2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska explained

See also: 2014 Nebraska elections.

Election Name:2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska
Country:Nebraska
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska
Previous Year:2012
Next Election:2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska
Next Year:2016
Seats For Election:All 3 Nebraska seats to the United States House of Representatives
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Last Election1:3
Seats1:2
Seat Change1: 1
Popular Vote1:340,816
Percentage1:63.64%
Swing1: 0.60%
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Last Election2:0
Seats2:1
Seat Change2: 1
Popular Vote2:185,234
Percentage2:34.59%
Swing2: 1.16%

The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Nebraska were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect 3 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Nebraska, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the governor of Nebraska and a United States senator. Primary elections to determine candidates in the general election were held on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. The members elected at this election will serve in the 114th Congress.

Overview

Results of the 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska by district:[1]

scope=col rowspan=3Districtscope=col colspan=2Republicanscope=col colspan=2Democraticscope=col colspan=2Othersscope=col colspan=2Totalscope=col rowspan=3Result
scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"!scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"!scope=col colspan=2!scope=col colspan=2
scope=col data-sort-type="number"Votes !scope=col data-sort-type="number"% !scope=col data-sort-type="number"Votes !scope=col data-sort-type="number"% !scope=col data-sort-type="number"Votes !scope=col data-sort-type="number"% !scope=col data-sort-type="number"Votes !scope=col data-sort-type="number"%
123,219 68.82% 55,838 31.18% 0 0.00% 179,057 100% Republican hold
District 2 78,157 45.57% 83,872 48.90% 9,480 5.53% 171,509 100% Democratic gain
139,440 75.39% 45,524 24.61% 0 0.00% 184,964 100% Republican hold
Total 340,816 63.64% 185,234 34.59% 9,480 1.77% 535,530 100%

District 1

Election Name:2014 Nebraska's 1st congressional district election
Country:Nebraska
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska#District 1
Previous Year:2012
Next Election:2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska#District 1
Next Year:2016
Image1:File:Jeff Fortenberry Official Portrait 115th Congress (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Jeff Fortenberry
Party1:Republican Party (US)
Popular Vote1:123,219
Percentage1:68.8%
Nominee2:Dennis Crawford
Party2:Democratic Party (US)
Popular Vote2:55,838
Percentage2:31.2%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:Jeff Fortenberry
Before Party:Republican Party (US)
After Election:Jeff Fortenberry
After Party:Republican Party (US)

See also: Nebraska's 1st congressional district. The 1st district encompasses most of the eastern quarter of the state and almost completely envelops the 2nd district. It includes the state capital, Lincoln, as well as the cities of Fremont, Columbus, Norfolk, Beatrice and South Sioux City. Incumbent Republican Jeff Fortenberry, who has represented the district since 2005, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 68% of the vote in 2012 and the district had a PVI of R+10.

Republican primary

Fortenberry considered running for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mike Johanns, but ultimately announced that he would not do so and would instead seek re-election.[2]

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

General election

Results

District 2

Election Name:2014 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district election
Country:Nebraska
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska#District 2
Previous Year:2012
Next Election:2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska#District 2
Next Year:2016
Image1:File:Brad Ashford Congress (cropped) (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Brad Ashford
Party1:Democratic Party (US)
Popular Vote1:83,872
Percentage1:48.9%
Nominee2:Lee Terry
Party2:Republican Party (US)
Popular Vote2:78,157
Percentage2:45.6%
Image3:3x4.svg
Nominee3:Steven Laird
Party3:Libertarian Party (US)
Popular Vote3:9,021
Percentage3:5.2%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:Lee Terry
Before Party:Republican Party (US)
After Election:Brad Ashford
After Party:Democratic Party (US)

See also: Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. The 2nd district is based in the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area and includes all of Douglas County and the urbanized areas of Sarpy County. Incumbent Republican Lee Terry, who had represented the district since 1999, ran for re-election. He was re-elected in 2012 with 51% of the vote in the district that had a PVI of R+4.

