Nebraska Examiner Press Release
What You Need to Know
Nebraska’s May 12 primary election will narrow contested races for Congress, state constitutional officers, the Legislature, State Board of Education, University of Nebraska Board of Regents and more. In all, 42 statewide offices will appear on the ballot.
A total of 125 candidates are vying to move forward from the Nov. 3 general election, including one write-in candidate in Legislative District 12 and excluding one candidate who has announced he is dropping out in Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District. The Nebraska Examiner invited all candidates to be part of this 2026 Primary Election Voter Guide. In the end, 83 candidates will advance to the general election.
For Congress, one U.S. Senate seat and all three U.S. House seats will head to voters, all currently held by Republicans. The outcomes could determine the state of play as three nonpartisan candidates gather signatures for the November ballot. As such, they do not appear in this primary election voter guide. Congressional races are partisan, so candidates are nominated by party.
Nebraska’s constitutional officers — governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and auditor of public accounts — also are on the ballot. All incumbents are seeking reelection. State Auditor Mike Foley is unopposed. An Omaha-based seat on the five-member Nebraska Public Service Commission also heads to voters. These races are partisan.
Half of the seats are up for election in the Nebraska Legislature (25) and on the State Board of Education (four). Three of eight seats on the NU Board of Regents are on the ballot. This includes special elections for Legislative District 41, to finish out a two-year term, and former NU Regents District 4, to finish a four-year term, due to the resignations of former State Sen. Dan McKeon of Amherst and Regent Elizabeth O’Connor of Omaha. These races are officially nonpartisan.
Races
Voters will choose which candidates aligned with which party should advance to the Nov. 3 general election from partisan primaries. In nonpartisan races, the top two finishers advance regardless of party.
U.S. Senate
- (R)Debb Axtell Schultz
- (D)Cindy Burbank
- (D)William Forbes
- (R)Todd Knobel
- (LMN)Mike Marvin
- (R)Eric Mortimore
- (R)Pete Ricketts
- (LMN)Earl Starkey
- (R)Mac Stevens
U.S. House – 1st Congressional District
U.S. House – 2nd Congressional District
- (D)Van Argyrakis
- (D)Kishla Askins
- (D)John Cavanaugh
- (LIB)Eric Michael Foreman
- (R)Brinker Harding
- (D)James Leuschen
- (D)Denise Powell
- (D)Crystal Rhoades
- (D)Melanie Williams
U.S. House – 3rd Congressional District
Nebraska Governor
- (LMN)Rick Beard
- (LMN)James Charvat
- (R)Sal Holguin
- (R)Sheila Korth-Focken
- (D)Larry Marvin
- (R)Jim Pillen
- (R)Gary Rogge
- (R)Jacy Todd
- (R)John Walz
- (D)Lynne Walz
Nebraska Attorney General
Nebraska Secretary of State
Nebraska State Treasurer
Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts
Nebraska Public Service Commission – District 2
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 2
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 4
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 6
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 8
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 10
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 12
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 14
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 16
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 18
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 20
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 22
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 24
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 26
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 28
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 30
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 32
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 34
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 36
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 38
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 40
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 41 (Special Election)
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 42
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 44
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 46
Nebraska Legislature – Legislative District 48
State Board of Education – District 5
State Board of Education – District 6
State Board of Education – District 7
State Board of Education – District 8
NU Board of Regents – District 1
NU Board of Regents – District 2
NU Board of Regents – District 4 (Special Election)
IMPORTANT DATES
April 6
County election offices begin mailing out early voting ballots.
April 13
First day for early voting in person at county clerk or election commission offices.
April 27
Deadline to register to vote online, by mail, at a state agency, via deputy registrar or via personal agent.
May 1
Deadline to register to vote at a county election office (6 p.m. local) or to request an early voting application. Deadline to file as a write-in candidate (5 p.m.).
May 11
Last day to vote early in person.
May 12
Election Day. Polls open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. MT). Early ballots due back to county election offices by the close of polls.
May 19
Deadline to present a valid photo ID at a county election office if not done at the time of voting.
May 21
Deadline for verifying provisional ballots cast.
June 1
Abstract of votes due to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office.
June 8
Board of State Canvassers meets to certify the election results.
June 10
Recounts for any eligible races begin at 9 a.m.
July 2
Deadline to return signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office for initiative petitions, by 5 p.m.
August 3
Deadline for judges to file for retention in the November election. Deadline for those seeking to appear on partisan office ballots by petition.
September 11
Last day for secretary of state to certify the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
How-To
Who can vote?
Any legally registered voter in Nebraska can vote. People must be at least 18 by Election Day to register. You must be a U.S citizen who resides in Nebraska and must register in the county where you live.
People convicted of a felony in Nebraska, another state or in federal court can register to vote in Nebraska once they’ve completed the terms of their sentence.How do I register to vote? How do I check my voter registration and political party affiliation?
You can register to vote on the Secretary of State’s website. You can also register at your local county election office or request a voter registration form by mail and return it.
The deadline to register at the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, online or by mail for the May primary election is April 27. The deadline to register in person at a county election office is May 1.
You can check your voter registration here.I’m a nonpartisan voter. Can I choose a partisan ballot?
Nonpartisan voters will receive a ballot that includes all nonpartisan races in their area, such as the Legislature, NU Board of Regents or local offices. They can also request a partisan ballot to weigh in on the congressional races for all parties — Republican, Democratic, Libertarian or Legal Marijuana NOW.
Voters selecting a Democratic or Libertarian ballot can also vote in state and local elections, as those parties allow “open” primaries. The Republican and Legal Marijuana NOW parties require voters to be registered with their party to weigh in, which is known as keeping a party’s primary “closed.”
Voters registered with a political party will receive the corresponding ballot.
More information from the Secretary of State’s Office is available here.How do I find my polling place?
Enter your name and address information into the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Voter Check website to verify your polling place. Or check the mail for a voter card with your polling place, or call your county election office listed online here.What do I bring to the polling place?
Voters will need a state-approved photo ID, which could include a driver’s license, a college ID, a nursing home ID, a passport, a military ID, a tribal ID or an ID from a political subdivision of the state, including a city, county or school district.
If you forget to take your photo ID but want to cast a ballot, you can choose to vote provisionally. However, you will need to take a photo ID to your county election office within a week of Election Day to have your ballot counted.
If you are seeking an exception to the photo ID requirement, you must apply for a certificate from your county election office verifying a disability, circumstance or religious objection to being photographed that is allowed under state law.
For more information about how voter ID works in Nebraska, visit the secretary of state’s website at https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/voter-id. Information about the state’s new requirement is available in English and Spanish.What about voter ID for early voting ballots?
If you choose to vote early in person at your county election office, you will need to follow the same requirements as voting on Election Day in person. The last day to vote early in person at a county election office is Monday, May 11.
If you are sending in an early ballot by mail, you must write down your driver’s license number or state ID number on the form to request a ballot or include a photocopy of a state-approved photo ID in the envelope. If you have a legal exception to having a photo ID, you can send in a form from your county election office noting a legal exception to having a photo ID.When must early voting ballots be returned?
Early ballots by mail must be received — not postmarked — by county election offices no later than the close of polls at 8 p.m. Central Time and 7 p.m. Mountain Time on May 12. The United States Postal Service recommends voters mail their ballot back no later than May 5, according to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office.How can I get an acceptable photo ID?
You can request a free state ID from the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. For more information about that program, visit the DMV’s website for an explainer.
