie Collett	6,089	41.20
Total votes			14,778	100.0
	Republican hold

District 22

Nebraska's 22nd Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Moser	3,578	56.12
	Republican	Doug Oertwich	1,366	21.42
	Democratic	Francis P. Kuehler	1,102	17.28
	Independent	Kenneth G. Leischner	330	5.18
Total votes			6,376	100.0
General election
	Republican	Mike Moser	7,896	64.30
	Republican	Doug Oertwich	4,383	35.70
Total votes			12,279	100.0
	Republican hold

District 24

Nebraska's 24th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark A. Kolterman (incumbent)	3,795	72.07
	Democratic	Stephanie Nantkes	1,471	27.93
Total votes			5,266	100.0
General election
	Republican	Mark A. Kolterman (incumbent)	9,501	73.46
	Democratic	Stephanie Nantkes	3,433	26.54
Total votes			12,934	100.0
	Republican hold

District 26

Nebraska's 26th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Hansen (incumbent)	4,223	76.96
	Republican	Bob Van Valkenburg	1,264	23.04
Total votes			5,487	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Matt Hansen (incumbent)	9,046	73.16
	Republican	Bob Van Valkenburg	3,319	26.84
Total votes			12,365	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 28

Nebraska's 28th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Pansing Brooks (incumbent)	6,263	100.0
Total votes			6,263	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Patty Pansing Brooks (incumbent)	11,717	100.0
Total votes			11,717	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 30

Nebraska's 30th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Myron Dorn	3,161	40.50
	Democratic	Don Schuller	2,977	38.15
	Republican	Joe Murray	1,666	21.35
Total votes			7,804	100.0
General election
	Republican	Myron Dorn	7,923	52.98
	Democratic	Don Schuller	7,032	47.02
Total votes			14,955	100.0
	Republican hold

District 32

Nebraska's 32nd Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Brandt	3,514	44.45
	Libertarian	Laura Ebke (incumbent)	2,612	33.04
	Republican	Al Riskowski	1,780	22.51
Total votes			7,906	100.0
General election
	Republican	Tom Brandt	8,154	56.42
	Libertarian	Laura Ebke (incumbent)	6,299	43.58
Total votes			14,453	100.0
	Republican gain from Libertarian

District 34

Nebraska's 34th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curt Friesen (incumbent)	5,784	100.0
Total votes			5,784	100.0
General election
	Republican	Curt Friesen (incumbent)	10,796	100.0
Total votes			10,796	100.0
	Republican hold

District 36

Nebraska's 36th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Williams (incumbent)	4,520	100.0
Total votes			4,520	100.0
General election
	Republican	Matt Williams (incumbent)	9,816	100.0
Total votes			9,816	100.0
	Republican hold

District 38

Nebraska's 38th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Murman	3,206	45.76
	Democratic	Marsha Fangmeyer	1,633	23.31
	Democratic	Thomas Osborn	1,059	15.12
	Republican	Ronald L. Johnson	416	5.94
	Democratic	Michael D. Combs	391	5.58
	Republican	Andrew Murphy	301	4.30
Total votes			7,006	100.0
General election
	Republican	Dave Murman	9,114	64.27
	Democratic	Marsha Fangmeyer	5,067	35.73
Total votes			14,181	100.0
	Republican hold

District 40

Nebraska's 40th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Timothy J. Gragert	1,666	20.38
	Republican	Keith F. Kube	1,590	19.45
	Republican	Shane Greckel	1,487	18.19
	Republican	Thomas E. Ferry	1,331	16.28
	Republican	Michael A. Sobotka	1,151	14.08
	Republican	Julie Thomsen	951	11.63
Total votes			8,176	100.0
General election
	Republican	Timothy J. Gragert	7,222	51.63
	Republican	Keith F. Kube	6,767	48.37
Total votes			13,989	100.0
	Republican hold

District 42

Nebraska's 42nd Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Groene (incumbent)	4,242	100.0
Total votes			4,242	100.0
General election
	Republican	Mike Groene (incumbent)	8,180	67.13
	Republican	Judy Pederson	4,005	32.87
Total votes			12,185	100.0
	Republican hold

District 44

Nebraska's 44th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Hughes (incumbent)	5,251	76.23
	Independent	Stephanie L. Malcolm	1,637	23.77
Total votes			6,888	100.0
General election
	Republican	Dan Hughes (incumbent)	9,872	77.31
	Independent	Stephanie L. Malcolm	2,898	22.69
Total votes			12,770	100.0
	Republican hold

District 46

Nebraska's 46th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adam Morfeld (incumbent)	2,360	100.0
Total votes			2,360	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Adam Morfeld (incumbent)	5,776	100.0
Total votes			5,776	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 48

Nebraska's 48th Legislative District Election, 2018

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John P. Stinner (incumbent)	3,773	100.0
Total votes			3,773	100.0
General election
	Republican	John P. Stinner (incumbent)	9,041	100.0
Total votes			9,041	100.0
	Republican hold

1. Although Nebraska's legislature is unicameral, the officeholders are called Senators.
2. The odd-numbered districts were elected in 2016 and will be up for election again in 2020.
3. Including Sen. Smith's vacated seat in the 14th legislative district.
4. Endorsed Susan Lorence, the Democrat.

See also

• United States elections, 2018
• United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska, 2018
• United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2018
• Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2018
• Nebraska Attorney General election, 2018
• Nebraska Secretary of State election, 2018
• Nebraska elections, 2018

References

1. "Nebraska Legislature:Legislature - Maps Clearinghouse". Nebraska Legislature. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
2. "Sen. Krist makes it official: He's switching party affiliation..." Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
3. "Jim Smith Resigns as Senator; Ricketts Will Leave Seat Open". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
4. "Nebraska State Senate elections, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
5. "Official Results: Primary Election -- May 15, 2018". Nebraska Secretary of State. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
6. "Candidates for State Legislature". Nebraska Republican Party. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
7. "Candidates". Nebraska Democratic Party. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
8. "James Bond for Nebraska". Retrieved September 3, 2018.