Denise Powell Secures Democratic Nomination in Nebraska’s 2nd District
In a closely watched contest, Denise Powell emerged victorious over John Cavanaugh for the Democratic nomination in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. The results were made official on Friday, following the release of mail-in ballot counts from election day.
The Associated Press had declared Powell the winner on Wednesday night, but Cavanaugh delayed his concession until all votes were tallied. The decisive results, published by the Douglas County Election Commission, confirmed Powell’s lead with a total of 22,270 votes compared to Cavanaugh’s 20,923. This translated to Powell securing 38.7% of the vote against Cavanaugh’s 36.4%, surpassing the threshold for an automatic recount.
Following the announcement, Cavanaugh expressed his congratulations to Powell, stating, “Now that all of the votes have been counted, I’ve called Denise Powell and congratulated her. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this campaign.”
Despite the competitive race, Powell achieved a significant edge over Cavanaugh across all counties in the 2nd District. Her strongest performances were in suburban Sarpy and Saunders Counties, where she achieved leads of 14 and 9 percentage points, respectively.
The primary race was notable for substantial outside spending from political action committees, which heavily invested in advertisements opposing Cavanaugh and backing Powell. In response, Cavanaugh launched negative campaigns in the final weeks, dubbing Powell “dark money Denise,” a term later adopted by Republicans in their own ads.
At her election night gathering, Powell acknowledged the impact of external funding, noting, “I think that people see Nebraska 2 as one of the top flip opportunities in the country for Democrats, so I think there are a lot of folks invested in it.”
With the primary concluded, Powell is set to compete against Republican Brinker Harding in the general election. Both candidates aim to succeed Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who decided not to seek reelection after five terms in office.
