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Omaha, Nebraska, has long been known as a blue dot in a red, conservative state. But for over a decade, there's been a Republican mayor at the helm, the first woman to hold that position. Now, in what some are calling an upset, Nebraska's largest city has elected a Democrat, the city's first Black mayor elect. Kassidy Arena from Nebraska Public Media reports.
KASSIDY ARENA, BYLINE: It was an exciting moment for the small crowd gathered at John Ewing Jr.'s election party when the results showed the five-term county official had won about 56% of the vote to become the city's first elected Black mayor. The most excited person was Ewing himself.
JOHN EWING JR: I have prepared for this, really, all of my adult life with my public service. And I hoped that would carry the day with the voters, that they would say we know this guy - we've watched him grow up in our community as a leader. And I think that really made a difference with the voters.
ARENA: Republican Jean Stothert had been hoping for a fourth term. She had served as Omaha's mayor since 2013 and was the first woman to hold the position. Although there are around 19,000 more Omaha voters registered as Democrats than Republicans, for many, her loss came as a surprise. Stothert gave her concession speech about an hour after polls closed.
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JEAN STOTHERT: Tonight, I am very proud. And I'm grateful, and I'm hopeful. I am hopeful that the momentum that we have created will continue.
ARENA: The Nebraska Republican Party released a statement following the election results saying the loss has prompted them to rethink how they reach voters. Randall Adkins is a professor of political science at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He says, considering this was an off year for elections, the 30% turnout was somewhat expected. What was less expected, perhaps, was how heated the campaigns became. Stothert ran anti-trans television ads saying Ewing supported boys in girls' bathrooms and sports, while Ewing's team sent out flyers criticizing Stothert, tying her campaign to President Trump's agenda. Despite the political tension, Adkins says the election results simply show how Democrats in Omaha have become much more active.
RANDALL ADKINS: We see Democrats are really competitive in this district. So they're campaigning, they're collecting data, they're raising money. And while they've done that at the presidential level and the congressional level, there is a carryover effect for other races.
ARENA: Mayor-elect John Ewing Jr. will start his term in June. Ewing says he plans to get to work right away. He says he'll focus on job creation, affordable housing and expanding Omaha's urban core.
For NPR News, I'm Kassidy Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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