MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Democrats think one of their best chances of flipping a U.S. House seat is in Omaha. Nebraska has a history as a red state, but there are enough Democrats and independent voters in its 2nd Congressional District to be influential. First, though, Democrats need to have a nominee. Hours after polls closed on Tuesday, AP results show the Democratic primary was too close to call. Nebraska Public Media's Molly Ashford reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting) Denise. Denise. Denise. Denise. Denise.
MOLLY ASHFORD, BYLINE: Democratic candidate Denise Powell spoke to her supporters just before midnight.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DENISE POWELL: There are still some votes outstanding. We want this whole democratic process to work its way through, but we feel so good.
ASHFORD: Her main opponent, Nebraska state Senator John Cavanaugh, addressed his watch party earlier in the evening. At that point, he was still ahead.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOHN CAVANAUGH: We're in the lead because of the hard work of the people in this room. We're in the lead because we work for every single vote.
ASHFORD: But as the race narrowed and late results gave Powell an edge, the party ended without Cavanaugh coming out again. The Democratic primary has been contentious for weeks as millions of dollars in outside money has poured into the primary, mainly in support of Powell, who started and ran a pack to elect female candidates in Nebraska prior to her congressional run. That money was largely spent on ads claiming that Cavanaugh leaving the statehouse for Washington could jeopardize what's known as Nebraska's blue dot. Nebraska is one of the only states that does not award presidential electoral votes as winner takes all, which means two years ago, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris won a single electoral vote in the district.
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face Republican candidate and Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding in the general election. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen threw his support behind Harding on Tuesday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JIM PILLEN: He'll be an extraordinary representative for Nebraska and stand up for our values and who we are.
ASHFORD: Harding also has the endorsement of President Trump.
For NPR News, I'm Molly Ashford in Omaha.
(SOUNDBITE OF SINITUS TEMPO'S "PHOENIX") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
