Nebraska

The Nebraska GOP is rejecting all Republican congressional incumbents in Tuesday's primary election

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2024

The Nebraska GOP is rejecting all Republican congressional incumbents in Tuesday's primary election

OMAHA, Neb. — In one of the most closely watched congressional races this year, U.S. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska is looking to defeat a fellow Republican in Tuesday’s primary election in his quest for reelection. He’ll have to do it without the support of the state Republican Party, which has endorsed his primary challenger.

Bacon, whose district includes the state’s largest city of Omaha, isn’t the only one being snubbed. The Nebraska GOP, which was taken over by those loyal to former President Donald Trump during a contentious state convention in 2022, has refused to endorse any of the Republican incumbents who hold all five of the state’s congressional seats.

The state party has endorsed primary challengers to U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents the state’s vast rural 3rd Congressional District. And it has declined to issue endorsements in the primary races of U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer and Rep. Mike Flood, who represents the 1st Congressional District that includes the state capital of Lincoln. Both Fischer and Flood face primary challengers who entered those races after the Nebraska GOP announced its endorsement decision in January.

It’s an oddity that lays bare the bitter divide between Trump loyalists who control the Nebraska GOP, as well as several county Republican parties, and the more establishment-type Republicans who were previously at the helm, said John Hibbing, a longtime University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science professor.

“It’s not a good look,” Hibbing said. “You’d like the faces of your party, who would be your elected representatives, and the state party leaders to be on the same page.”

It’s even more perplexing when considering the voting records and campaign rhetoric of the incumbents, he said.

“I think they’re probably wondering: ‘What else can we do?’” Hibbing said. “These are solidly conservative individuals.”

Nowhere is the state party’s rejection more likely to leave a mark than in Bacon’s race. The incumbent faces a challenge from Dan Frei, who bills himself as to the right of Bacon. Frei previously ran for the seat in 2014 and came close to besting then-Rep. Lee Terry in the Republican primary.

Bacon is one of 16 Republican members of Congress representing districts that Democrat Joe Biden carried in 2020.

Nebraska eschewed a winner-take-all system of awarding presidential electoral votes more than 30 years ago and instead allows its electoral votes tied to its three congressional districts to be split. Bacon’s district has seen its elector vote go to a Democratic presidential candidate twice — to Barack Obama in 2008 and to Biden in 2020.

After the state GOP endorsed Frei, Bacon defended his record as “a common-sense conservative who is able to reach across the aisle and find areas of consensus.”

Bacon has said that “it’s sad to see the division in the party,” Danielle Jensen, communications director of the Bacon campaign, said Monday. “I can tell you, he does not think this is going to negatively affect the campaign.”

The campaigns of Fischer, Flood, Ricketts and Smith did not immediately response to messages seeking comment.

The state party said in an email Monday it didn’t endorse any of the Republican incumbents because they didn’t ask. The challengers who got the party’s endorsement did ask, and a vote of the more than 160 elected governing body members of the party gave them that endorsement, said Todd Watson, political director of the state GOP.

Watson denied that the move was solely about Trump, but said most Nebraska Republicans are fed up with what they see as attacks on Trump, the state party’s new direction and “our way of life.”

“What we believe in is the Constitution, conservative principles, and God,” he said.

A former state Republican Party official, Kerry Winterer, excoriated the state party in an opinion piece published in the Nebraska Examiner last week, saying the party’s primary purpose is to elect Republicans but that it has instead become bound solely to Trump.

“A political party bound to one candidate cannot possibly fulfill its purpose of electing candidates that share a common political philosophy,” Winterer wrote.

Watson countered that “the old leadership” of the state GOP has it wrong.

“Objectives of the party are achieved in our mind when we elect constitutional and platform Republicans to office,” he said. “Electing Republicans that are not committed to the objective of the party … to defend the Constitution and advance our principles as stated in our written platform and plans have been a real problem for this party and country.”

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Nebraska

Nebraska has two players honored by the Big Ten Conference on Thursday

Published

2 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska has two players honored by the Big Ten Conference on Thursday

A pair of Nebraska basketball players were honored by the Big Ten Conference on Thursday. Rienk Mast and Callin Hake were chosen as Nebraska’s Outstanding Sportsmanship winners.

The Big Ten honored 36 players with the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award for the 2025-26 year. One member of each varsity sports team is nominated, and two winners are selected from each institution.

Mast averaged 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 2025-26 and helped Nebraska to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. He is working out with the Indiana Pacers during the NBA Summer League.

