Nebraska's 2nd district: 2026 House race
Nebraska's 2nd district has no incumbent running. Denise Powell leads in reported fundraising with $2.7M. Forecasters rate it Likely D.
Candidates and money2 on file
| Candidate | Party | Status | Raised | Spent | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denise Powell | DEM | Open seat | $2.7M | $1.7M | $997K |
| Brinker Harding | REP | Open seat | $2.0M | $964K | $1.1M |
Also on the November ballot, with no FEC campaign record on file: Eric Foreman (Libertarian).
Ballot status: nominees as listed on Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA), matched to FEC records by name.
Reported Source: FEC, through each candidate's latest filing. Open this race on FEC.gov
Other FEC filers (not matched to a November nominee)7
| Candidate | Party | Status | Raised | Spent | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald J. Bacon | REP | Incumbent | $1.5M | $1.3M | $433K |
| John Cavanaugh | DEM | Open seat | $1.4M | $1.3M | $82K |
| Kishla Askins | DEM | Open seat | $902K | $902K | $0 |
| James Leuschen | DEM | Open seat | $394K | $275K | $118K |
| Brett Lindstrom | REP | Open seat | $375K | $375K | $0 |
| Crystal Rhoades | DEM | Open seat | $183K | $183K | $112 |
| Mark Edmund Johnston | DEM | Open seat | $10K | $10K | $0 |
They may have lost a primary or withdrawn, or our name match may have missed them. Their records are kept for reference.
Forecasts and ratingsnational odds + who rates this race
Consensus (median of 4): Likely D Estimate
| Forecaster | Rating | Date listed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report | Likely D | 2026-10-09 | flip from current holder |
| Inside Elections | Tilt D | 2025-12-05 | flip from current holder, dated |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely D | 2026-10-08 | flip from current holder |
| Decision Desk HQ | Likely D | 2026-07-14 | flip from current holder, dated |
Ratings are each publisher's own, compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). The date is the one listed there; a rater may have changed its call since, and “dated” means more than 45 days old. Open the forecaster for its current rating.
No Polymarket market was found for this race.
Open each forecaster for its current rating and method.
National picture: Democrats 90.5% to control the House on Polymarket Estimate. See all forecasts.
Last time (2024)R +1.8
Don Bacon won by 1.8 points, with 314,567 votes counted.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Bacon | Republican | 160,198 | 50.9% |
| Tony Vargas | Democratic | 154,369 | 49.1% |
Reported Results as compiled in Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), top three shown. Under the district lines used in 2024.
Who lives hereCensus survey data
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 664,272 |
| Median age | 35.8 |
| Median household income | $83,942 ±$1,248 |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree or more | 42.5% |
| White, not Hispanic | 68.2% |
| Black, not Hispanic | 9.2% |
| Asian, not Hispanic | 4.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 13.4% |
| Homes lived in by their owners | 63.8% |
| People below the poverty line | 11.0% |
| Born outside the U.S. | 9.8% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020-2024 5-year estimates, district lines of the 119th Congress, fetched 2026-10-15. These are survey estimates with margins of error; the Bureau publishes the error for each figure.
Data on this page4/6 complete
| Data | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Nominees | Have it | listed on Wikipedia, matched to FEC |
| Campaign finance | Have it | FEC filings through 06/30/2026 |
| Forecaster ratings | Have it | 4 forecasters |
| Prediction market | Missing | no market found |
| 2024 result | Have it | same district lines |
| Financial disclosures | Missing | 0 of 2 candidates read |
So you can see what we have and what we do not. Missing is never treated as zero.