Republican primary

Terry faced a competitive primary challenge from businessman Dan Frei, who ran to his right. Despite outspending Frei by around 20-to-1, Terry only won the primary by 2,686 votes, or just under 6%. After his defeat, Frei refused to endorse Terry and he and his supporters openly floated the idea of running an independent or write-in campaign against Terry in the general election. Frei himself was ineligible to do so, having lost the primary election, but former state senator Chip Maxwell was mentioned as a possible candidate.[5]

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Declined

Results

Democratic primary

After controversial comments made by Terry in October 2013, Omaha City Council President Pete Festersen, a Democrat, decided to run against Terry.[11] However, Festersen announced on December 9, 2013, that he was ending his campaign because of the difficulty in balancing the campaign with his family and city council responsibilities.[12] Democratic state senator Brad Ashford announced his candidacy in February 2014.

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Withdrawn
Declined

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary

Results

Independents

Candidates

Withdrawn

General election

Campaign

On May 21, 2014, Maxwell announced that he would run as an independent. A former Republican state senator, his party registration is presently nonpartisan. He has said that if he wins, he will rejoin the Republican Party and serve as a Republican in the House.[19] He dismissed as "hysterical" the idea that his candidacy could be a "spoiler" that conservatives are using to defeat Terry by "any means necessary", whether by Maxwell winning or by him and Terry splitting the Republican vote, thus allowing Democratic nominee Brad Ashford to win, meaning that there would be an open Republican primary for the seat in 2016.[20]

Despite collecting enough signatures to make the ballot, Maxwell withdrew from the race on July 24, saying that he had been "begged" by "high-profile" Republicans not to run and didn't want to create a "permanent rift" in the district's Republican Party. He did however say that he plans to run against Terry in the Republican primary in 2016 and noted that "I think this thing's a toss-up, even with me out of it."[21]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Lee
Terry (R)
Brad
Ashford (D)
Steven
Laird (L)
Undecided
NFM Research[22] October 21–25, 2014365± 5.1%41% align=center46%6%7%
DCCC (D)[23] August 14, 2014432± 4.7%45% align=center46%9%
Global Strategy Group (D-Ashford)[24] May 29 – June 1, 2014400± 4.9%41%41%4%14%
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
class=small Sample
size
Margin of
error
Lee
Terry (R)
Pete
Festersen (D)
Undecided
DCCC[25] October 2013523± 4.3%42% align=center44%14%

Results

Ashford won the race by a 3.3% margin, making Terry one of only two sitting Republicans to be defeated by a Democrat in 2014 (the other being Steve Southerland in Florida's 2nd).

District 3

Election Name:2014 Nebraska's 3rd congressional district election
Country:Nebraska
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska#District 3
Previous Year:2012
Next Election:2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska#District 3
Next Year:2016
Image1:File:Adriansmith.jpg
Nominee1:Adrian Smith
Party1:Republican Party (US)
Popular Vote1:139,440
Percentage1:75.4%
Nominee2:Mark Sullivan
Party2:Democratic Party (US)
Popular Vote2:45,524
Percentage2:24.6%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:Adrian Smith
Before Party:Republican Party (US)
After Election:Adrian Smith
After Party:Republican Party (US)

See also: Nebraska's 3rd congressional district. The 3rd district encompasses the western three-fourths of the state; it is one of the largest non-at-large Congressional districts in the country, covering nearly 65000sqmi, two time zones and 68.5 counties. It is mostly sparsely populated but includes the cities of Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings, North Platte and Scottsbluff. Incumbent Republican Adrian Smith, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 74% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+23.

Republican primary

Smith considered running for the United States Senate in 2014,[26] but declined to do so.[27]