Hake averaged 7.2 points, 3.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while drawing a single-season school-record 33 charges. She is also the first Husker to be a two-time Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winner across all sports after earning her first award in 2024-25.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

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Nebraska

Beautiful Weather Ahead for Greater Nebraska But Heat Building Later in the Week

Published

12 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Press Room

Beautiful Weather Ahead for Greater Nebraska But Heat Building Later in the Week

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) – Get ready for a stretch of absolutely gorgeous weather to kick off your weekend but keep an eye on the heat building as we head into next week.

This Weekend: Perfect Conditions

Saturday and Sunday are shaping up to be nearly identical — sunny skies with highs climbing to around 89 and 90 degrees respectively. A light south southeast breeze at 5 to 10 mph will keep things comfortable, though gusts could reach 20 mph at times. Overnight lows will dip to the low 60s, making for pleasant sleeping weather.

Highs in the 80s and 90s to start the weekend.(Justin Craft)

This is ideal weather for outdoor plans. Whether you’re heading to a summer event, spending time at the lake, or just enjoying time outside, you won’t want to miss it.

Early Next Week: Heat Turns Up

Starting Monday, temperatures begin a steady climb. Highs will reach 91 degrees Monday, then 91 again Tuesday before pushing toward 92 on Wednesday. By Thursday and Friday, we’re looking at highs near 94 to 95 degrees.

Near normal temperature trend coming up through mid-July with 80s and 90s.(Justin Craft)

The good news? Skies remain sunny throughout, and humidity levels should stay relatively manageable. The breeze will be light, so it won’t feel quite as intense as it could.

A stretch of sunny skies and hot temperatures through next Friday.(Justin Craft)

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Nebraska

Nebraska abortions rose nearly 8% in 2025, mostly due to influx of Iowa patients

Published

22 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska abortions rose nearly 8% in 2025, mostly due to influx of Iowa patients

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – The number of abortions performed in Nebraska rose 7.8% in 2025 as the dust begins to settle on some of the state’s — and neighboring states’ — newer abortion restrictions.

According to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), at least 2,698 abortions were performed in Nebraska in 2025. That’s 197 more than 2024’s total of 2,501 abortions in one year.

Nebraska’s abortion rate has remained relatively consistent over the last two decades, between 1,900 and 2,800 procedures performed each year. However, 2,698 is the highest the state has reached since 2008, and is the third year in a row that the number of abortions performed has increased from the previous year.

The steady increase coincides with increased abortion restrictions being implemented in Nebraska and throughout the nation in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

In 2023, the Nebraska Legislature passed legislation restricting access to abortion from the previous 20 weeks, to 12 weeks gestation. The following year, voters approved language added to the state Constitution that bans most abortions after the first trimester.

Andi Curry Grubb, executive director of Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS), said this tracks with what Planned Parenthood officials have been seeing throughout the Midwest. Though she didn’t have exact numbers for the first half of 2026, she said the pace seems to be consistent with what she saw in 2025.

Notably, the number of abortions performed on Nebraska residents actually dropped from 2,054 in 2024 to 1,968 in 2025. The overall increase comes from an influx of out-of-state patients traveling to Nebraska for abortions, most of them from Iowa.

In 2023, the Iowa Legislature approved legislation banning abortion after cardiac activity is detected, around six weeks gestation. The law went into effect in June 2024.

Giselle Barajas, senior communications specialist for PPNCS, said Planned Parenthood has seen a 220% increase in Iowa patients coming to Nebraska between 2023 and 2025. The number nearly doubled between the last year of data, growing from 358 Iowans reported in 2024 to 635 in 2025.

Nate Grasz, executive director of the Nebraska Family Alliance — a lobbying group that has supported increased abortion restrictions — said the increase in Iowa patients correlates to the state’s stricter abortion laws.

“We haven’t made as much progress,” Grasz said of Nebraska’s abortion policies.

Grasz noted there are fewer places in Iowa for people to seek abortions, saying that Planned Parenthood had closed some of its clinics. Barajas said Planned Parenthood does plan to close its Iowa City Health Center at the end of the month, but noted they still have a facility in Des Moines in operation.

Grasz said there are still serious gaps in Nebraska’s laws regarding abortion. He described the DHHS statistics as a “tragic report,” saying that every one of the 2,698 abortions reported represents a baby that went unprotected and a woman who went unaided.

Grasz highlighted that medication-induced abortions also are on the rise in Nebraska, according to the report. Medication abortions made up 83% of all abortions performed in 2025, compared to about 80% in 2024.

Grasz said Legislative Bill 512, proposed by State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, would have been an important piece of ensuring the safety of medication abortions. The bill would have imposed additional steps before a patient could be prescribed an abortion pill, but the bill did not make it past the first round of floor debate.

Nebraska abortions by year

2008: 2,813

2009: 2,551

2010: 2,464