OMAHA — The competitive race to be the Democratic nominee for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District has campaigns trading political attacks as voters make their final decision before Tuesday’s primary election.
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The Examiner talked with a handful of Omaha-area voters about their opinions of the six Democratic candidates vying to face presumptive Republican nominee Brinker Harding, who has no challenger. State Sen. John Cavanaugh, political action committee co-founder Denise Powell and Douglas County District Court Clerk Crystal Rhoades, are the front-runners in the race, which also includes Navy veteran Kishla Askins, Democratic Socialist Melanie Williams and former immigration attorney Evangelos Argyrakis.
Voters discussed their preferences, issues that matter to them, and the importance they place on winning the general election in a seat where five-term U.S. Rep. Don Bacon will retire at the end of his term in January 2027. Among the topics voters highlighted were the oft-advertised concern about Cavanaugh leaving the statehouse if elected, the need to find the best candidate to win the general election, and campaign ads funded by supporters of Powell.
Ed Fox, a 47-year-old undecided voter from Omaha, said he likely won’t know whether he’s going to vote for Cavanaugh or Powell until he steps into the booth. Fox said for him, the biggest issue besides Democrats winning the second district is having a nominee to be “more prepared and run a better campaign than has been run in the last four attempts to win this district.”
“I think that one of John’s strengths is … I believe he has a lawyer’s mind and the ability to take on the Trump administration in a very powerful way,” Fox told the Examiner.
Cavanaugh, an attorney and former Douglas County public defender, has been in the legislature since 2021. In the most recent legislative sessions, he has spent much of his time arguing against efforts by the GOP majority in the officially nonpartisan Legislature to resist ballot measures passed by Nebraska voters, including new laws requiring paid sick leave, raising the minimum wage, repealing school vouchers and legalizing medical marijuana.
Fox lives in Cavanaugh’s legislative district. He said he hesitates to vote for Cavanaugh because of the possibility of being represented in the Nebraska Legislature by a Republican appointed by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen.
State Republicans already have a supermajority in the state legislature, but there are some Republicans who sided with the Democrat-aligned lawmakers on some controversial issues, such as efforts to alter how Nebraska awards Electoral College votes for president and abortion.
“It gives me some hesitation thinking about whether John could have done things with his seat, for example resigning before the deadline to allow for a special election, as opposed to allowing Governor Pillen to appoint his replacement,” Fox said. “I also think John has been unfairly treated through the primary … especially some of the other candidates in the race have been somewhat disingenuous.”
Powell and Rhoades have criticized Cavanaugh about the risks to some legislative filibusters of controversial legislative changes, suggesting his winning the House seat could jeopardize the “Blue Dot” in presidential politics, abortion rights and the future design of the 2nd District. Cavanaugh has previously called those criticisms a “Republican talking point” and “bad faith attack” that are being parroted by “dark money PACs.” Rhodes brought it up months before Powell-aligned groups started advertising and amplifying the concern.
Fox said he hesitated to support Powell because of her fundraising style and has questioned whether it would be “healthy” for the district’s democratic process in the long term. Powell has been leading in fundraising for most of the race. She has support from multiple outside groups, PACs, that have spent money to boost her and attack Cavanaugh in the run-up to the primary election.
Other 2nd District Democratic primary voters told the Omaha World-Herald that they were aware of the concerns raised with Cavanaugh’s potential election. None said it would be the leading factor in how they cast their ballot.
Another voter, Amelia Rosser, who lives in Cavanaugh’s legislative district in central Omaha, said she “doesn’t like the position that Democratic voters are put in.” She said she is reluctant to be represented by a Republican in the legislature, in a district that supported Cavanaugh over a Republican in 2024 by roughly 41 percentage points. She also said she’s not happy with what she described as indecisive answers Powell has given to questions about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Rosser, the 39-year-old owner of an Omaha plant nursery, said, “It kind of gives an answer to me as to like why there’s never been really good forward momentum with Democrats in Omaha, because people wanted to look out for their own political futures.”
Rosser said Americans are “living under fascism” at the federal level. Rosser said she plans to vote for Williams because she is the only “anti-genocide and pro-Palestine” candidate.
Nora Wessel, a 17-year-old first-time voter from Omaha, said in early April she was voting for Powell because she had been “so involved in the front lines of Nebraska politics for many years.”
Powell was a co-founder of the Women Who Run PAC, which aims to get more women elected, primarily by training them how to run for office. Powell also has helped with organizing recent ballot initiatives seeking to codify the right to an abortion, which failed, and to repeal a publicly funded voucher program for private K-12 schools, which succeeded. Wessel said Powell won her over because she attended the launch party for a group called “NEw Voices,” which shows Powell “valued youth voices and youth civic engagement.”
“I think that the fact that she doesn’t have experience makes her a better candidate…I think a lot of times we see very similar people in government, and I think that it’s really important to have diversity,” Wessel said.
Dana Blakely, a 55-year-old midtown Omaha resident, said she is voting for Rhoades because she is a “fighter,” pointing to her public service in elected office.
Blakely, a member of Westside Community Schools’ board of education, said the U.S. has a president who’s “enriching himself hand over fist” and a Congress that has “abandoned its post.”
“I want a person who not only understands what punches are coming and when, but who’s not afraid to counter punch,” Blakeley said.
Fernando Ramirez, 30, moved to Omaha in 2023. Ramirez said he doesn’t consider himself a “political person.” He didn’t vote in the 2024 presidential election because he felt like he was choosing between “shooting myself in the foot and shooting myself in the head.”
Speaking with the Examiner in early April, Ramirez said he didn’t have strong opinions about the candidates but wanted to get to know them and learn about their policies. In a follow-up text message earlier this week, Ramirez said he still hasn’t decided.
“I just feel like most Americans are going just to pick a party just because, like somebody else did, or because they should…without actually being educated on where those people stand,” Ramirez said.
Early voting for Nebraska’s May 12 primary election has already started. The general election is Nov. 3.
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
