Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
Nebraska's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses the core of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It includes all of Douglas County, which includes Omaha, as well as the suburban areas of the western part of Sarpy County. It has been represented in the United States House of Representatives since 2017 by Don Bacon, a member of the Republican Party.
Nebraska's 2nd congressional district | |||
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Nebraska's 2nd congressional district since January 3, 2013 | |||
Representative |
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Distribution |
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Population (2015) | 652,870 | ||
Median income | $66,390[1] | ||
Ethnicity |
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Cook PVI | R+4[2] |
Electoral vote; 2008 presidential race
Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the United States which distribute their electoral votes for president based on presidential candidates' performance in their respective congressional districts in addition to their statewide performance. The statewide popular vote winner for president receives two electoral votes, and the winner of each of Nebraska's congressional districts—there are currently three such districts—receives an electoral vote from the respective district.
While the rest of the state's electorate leans strongly towards the Republican Party, the 2nd district, being centered on the city of Omaha, is much more closely divided between the two main parties—Republican and Democratic.
In the 2008 United States presidential election, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama targeted the district as a strategy of breaking a potential electoral-vote tie.[3] He won the district's electoral vote by a margin of 3,325 votes over his chief general election opponent, Republican John McCain.[4] However, McCain won Nebraska's statewide popular vote, as well as the district-wide popular vote for the other two Nebraska congressional districts, thus receiving four electoral votes from Nebraska.[4]
Obama's victory in the 2nd district meant that Nebraska's electoral delegation was split for the first time ever. It also marked the first Nebraskan electoral vote for a Democrat since 1964.[4] By contrast, in 2012 and 2016, Republican presidential nominees Mitt Romney and Donald Trump won the 2nd district, as well as the overall statewide vote and the electoral votes of the first and third districts.[5]
Recent elections
This district is known as a swing district; it was one of six districts with a margin of less than 5% in all four elections after the 2010 Census.
2006 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Lee Terry (Incumbent) | 99,475 | 54.7% | −6.4% | |
Democratic | Jim Esch | 82,504 | 45.3% | +9.1% | |
Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Turnout | 181,979 |
2008 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Lee Terry (Incumbent) | 142,473 | 51.9% | −2.8% | |
Democratic | Jim Esch | 131,901 | 48.1% | +2.8% | |
Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Turnout | 274,374 |
2010 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Lee Terry (Incumbent) | 93,840 | 60.8% | +8.9% | |
Democratic | Tom White | 60,486 | 39.2% | −8.9% | |
Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Turnout | 154,326 |
2012 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Lee Terry (Incumbent) | 133,964 | 50.8% | −10.0% | |
Democratic | John Ewing | 129,767 | 49.2% | +10.0% | |
Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Turnout | 263,731 |
2014 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Brad Ashford | 83,872 | 49.0% | −0.2% | |
Republican | Lee Terry (Incumbent) | 78,157 | 45.7% | −5.1% | |
Libertarian | Steven Laird | 9,021 | 5.3% | +5.3% | |
Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
Turnout | 171,050 |
2016 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Don Bacon | 141,066 | 48.9% | +3.2% | |
Democratic | Brad Ashford (Incumbent) | 137,602 | 47.7% | −1.3% | |
Libertarian | Steven Laird | 9,640 | 3.3% | −2.0% | |
Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | ||||
Turnout | 288,308 |
2018 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Don Bacon (Incumbent) | 126,715 | 51.0% | +1.3% | |
Democratic | Kara Eastman | 121,770 | 49.0% | +2.1% | |
Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Turnout | 248,485 |
Redistricting
In 2011, Nebraska lawmakers moved Offutt Air Force Base and the city of Bellevue — an area with a large minority population — out of the Omaha-based 2nd District and shifted in the Republican-heavy Omaha suburbs in Sarpy County. The move was expected to dilute the city's urban Democratic vote, which Democrats criticized as gerrymandering.[6]
List of members representing the district
Member | Party | Years of Service | Cong ress |
Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
District created | March 4, 1883 | |||
James Laird | Republican | March 4, 1883 – August 17, 1889 |
48th 49th 50th |
[data unknown/missing] Died. |
Gilbert L. Laws | Republican | December 2, 1889 – March 3, 1891 |
51st | [data unknown/missing] |
William A. McKeighan |
Populist | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893 |
52nd | [data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 5th district. |
