Written by Josh Reyes – Omaha World-Herald
York News-Times Reprint
Nebraska’s Legislature did not see the same blue wave that shifted control of Congress to Democrats, but some key Omaha-area seats flipped on Election Day, ending the Republican supermajority in the Legislature.
With votes still to count Friday and the election yet to be certified, here is a look at results as they stand in area legislative races, which are officially nonpartisan.
Possible flips
Democrat Christy Knorr, a hospice nurse and community leader from Ralston, soundly beat Republican State Sen. Merv Riepe in District 12. Republicans and Democrats have traded control of that district for years, and Knorr won by 12 points, according to unofficial results.
Riepe has broken with his party on some key votes. He opposed a measure to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state in presidential elections and bills that would limit public restrooms and locker rooms by assigned sex at birth.
In District 18, Democrat Jess Goldoni, who runs an AI firm, leads by two points over Republican Taylor Royal, and Royal has conceded the race.
Sen. Christy Armendariz declined to run for reelection and endorsed Royal, a former Omaha mayoral candidate, as her replacement.
Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek led State Sen. Brad von Gillern after Election Day.
Courtesy of Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek
One race that appears poised to flip remains in the too-close-to-call range.
In District 4, registered nonpartisan Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek leads Republican Sen. Brad von Gillern 51% to 49%.
Maxwell-Ostdiek said on social media that she would wait for more votes to be counted in the coming days and that the race was still too close to rule a winner.
There were less than 300 votes separating the candidates as of Wednesday afternoon.
Von Gillern chairs the influential Revenue Committee of the Legislature and is seen as a potential speaker. Maxwell-Ostdiek is a small business owner and serves on the board of nonpartisan Nebraska, a group dedicated to preserving the nonpartisan unicameral.
Maxwell-Ostdiek and von Gillern faced off four years ago in another close race that von Gillern won with 52% of votes.
Sen. Brad von Gillern trailed in his bid for a second term after results were counted on Election Day.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Democratic holds
Two races featured two Democratic candidates.
District 6’s new representative will be Patrick Leahy, who leads a recycling business and is an Army reserve officer. Leahy beat Nate Ostdiek to replace term-limited Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh.
Erin Feichtinger, a lobbyist, won District 8 over Josh Livingston, an attorney. Feichtinger will succeed Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt, a term-limited registered nonpartisan who frequently caucuses with Democrats.
Democrats also fended off Republican challengers in two other races.
District 10’s race featured Cindy Johnson, an audiologist and a member of the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties, and Rebecca Rens, president of a concrete company. Johnson, the Democratic candidate, won comfortably by 18 points and will replace Bennington Sen. Wendy DeBoer, also a Democrat.
In District 20, Omaha Sen. John Fredrickson won reelection over Air Force veteran and marketing professional Chris Anderson. Fredrickson, a Democrat, won by 21 percentage points. He won his first election four years ago by less than 100 votes.
Republican holds
District 36 was a target for Democrats to flip, but Republican Sen. Rick Holdcroft defeated challenger Darren Tompkins in a narrow win, 52% to 48%. Holdcroft chairs the Legislature’s General Affairs Committee.
District 14 was also a target for Democrats, with Speaker John Arch of La Vista being term-limited. But Republicans held the seat, with Bill Bowes, the retired chief of the Papillion Fire Department, defeating SuAnn Witt, a longtime member of the Papillion La Vista School Board. Bowes won the race with 51% of votes, and Witt said she had conceded the race.
In Blair, chiropractor Ted Japp kept the District 16 seat Republican with 64% of votes in a race against business owner Cindy Chatt. Japp will replace the term-limited Sen. Ben Hansen.
New outlook
In total, half of Nebraska’s legislative seats were up for election this year. Outside of Omaha, no incumbents lost their bids for reelection, and no seats changed parties.
Fifteen Republicans and nine Democrats won on Tuesday. If Maxwell-Ostdiek’s lead holds, she will be the lone registered nonpartisan in the Legislature.
That would mean the Legislature consists of 30 Republicans, 18 Democrats and one nonpartisan.
In Nebraska’s Legislature, 33 votes is the key number to overcome a filibuster, meaning Republicans will likely struggle to advance or pass controversial legislation despite their strong majority.
