2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska explained

Election Name:	2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska
Country:	Nebraska
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2012 United States Senate election in Nebraska
Previous Year:	2012
Next Election:	2024 United States Senate election in Nebraska
Next Year:	2024
Election Date:	November 6, 2018
Turnout:	57.32%
Image1:	File:Deb Fischer, official portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Deb Fischer
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	403,151
Percentage1:	57.69%
Nominee2:	Jane Raybould
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	269,917
Percentage2:	38.62%
Map Size:	300px
U.S. Senator
Before Election:	Deb Fischer
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Deb Fischer
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Nebraska. Incumbent Republican Deb Fischer was re-elected to a second term against Lincoln city councilwoman Jane Raybould and Libertarian candidate Jim Schultz.

The candidate filing deadline was March 1, 2018, and the primary election was held on May 15, 2018.^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

• Deb Fischer, incumbent U.S. Senator^{[2] [3]}

Eliminated in primary

• Jack Heidel, retired University of Nebraska at Omaha professor^{[4] [5]}
• Dennis Frank Macek^[6]
• Jeffrey Lynn Stein^[7]
• Todd Watson, businessman and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014^[8]

Declined

• Shane Osborn, former state treasurer and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014^{[9] [10] [11]}
• Don Stenberg, state treasurer, former attorney general, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and candidate in 1996, 2006 and 2012^{[10] [11]}

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

• Jane Raybould, Lincoln City Councilwoman, former Lancaster County Commissioner and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014^[12]

Eliminated in primary

• Chris Janicek, businessman^[7]
• Larry Marvin, perennial candidate^[13]
• Frank Svoboda^[6]

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jim Schultz^[7]

Results

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[14]		October 26, 2018
Inside Elections^[15]		November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[16]		November 5, 2018
Fox News^[17]		July 9, 2018
CNN^[18]		July 12, 2018
RealClearPolitics^[19]		November 5, 2018

Debates

Host
network/sponsors! rowspan="2"

Date	Link(s)	Participants
Jane Raybould (D)		Deb Fischer (R)
KMTV-TV	August 27, 2018	^[20]	Invited	Invited

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Deb Fischer (R)	Jane Raybould (D)	Undecided
DFM Research^[21]	October 23–27, 2018	683	± 3.8%	align=center	54%	39%	7%
Grassroots Targeting (R)^[22]	Late June 2018	1,000	± 3.1%	align=center	63%	28%	–
Meeting Street Research (R-Fischer)^[23]	January 24–28, 2018	500	–	align=center	51%	34%	–
Public Policy Polling (D-Raybould)^[24]	November 10–12, 2017	1,190	± 2.8%	align=center	42%	31%	27%

Results

By county

From Secretary of State of Nebraska^[25]

