OMAHA — Freshly minted Democratic U.S. House nominee Denise Powell, who co-founded a group that coached local women how to run for office, spent Thursday executing a lesson on how to pivot from a bruising primary to the general election.
The business and nonprofit consultant in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District started her pitch with a nod to the supporters of the candidates she bested, including longtime supporters of a major political family in Omaha politics.
She acknowledged her role in a “fiery” primary unusual for Nebraska Democrats and said she would give State Sen. John Cavanaugh and his family “their space” to wait for Friday’s count of last-minute-returned early voting ballots.
“It was fiery because so many people see the opportunity and wanted to be part of the change,” Powell said. “And every single person who was in this race was in it for the right reasons. They’re in it because they want to bring about change.”
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The mother of two said she called reporters to a baseball field in east-central Omaha’s Memorial Park because she was watching her son play at Memorial Little League Wednesday when she learned the Associated Press had called the race for her.
Powell then shared the contours of her general election bid, saying she looked forward to focusing the race on helping Congress take small and large steps toward making modern American life more affordable — from groceries to health care.
Among several steps she said she wants Congress to take is reasserting its constitutional authority over tariffs on trade and pulling that authority back from any president, including and especially from President Donald Trump.
She said she wants to help Congress find its ability to reclaim its traditional role of being the branch of American government that declares war and pull back from the destruction and chaos she says Trump’s war against Iran caused at home and abroad.
And she’d like to restore small business loan programs and other federal programs she says the Trump administration has pulled back from that matter to entrepreneurs. She founded her firm training business and nonprofit clients on communications.
“It is costing Americans billions of dollars … while people here are going hungry,” Powell said. “I think we need to put the brakes on this president. We are seeing him blow up our deficit, and this is something … Republicans care about a lot.”
She briefly acknowledged her joy at being the first Latina to headline a major party congressional race in Nebraska, and she said it was time for Democrats, Republicans and nonpartisans to “unify” against politicians that don’t listen.
She said she expects a spirited general election race with GOP nominee Brinker Harding, an Omaha City Council member. Harding, in two statements and social media posts, has echoed some of Cavanaugh’s attacks that called her “Dark Money Denise.”
Harding, because he ran unopposed, kicked off his general election campaign on Election Day. He told a ballroom full of Republicans at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Tuesday that he needed their energy to help him replace retiring GOP U.S. Rep. Don Bacon.
The ex-staffer for former U.S. Rep. Hal Daub, R-Neb., departed slightly from Bacon, who aimed squarely at the independent-minded voters in the middle who often decide 2nd District races. Harding instead fed the GOP crowd red meat and said he needs to excite Republicans to win.
He said the choice facing 2nd District voters is whether Omaha wants to become Zohran Mamdani’s New York or Gavin Newsom’s California. He emphasized his opposition to surgeries for minors who are trans and what he called men playing in women’s sports.
“It’s not about Republican or Democrat,” Harding said. “It’s not about MAGA [Make America Great Again] or TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome]. This November’s election is about normal versus crazy. And it’s about common sense versus insanity.”
On Thursday, Harding called Powell an “out-of-state and out-of-touch progressive activist” who had spent the primary campaign giving outside groups specific instructions on how to spend money to hurt her Democratic opponents and help her bid.
“Now, on the backs of nearly $6 million in Dark Money Dollars buying her primary victory over John Cavanaugh, Denise wants to pivot and pretend she cares about affordability and pocketbook issues,” Harding tweeted after she declared victory.
Powell, asked about the ad spending and label from Harding and Cavanaugh, said voters appreciate that much of her support comes from people and groups who want more women, Latinas and people who support reproductive rights in Congress.
She noted the National Republican Congressional Committee’s push to post a digital advertisement against her within minutes of the AP calling the race for her Wednesday evening. She said her team would be ready and willing to fight back.
Powell, standing in the two-inch grass and weeds of a Little League outfield, said she would not let others define her and that she plans to get out and tell people who she really is and make sure people know she’s in the race to help.
“At the end of the day, people don’t care about politics and all of that crap,” Powell said. “They just care about their survival, and there are families in this district who don’t know that they’re gonna make it to the end of the month.”
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