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

General election

Results

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Haas. Karen L.. Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2014. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. October 28, 2019. March 9, 2015.
  2. Web site: Fortenberry not Running for Senate. May 29, 2013. May 30, 2013. Roll Call. Kyle. Trygstad.
  3. Web site: Statewide Candidate List. March 4, 2014. March 5, 2014. Nebraska SOS. March 28, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140328111646/http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/2014/pdf/candidate_filings.pdf. dead.
  4. Web site: Democratic attorney Dennis Crawford to challenge Jeff Fortenberry for House seat. Martha. Stoddard. October 14, 2013. October 14, 2013. Omaha World-Herald.
  5. Web site: Conservatives opposed to Lee Terry mull options for getting independent candidate on ballot. May 16, 2014. May 20, 2014. Omaha.com. Joseph Morton.
  6. Web site: Lee Terry files for re-election. January 18, 2014. January 19, 2014. Omaha World-Herald.
  7. News: Tysver. Robynn. Republican Dan Frei will take on Lee Terry in District 2. 5 November 2013. Omaha World-Herald. 3 November 2013.
  8. Web site: Omaha Sen. Krist will seek re-election in 2014. JoAnne. Young. July 23, 2013. August 6, 2013. Lincoln Journal Star.
  9. News: Beck. Margery. Terry faces possible tea party primary challenge. 10 October 2013. Lincoln Journal Star. 9 October 2013.
  10. http://watchdog.org/137709/gop-rivals-poll-finds-rep-terry-struggling/ Frei Internal Poll
  11. Web site: Pete Festersen to vie for Lee Terry's congressional seat in 2014. Robynn. Tysver. October 13, 2013. October 13, 2013. Omaha World-Herald.
  12. Web site: Pete Festersen drops out of U.S. House race against Lee Terry. Erin. Golden. December 9, 2013. December 9, 2013. Omaha World-Herald.
  13. News: State Sen. Brad Ashford to seek Lee Terry's U.S. House seat. Omaha World-Herald. Hammel. Paul. February 13, 2014. February 13, 2014.
  14. Web site: Omaha Councilman Pete Festersen may try to oust Lee Terry from House seat. July 11, 2013. August 6, 2013. Omaha World-Herald. Joseph. Morton.
  15. Web site: Omaha attorney David Domina first Democrat in Nebraska U.S. Senate race. January 19, 2014. January 19, 2014. Omaha World-Herald. Joe. Duggan. http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20140214175244/http%3A//www.omaha.com/article/20140119/NEWS/140118587. February 14, 2014. dead. mdy-all.
  16. Web site: Domina for Terry's House seat?. December 23, 2013. December 27, 2013. Nebraska Watchdog. Joe. Jordan.
  17. Web site: Ewing won't take second swing at Congressman Terry. July 10, 2013. August 6, 2013. Nebraska Watchdog. Joe. Jordan.
  18. Web site: Video special: NE Dems still looking for Senate hopeful as Lathrop says its gov or bust. June 20, 2013. October 12, 2013. Nebraska Watchdog. Joe. Jordan.
  19. Web site: 'I have a plan to save the country': Chip Maxwell to run against Lee Terry. May 21, 2014. May 22, 2014. Omaha.com. Joseph Morton.
  20. Web site: 'Chip Maxwell, running for House against Lee Terry, calls spoiler theory 'hysterical'. May 22, 2014. May 22, 2014. Omaha.com. Robynn Tysver.
  21. Web site: Maxwell drops out of 2nd District race. July 24, 2014. August 20, 2014. Lincoln Journal Star.
  22. https://web.archive.org/web/20141029171941/http://www.utu.org/worksite/PDFs/HR%203040/NE-2_Rail_Survey.pdf NFM Research
  23. http://www.omaha.com/news/politics/democrats-poll-confirms-again-lee-terry-brad-ashford-race-is/article_b55724ff-4d2f-5e7d-ab6e-acaa7baaa761.html DCCC (D)
  24. https://www.scribd.com/doc/227931756/NE-02-Benchmark-Survey-Poll-Memo-282-29-3 Global Strategy Group (D-Ashford)
  25. http://www.omaha.com/article/20131017/NEWS/131018829/1685 DCCC
  26. Web site: Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns to retire. February 18, 2013. May 30, 2013. Politico. Manu. Raju. Patrick. Reis.
  27. Web site: Democrats Continue to Fight Nebraska GOP's Grasp. October 16, 2013. October 17, 2013. Roll Call. Anna. Giaritelli.
  28. Web site: Col. Tom Brewer eager to take on new mission: House race against Adrian Smith. January 2, 2014. February 20, 2014. Omaha.com.
  29. Web site: Sullivan running for Congress again in 2014. March 16, 2013. October 10, 2013. Grand Island Independent. Sarah. Schulz.