County	Deb Fischer Republican		Jane Raybould Democratic		Jim Schultz Libertarian		Write-in		Total votes
	%		%		%		%
Adams	63.44%	6,487	32.61%	3,334	3.93%	402	0.02%	2	10,225
Antelope	81.56%	2,061	15.67%	396	2.65%	67	0.12%	3	2,527
Arthur	87.07%	202	10.34%	24	2.59%	6	0.00%	0	232
Banner	83.76%	263	12.42%	39	3.82%	12	0.00%	0	314
Blaine	84.79%	223	12.93%	34	2.28%	6	0.00%	0	263
Boone	76.56%	1,757	19.91%	457	3.22%	74	0.31%	7	2,295
Box Butte	72.51%	2,632	23.00%	835	4.41%	160	0.08%	3	3,630
Boyd	83.11%	797	13.35%	128	3.55%	34	0.00%	0	959
Brown	83.25%	1,153	13.72%	190	3.03%	42	0.00%	0	1,385
Buffalo	66.86%	10,939	29.12%	4,765	3.97%	650	0.04%	7	16,361
Burt	67.93%	1,995	28.46%	836	3.54%	104	0.07%	2	2,937
Butler	71.00%	2,470	25.04%	871	3.94%	137	0.03%	1	3,479
Cass	63.97%	6,787	31.98%	3,393	3.99%	423	0.06%	6	10,609
Cedar	81.56%	2,866	15.28%	537	3.16%	111	0.00%	0	3,514
Chase	85.73%	1,340	11.77%	184	2.43%	38	0.06%	1	1,563
Cherry	80.18%	1,913	13.16%	314	6.08%	145	0.59%	14	2,386
Cheyenne	78.76%	2,566	17.77%	579	3.41%	111	0.06%	2	3,258
Clay	73.87%	1,979	22.10%	592	4.03%	108	0.00%	0	2,679
Colfax	69.27%	1,731	27.73%	693	3.00%	75	0.00%	0	2,499
Cuming	79.45%	2,672	17.96%	604	2.56%	86	0.03%	1	3,363
Custer	81.78%	3,797	14.80%	687	3.40%	158	0.02%	1	4,643
Dakota	59.02%	2,677	37.28%	1,691	3.62%	164	0.09%	4	4,536
Dawes	68.79%	2,334	26.94%	914	4.19%	142	0.09%	3	3,393
Dawson	69.77%	4,363	26.50%	1,657	3.63%	227	0.10%	6	6,253
Deuel	80.61%	578	15.20%	109	4.18%	30	0.00%	0	717
Dixon	74.38%	1,655	21.93%	488	3.64%	81	0.04%	1	2,225
Dodge	64.90%	7,827	31.71%	3,824	3.36%	405	0.03%	4	12,060
Douglas	46.30%	94,777	50.35%	103,070	3.29%	6,727	0.06%	133	204,707
Dundy	84.07%	649	12.82%	99	2.98%	23	0.13%	1	772
Fillmore	67.99%	1,718	27.31%	690	4.67%	118	0.04%	1	2,527
Franklin	77.39%	1,044	18.90%	255	3.71%	50	0.00%	0	1,349
Frontier	79.90%	831	16.63%	173	3.46%	36	0.00%	0	1,040
Furnas	80.36%	1,719	15.61%	334	4.02%	86	0.00%	0	2,139
Gage	58.74%	4,896	36.28%	3,024	4.91%	409	0.07%	6	8,335
Garden	81.52%	816	13.89%	139	4.40%	44	0.20%	2	1,001
Garfield	83.48%	667	14.14%	113	2.25%	18	0.13%	1	799
Gosper	79.69%	667	17.56%	147	2.75%	23	0.00%	0	837
Grant	93.69%	282	4.65%	14	1.66%	5	0.00%	0	301
Greeley	73.57%	732	23.92%	238	2.51%	25	0.00%	0	995
Hall	62.45%	10,483	33.50%	5,624	3.96%	665	0.09%	15	16,787
Hamilton	74.88%	3,076	21.81%	896	3.24%	133	0.07%	3	4,108
Harlan	77.11%	1,149	19.26%	287	3.49%	52	0.13%	2	1,490
Hayes	89.06%	350	8.14%	32	2.54%	10	0.25%	1	393
Hitchcock	82.48%	890	14.27%	154	3.24%	35	0.00%	0	1,079
Holt	77.75%	3,226	17.47%	725	4.60%	191	0.17%	7	4,149
Hooker	82.96%	258	15.76%	49	0.96%	3	0.32%	1	311
