A yard sign that shows the "Blue Dot" in Omaha on April. 12, 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
OMAHA — Hours before a live forum this month, Democratic candidate Crystal Rhoades did what she has done with her downtime for months. She knocked on voters’ doors in Nebraska’s most populous city.
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Rhoades — and her husband, Ben Onkka — mapped out which doors to knock using a program on their phones — choosing those occupied by people likely to vote in the upcoming Democratic primary.
More often than not, over a few hours with the Examiner, she placed a campaign flyer by the door because no one opened it. But when someone answered, she typically left with confirmation that the person was voting for her or deciding between her and another contender, political action committee co-founder Denise Powell. Some asked Rhoades for a yard sign.
With the 2026 primary election in its closing month, the six Democratic campaigns still competing in one of the most-watched congressional races nationally entered the campaign’s final sprint to see who will be the party’s nominee against Republican Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding, who now has no primary opponent.
The Democratic primary’s three top-polling contenders are running against each other and three lesser-known Democrats. The top trio has different strengths heading into the stretch run: The race’s early favorite, State Sen. John Cavanaugh, has his legislative record and a legacy name in local politics. Powell leads in fundraising, ads and spending by aligned outside groups. Rhoades, the Douglas County District Court clerk, has been on local ballots for years, and her family runs a political consultancy known for its ground game in close races.
All six Nebraska Democrats hope to achieve a party goal that has been elusive for about a decade — to win the Omaha area’s slightly right-leaning but swing 2nd Congressional District.
The political dynasty
Cavanaugh has the most name ID in the race, with a last name that carries weight in Omaha. John is part of a political dynasty. His father, in the late 1970s, held the congressional seat he hopes to win. He and his sister, State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, serve in the statehouse. One of their uncles, Jim, serves on the Douglas County Board.
The frontrunner’s congressional campaign that his team described as “small and scrappy” plans to ramp up phone calls and recruit volunteers to knock on doors. His campaign pointed to Cavanaugh’s “domination” of local labor union endorsements as a way to help with voter outreach, saying they show his Omaha roots.
Cavanaugh has spent much of the first half of the year in the Nebraska Legislature. He and the rest of the body dealt with the state budget shortfall. He tried to push for legislation to protect health care providers who recommend medical cannabis, a proposal he said was “hijacked” by amendments, including a failed proposal to outlaw certain medical care for Nebraska youths with gender dysphoria.
Cavanaugh said he is running to fight against President Donald Trump and “chaos and corruption” in Washington, D.C., while aiming to “lower costs for Nebraskans.” Most of his campaign ads have focused on Trump, his policies and corruption.
Like many frontrunners, Cavanaugh faces a late blitz from primary opponents. Unlike many, he also faces primary election attacks from national Republicans. His top Democratic primary opponents — Rhoades and Powell — have escalated criticisms that his winning the U.S. House seat could jeopardize the “Blue Dot,” abortion rights and the design of the 2nd District, because GOP Gov. Jim Pillen would appoint Cavanaugh’s replacement if he goes to Washington, D.C.
A Powell-aligned SuperPAC, Fight for Nebraska, amplified Rhoades’ criticisms that started last year about the potential risks to Democratic state priorities of Cavanaugh winning if the party does not pick up seats in the Legislature this cycle. The Powell-aligned outside group has spent money on digital ads, television ads and outreach on the issue.
Cavanaugh held a press conference last week asking the Powell-aligned SuperPAC to stop “misleading Nebraska voters” about his record. He also sent a letter to the chair and treasurer of the group demanding that its leaders release any communication with the Powell campaign, hinting at possible coordination.
Cavanaugh also released his own campaign ad featuring State Sens. Ashlei Spivey and George Dungan calling the criticism “lies from the MAGA Republicans about losing the Blue Dot or a woman’s right to choose.” The ad also touched on Cavanaugh’s argument that Democrats could pick up enough seats in the Legislature to offset Cavanaugh’s departure, a claim some have disputed as risky.
Cavanaugh, in recent days, called the “Blue Dot” criticisms a “Republican talking point” because retiring U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb, tweeted about hearing from local Democrats about it.
His Democratic opponents had leveled the criticisms first.
Cavanaugh said the Republican-backed ad blitz targeting him is a sign of his strength, because the GOP group aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson singled him out. Others, including some of his opponents, questioned whether Republicans were meddling in the Democratic primary to boost his campaign and blunt the impact of their recent criticisms.
‘Money matters in campaigns’
Powell has previously said it feels “strange” to her that Cavanaugh called Democratic concerns a “Republican talking point.” She said she was “surprised he didn’t realize how big an issue that was going to be.”