David Henry Mercer | Republican | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1903 |
53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Gilbert M. Hitchcock |
Democratic | March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905 |
58th | [data unknown/missing] |
John L. Kennedy | Republican | March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1907 |
59th | [data unknown/missing] |
Gilbert M. Hitchcock |
Democratic | March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1911 |
60th 61st |
[data unknown/missing] |
Charles O. Lobeck |
Democratic | March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1919 |
62nd 63rd 64th 65th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Albert W. Jefferis |
Republican | March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1923 |
66th 67th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Willis G. Sears |
Republican | March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1931 |
68th 69th 70th 71st |
[data unknown/missing] |
H. Malcolm Baldrige | Republican | March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933 |
72nd | [data unknown/missing] |
Edward R. Burke |
Democratic | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 |
73rd | [data unknown/missing] |
Charles F. McLaughlin |
Democratic | January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1943 |
74th 75th 76th 77th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Howard Buffett |
Republican | January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1949 |
78th 79th 80th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Eugene D. O'Sullivan |
Democratic | January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951 |
81st | [data unknown/missing] |
Howard Buffett |
Republican | January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953 |
82nd | [data unknown/missing] |
Roman Hruska |
Republican | January 3, 1953 – November 8, 1954 |
83rd | [data unknown/missing] Resigned when elected U.S. Senator. |
Jackson B. Chase |
Republican | January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957 |
84th | [data unknown/missing] Retired. |
Glenn Cunningham |
Republican | January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1971 |
85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st |
[data unknown/missing] Lost renomination. |
John Y. McCollister |
Republican | January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1977 |
92nd 93rd 94th |
[data unknown/missing] Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
John J. Cavanaugh |
Democratic | January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1981 |
95th 96th |
[data unknown/missing] Retired. |
Hal Daub |
Republican | January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1989 |
97th 98th 99th 100th |
[data unknown/missing] Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
Peter Hoagland |
Democratic | January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
101st 102nd 103rd |
[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election. |
Jon L. Christensen |
Republican | January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999 |
104th 105th |
[data unknown/missing] Retired run for Governor of Nebraska. |
Lee Terry |
Republican | January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2015 |
106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th |
[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election. |
Brad Ashford |
Democratic | January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017 |
114th | [data unknown/missing] Lost re-election. |
Don Bacon |
Republican | January 3, 2017 – Present |
115th 116th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Election results from presidential races
Year | Office | Results |
---|---|---|
2000 | President | George W. Bush 57% - Al Gore 39% |
2004 | President | George W. Bush 60% - John Kerry 38% |
2008 | President | Barack Obama 50% - John McCain 49% |
2012 | President | Mitt Romney 53% - Barack Obama 46% |
2016 | President | Donald Trump 48% - Hillary Clinton 46% |
Historical district boundaries
References
- https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=31&cd=02
- "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
- Curry, Tom (2008-11-02). "Is Obama-Terry the winning ticket in Omaha?". NBC News. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
If the national electoral vote tally is close, then the one electoral vote in Omaha would loom large. But with Obama apparently ahead in competitive states such as Virginia, the presidency may not hinge on Omaha's vote.
- Staff reporter (2008-11-14). "Obama wins 1 of Nebraska's electoral votes". AP. Retrieved 2009-10-17. (Archived by WebCite at https://www.webcitation.org/5kaEXuAwS)
- Walton, Don (2012-11-07). "Romney wins 2nd District electoral vote". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
Republican nominee Mitt Romney appeared to have won the battle for Nebraska's only competitive presidential electoral vote Tuesday night. [...] Romney held comfortable leads in both the 1st District, which includes Lincoln, and the vast 3rd District, as well as statewide.
(Archived by WebCite at https://www.webcitation.org/6Bzdk9RLy) - Schulte, Grant (May 27, 2011). "Nebraska Redistricting Maps Approved". AP. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present