Howard	70.20%	1,696	25.25%	610	4.51%	109	0.04%	1	2,416
Jefferson	64.22%	1,913	31.02%	924	4.63%	138	0.13%	4	2,979
Johnson	62.06%	1,101	32.75%	581	5.07%	90	0.11%	2	1,774
Kearney	74.22%	1,952	22.51%	592	3.23%	85	0.04%	1	2,630
Keith	79.19%	2,542	17.66%	567	3.12%	100	0.03%	1	3,210
Keya Paha	87.05%	336	10.88%	42	2.07%	8	0.00%	0	386
Kimball	81.30%	1,122	14.64%	202	3.99%	55	0.07%	1	1,380
Knox	78.37%	2,812	18.65%	669	2.98%	107	0.00%	0	3,588
Lancaster	42.22%	49,449	53.94%	63,175	3.77%	4,412	0.08%	95	117,131
Lincoln	71.99%	8,999	23.09%	2,886	4.85%	606	0.07%	9	12,500
Logan	90.80%	306	6.82%	23	2.37%	8	0.00%	0	337
Loup	80.46%	247	16.61%	51	2.93%	9	0.00%	0	307
Madison	75.61%	7,949	21.27%	2,236	3.07%	323	0.05%	5	10,513
McPherson	87.02%	228	8.40%	22	4.58%	12	0.00%	0	262
Merrick	76.21%	2,563	19.24%	647	4.52%	152	0.03%	1	3,363
Morrill	80.33%	1,699	14.56%	308	5.06%	107	0.05%	1	2,115
Nance	71.54%	885	25.46%	315	2.99%	37	0.00%	0	1,237
Nemaha	68.48%	1,788	27.84%	727	3.68%	96	0.00%	0	2,611
Nuckolls	75.40%	1,321	20.83%	365	3.77%	66	0.00%	0	1,752
Otoe	64.62%	4,098	31.17%	1,977	4.10%	260	0.11%	7	6,342
Pawnee	67.13%	774	28.79%	332	4.08%	47	0.00%	0	1,153
Perkins	82.60%	1,011	14.71%	180	2.70%	33	0.00%	0	1,224
Phelps	79.50%	3,068	17.39%	671	3.01%	116	0.10%	4	3,859
Pierce	84.59%	2,339	12.33%	341	3.04%	84	0.04%	1	2,765
Platte	75.85%	8,372	21.23%	2,343	2.87%	317	0.05%	5	11,037
Polk	75.20%	1,574	21.40%	448	3.39%	71	0.00%	0	2,093
Red Willow	78.49%	3,051	17.91%	696	3.60%	140	0.00%	0	3,887
Richardson	69.29%	2,137	27.82%	858	2.82%	87	0.06%	2	3,084
Rock	85.56%	569	11.88%	79	2.56%	17	0.00%	0	665
Saline	53.46%	2,255	41.06%	1,732	5.43%	229	0.05%	2	4,218
Sarpy	58.08%	39,306	37.99%	25,706	3.86%	2,610	0.08%	51	67,673
Saunders	68.06%	6,479	27.99%	2,664	3.90%	371	0.05%	5	9,519
Scotts Bluff	68.84%	7,398	26.87%	2,887	4.19%	450	0.10%	11	10,746
Seward	65.21%	4,607	30.77%	2,174	3.99%	282	0.03%	2	7,065
Sheridan	81.98%	1,670	13.50%	275	4.47%	91	0.05%	1	2,037
Sherman	67.67%	873	28.68%	370	3.57%	46	0.08%	1	1,290
Sioux	83.24%	447	12.85%	69	3.91%	21	0.00%	0	537
Stanton	80.36%	1,817	16.05%	363	3.58%	81	0.00%	0	2,261
Thayer	71.89%	1,606	24.13%	539	3.98%	89	0.00%	0	2,234
Thomas	86.09%	291	10.65%	36	3.25%	11	0.00%	0	338
Thurston	53.03%	970	44.67%	817	2.13%	39	0.16%	3	1,829
Valley	77.20%	1,388	19.97%	359	2.78%	50	0.06%	1	1,798
Washington	70.28%	6,462	26.52%	2,438	3.17%	291	0.03%	3	9,194
Wayne	74.21%	2,388	22.50%	724	3.26%	105	0.03%	1	3,218
Webster	73.09%	997	23.31%	318	3.59%	49	0.00%	0	1,364
Wheeler	82.85%	343	14.49%	60	2.66%	11	0.00%	0	414
York	71.41%	3,659	25.00%	1,281	3.51%	180	0.08%	4	5,124