Powell, who co-founded Women Who Run, hosted a mixer with other local Latino candidates earlier this month at Big Grove Brewery in Omaha. National political strategist Luis A. Miranda Jr. joined her. He is the father of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton.” Miranda started “The Miranda Family Rising Stars Fund,” which aims to help “cultivate Latino leadership and representation in all levels of government nationwide.”
“We’re New Yorkers. We don’t vote here,” Miranda Jr. said. “But we know that money matters in campaigns.”
“We did a fundraiser for our rising stars …We raised a chunk of money that she would use here,” Miranda told the Examiner. “We elect a Latina … we elect someone who represents the aspirations of this district … we leave other candidates where they should be in the state Legislature, protecting democratic values.”
Miranda echoed arguments that Cavanaugh’s potential win could be a blow for Democrats if the party does not pick up legislative seats.
Powell has said she is running because she is tired of seeing folks struggle to make ends meet while “Trump makes life harder for working people.” In campaign ads, she describes herself as a “pissed off mom.”
The Powell campaign said it expects to pile on campaign ads as Election Day approaches, and it is holding small-donor fundraising events and other campaign events. Powell has the support of the Nebraska Young Democrats, a group her campaign says is helping her canvass.
The Powell campaign said she is getting recognized more around Omaha. Name recognition has been a hurdle for her as a first-time candidate, as polling from the Cavanaugh and Rhoades campaigns in recent months had placed Cavanaugh and Rhoades in the top slots, with varying gaps between first and second place.
Powell had for months been in third, with a lead over the next pack of Democratic candidates. But some with access to daily tracking polls have said that may be changing with her now on TV and bombarding digital streaming services in the district.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s BOLD PAC, Women Vote, and Elect Democratic Women — groups that have endorsed Powell — funded a recent poll that indicates Powell leads Cavanaugh by seven points among women and people of color in Nebraska’s most diverse House district.
Despite questions from other Democratic campaigns and some Republican operatives about her fundraising, Powell has largely held the campaign cash advantage throughout the race — though Cavanaugh passed her during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Powell leads the top three in fundraising and money spent, having raised nearly $1.5 million and spent more than $1 million. Cavanaugh is next, having raised more than $1 million and spent $689,000. Rhoades has raised nearly $163,000 and has spent nearly $114,000.
Powell lists $458,000 in campaign cash on hand, though other campaigns have emphasized that some of her donations are reserved for the general election, not the primary. Cavanaugh has $345,000. Rhoades listed $49,000.
Powell also has a political cavalry coming, as several Democratic-aligned PACs announced a $1 million paid program to “communicate why Denise is best positioned to win in November” on “both broadcast TV and cable.”
Ground game
Rhoades’ theory of her path to victory is that her campaign is the most “voter-centric,” which she describes as “focused exclusively on listening to the voters.”
Rhoades is banking on her ground game and voter outreach, staples of Rhoades-run campaigns. The lifelong Omahan has a history of helping local Democrats win elections as a political consultant, including a key role in helping John Ewing Jr. become the first Democratic mayor in a dozen years to lead Omaha in 2025.
Rhoades said 2nd District voters connect more at a one-to-one level, that talking to them face-to-face is more effective than ads or junk mail.
“That’s how we’ve always done it … I’ve been winning races in this town for 20 years,” Rhoades said. “I don’t see any real reason to change that now.”
While Rhoades has faced criticism from her own and opposing parties — including for some of her work as clerk — she was elected to a local seat serving in a statewide role as a Democrat on the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the state’s catch-all regulator for topics from emergency telecommunications to pipelines.
She said she plans to continue working the phones and talking to voters face-to-face until Election Day. Rhoades said her approach is the reason other campaigns tried to hire her before she ran.
Rhoades said she is running because she is concerned about Cavanaugh potentially vacating a statehouse seat. She also said she wants Congress to serve the working class.
‘Everything that could go wrong’
The campaign of one of the candidates in the race’s next grouping, Navy veteran Kishla Askins, said she is leaning on her military experience and work in health care down the stretch, while emphasizing her plans for national security, health care, and economic development.
More Democratic candidates are competing this year because of the retirement of Republican Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a five-term congressman and former Air Force brigadier general.
The 2nd District includes all of Douglas and Saunders Counties and a slice of western suburban and rural Sarpy County. The district includes the state’s largest concentration of Democrats but was redistricted to include a larger swath of GOP-leaning rural voters in and around Wahoo.
Republicans are waiting to find out who Harding will face in November. Zach Bannon, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said he feels “everything that could go wrong for national Democrats is going wrong in this district.”
Republicans who have spoken with the Examiner in recent weeks are divided over which Democrat they would rather face, with some mentioning each of the three top candidates. Some said Cavanaugh would be easier because of his record. Some said Powell would be easier to define. And some said Rhoades would struggle to raise money.
Early voting has already started. Nebraska’s primary election is May 12. The general election is Nov. 3.
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