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Dakota (largest municipality: South Sioux City)
• Saline (largest municipality: Crete)
• Thurston (largest municipality: Pender)

By congressional district

Fischer won all 3 congressional districts.^[26]

District	Fischer	Raybould	Representative
		55%	42%		Jeff Fortenberry
		49%	48%		Don Bacon
		72%	24%		Adrian Smith

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia
• Campaign finance at FEC
• Campaign finance at OpenSecrets

Official campaign websites

• Deb Fischer (R) for Senate
• Jane Raybould (D) for Senate
• Jim Schultz (L) for Senate

Notes and References

1. News: United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2018 - Ballotpedia. March 3, 2017. en-US. April 21, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170421135144/https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Nebraska,_2018. live.
2. Web site: Fresh off 2016 losses, Democrats target 2018 Senate races. Rindels, Michelle. McClatchy DC. November 25, 2016. November 25, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161126131427/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article116996078.html. November 26, 2016. dead.
3. Web site: Don Walton: Deb Fischer embarks on re-election bid. Walton, Don. Lincoln Journal Star. June 18, 2017. June 18, 2017. June 22, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170622141401/http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/don-walton-deb-fischer-embarks-on-re-election-bid/article_8a27cc5c-c9b8-5c53-b45c-add84e2267d9.html. live.
4. Web site: Retired professor will challenge Fischer in GOP primary. Don. Walton. JournalStar.com. 22 January 2018 . 2021-10-13. 2020-09-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20200918154055/https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/federal-politics/retired-professor-will-challenge-fischer-in-gop-primary/article_448dbce9-3730-5a23-a775-658ce9d51ff1.html. live.
5. Web site: Sen. Fischer's Latest Rival Asking a Lot . 2018-01-24 . 2018-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134425/http://kwbe.com/local-news/sen-fischers-latest-rival-asking-a-lot/ . live .
6. Web site: Deb Fischer enters election year with $2.4 million; challenger Jane Raybould has $200,000 | State and Regional News | omaha.com. 9 February 2018 . 2018-02-13. 2018-02-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20180209000329/http://www.omaha.com/news/politics/deb-fischer-enters-election-year-with-million-challenger-jane-raybould/article_a429a5d4-7e6f-5dcb-8be1-ae93002e26c3.html. live.
7. Web site: Several Nebraska incumbents are running unopposed, but Deb Fischer faces 10 challengers. Roseann Moring and Erin Duffy World-Herald staff. writers. Omaha World-Herald. March 2018 . 2021-10-13. 2021-10-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20211013235938/https://omaha.com/state-and-regional/several-nebraska-incumbents-are-running-unopposed-but-deb-fischer-faces-10-challengers/article_1be555cf-2105-5dda-a4ea-ea8c5b99be95.html. live.
8. Web site: Fischer faces Republican challenge from the right. Lincoln Journal Star. Walton. Don. November 21, 2017. November 29, 2017. December 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080833/http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/federal-politics/fischer-faces-republican-challenge-from-the-right/article_7fd3f0a5-af80-53d6-85e2-b9ee5a3e0617.html. live.
9. Web site: Bannon's Bark Is Worse Than His Bite. National Journal. Kraushaar. Josh. October 17, 2017. October 18, 2017. October 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171019004056/https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/659465?unlock=MJN1YZ7DMG12SFBL. live.
10. Web site: All Quiet on the Fischer Front as Money Rolls In. News Channel Nebraska. Jordan. Joe. October 20, 2017. October 25, 2017. October 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171026002625/http://kwbe.com/local-news/all-quiet-on-the-fischer-front/. live.
11. Web site: Don Stenberg, Shane Osborn endorse Deb Fischer in U.S. Senate race. Omaha World-Herald. Moring. Roseann. November 28, 2017. November 29, 2017. September 13, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200913090540/https://omaha.com/news/nebraska/don-stenberg-shane-osborn-endorse-deb-fischer-in-u-s/article_3f217f02-d49c-11e7-835a-f3b491ada58e.html. live.
12. Web site: Jane Raybould will challenge Sen. Deb Fischer. Lincoln Journal Star. Walton. Don. August 25, 2017. August 25, 2017. August 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170825091356/http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/federal-politics/jane-raybould-will-challenge-sen-deb-fischer/article_1dcb035a-e91f-5c9d-9960-3125a560cb37.html. live.
13. Web site: MARVIN, LARRY - Candidate overview. FEC.gov. 2017-08-19. 2017-08-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20170819063008/https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S8NE00141/. live.
14. Web site: 2018 Senate Race Ratings for October 26, 2018. The Cook Political Report. March 13, 2021. February 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210205112138/https://cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings/187540. live.
15. Web site: 2018 Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. March 13, 2021. September 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210912235626/https://www.insideelections.com/ratings/senate/2018-senate-ratings-november-1-2018. live.
16. Web site: 2018 Crystal Ball Senate race ratings. Sabato's Crystal Ball. October 11, 2017. October 12, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171012072206/http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2018-senate/. live.
17. Web site: 2018 Senate Power Rankings. . July 10, 2018. July 4, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180704201036/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/midterms-2018.html. live.
18. Web site: Key Races: Senate. July 15, 2018. June 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180614221216/https://edition.cnn.com/election/2018/key-races/senate. live.
19. Web site: Battle for the Senate 2018. July 15, 2018. July 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180709194218/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/2018_elections_senate_map.html. live.
20. Web site: Nebraska Senate Debate | C-SPAN.org. www.c-span.org. 2021-10-13. 2021-01-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20210127234521/https://www.c-span.org/video/?450392-1%2Fnebraska-senate-debate. live.
21. http://www.dfmresearch.com/uploads/Nebraska_STATEWIDE_Survey__2018_Rail.pdf DFM Research
22. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-score/2018/07/12/house-democrats-million-dollar-fundraising-club-276638 Grassroots Targeting (R)
23. https://www.rollcall.com/news/gonzales/vulnerable-deb-fischer-nebraska Meeting Street Research (R-Fischer)
24. https://www.scribd.com/document/364620041/NE-Sen-PPP-D-for-Jane-Raybould-Nov-2017 Public Policy Polling (D-Raybould)
25. Web site: Archived copy . 2021-08-17 . 2021-03-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210310110845/https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/sos.nebraska.gov/files/doc/elections/2018/2018-general-election-official-results.pdf . live .
26. Web site: DRA 2020 . 2024-08-19 . Daves Redistricting.