Nebraska primary: New polling for possible Senate battle; voters weigh in on races

Nebraska voters are headed to the polls Tuesday for the 2026 midterm primary elections. If you're going, being prepared makes the process much easier. 

Polling stations will be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. In-person voters must present a valid ID with their photo and name. The deadline to return an early voting ballot to an election commission office or drop box is also 8 p.m.

To find your polling place and for other information Douglas County voters should go online to www.votedouglascounty-ne.gov or call 402-444-8683 (VOTE). Sarpy County voters can go to www.sarpy.gov/659/polling-place-information or call 402-593-2167.

The World-Herald previously reviewed the Douglas County ballot and looked at some of the most interesting races across Nebraska.

Live updates below:

Democratic-aligned poll shows Dan Osborn leading Pete Ricketts in Senate race

5:45 p.m. — A new poll from Democratic-aligned firm Tavern Research shows independent Dan Osborn leading GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts by 5 percentage points in a general election matchup.

The poll, conducted May 8 to 11, showed Osborn with 47% support and Ricketts, a former two-term governor, with 42%. It found 12% of voters were undecided.

The survey was commissioned by Contours Inc., a nonprofit that donated $150,000 last year to the Working Class Heroes Fund, the fundraising arm of a PAC founded by Osborn.

Tavern, founded in 2024, describes itself as a firm that “combines AI-powered ad production, polling and message testing in one integrated system.”

The Osborn-Ricketts survey was released Monday, a day before Nebraska’s primary election for state and federal offices.

Ricketts faced a field of lesser-known candidates in the GOP primary. Two candidates were on the Democratic primary ballot even though the state Democratic party is supporting Osborn.

There has been no public, nonpartisan polling so far in the race. Polls commissioned by the Osborn campaign and a Democratic-aligned polling firm have found the race in a statistical dead heat, with Ricketts leading Osborn by 1 percentage point.

The Tavern Research poll is the first this cycle to show Osborn, an Omaha mechanic and former union leader, with an outright lead.

— Ben Doody

Voting a 'responsibility of American citizens'

3:40 p.m. — Greg and Stacy Kroeger voted at Millard Alliance Church and said they always vote in any election they can.

“Voting is what makes us the nation that we are,” Greg Kroeger said. Stacy Kroeger added, “I always vote because of everything women went through to get the right to vote.” She instilled that same value in her daughters and called voting a “responsibility of American citizens.”

The Kroegers voted in the Republican primary and said they sit down together before going to the polls and read about each race and candidate to make the best decisions.

“We want to be informed voters not just voters,” Stacy Kroeger said with a laugh.

— Josh Reyes

Another Millard voter rides 'the blue wave'

3:15 p.m. — Becky Litke was voter 100 at 3 p.m. at Millard Alliance Church along the southern edge of Douglas County. She supports Democrats and said, “I’m definitely on the blue wave.” But the race that got her most excited to get out to the polls Tuesday was a local office: Douglas County treasurer.

She’s followed Tony Vargas and was eager to support him. Vargas and Christian Espinosa Torres are facing off in the Democratic primary for the office. Republicans did not run a candidate for county treasurer.

Litke is also watching federal races. She supports Dan Osborn, an independent, for U.S. Senate and State Sen. John Cavanaugh for the 2nd District Congressional seat.

— Josh Reyes

Douglas County primary off to smooth start despite 'normal hiccups'

11:55 p.m. — Election day for the midterm primary in Douglas County got off to a smooth start Tuesday with the exception of a few "normal hiccups."

"We had some of the normal hiccups this morning, some poll workers not being able to show up, but we have people on standby who are able to fill that in," Douglas County Election Commissioner Danielle Jensen said. "As of yesterday, we still had 20,500 outstanding by mail ballots that had not been returned. We're processing the ones that were turned in last night."

Election workers are forecasting about a 35% turnout by voters, a slight increase over the midterm primary election of 2022, Jensen said.

A few tallies from the field

Reporters visiting precincts in Douglas and Sarpy counties have returned with some early moment-in-time stats for voters casting ballots at precincts:

• 11:20 a.m. — Approximately 20 people had voted in-person in the Holy Name Catholic Church parish hall at Fontenelle Boulevard and Maple Street. A Douglas County Election Commission district supervisor said that turnout was typical by that time at the seven North Omaha precincts he oversees. Amid lingering smells of fish from the church’s famous fish fries held during Lent, the district supervisor called the turnout to that point “not good.”
• 10:45 a.m. — Wakonda Elementary School at 49th and Curtis Streets reported 31 voters so far.
• 9:45 a.m. — Sarpy County Precincts 55 and 57, at Gretna's Palisades and Cedar Hollow elementary schools, both had about 35 ballots cast by 9:45 a.m.

— Staff reports

Denise Powell votes for herself, says campaign has ‘momentum’

11:05 a.m. — Denise Powell and her husband Hobson Powell arrived at about 8:30 a.m. at the Omaha Community Playhouse, where both Powells said they voted for Denise, who’s a first-time candidate.

Powell campaign staffers and volunteers wore Powell t-shirts and held campaign sides on the road adjacent to the parking lot.

Before heading into the building, Powell told The World-Herald it would be “really weird” to get to cast a vote for herself for the first time. She said she was also looking forward to voting for Democrats up and down the ballot, including Lynne Walz, who’s running for governor.

Asked by The World-Herald how she viewed her campaign’s positioning, Powell said the campaign felt “really good.”

“I think the momentum has felt strong,” she said. “I think the response at the doors has felt good. So anecdotally, we’re going into tonight feeling really, really good, but there’s good options on the ballot, so fingers crossed. We’ve done all we can. I’m really proud of the campaign that we’ve run, and we’ll see whether it’s enough.”

Powell, who’s the daughter of Cuban and Chilean immigrants, told reporters after she’d voted that she was energized by the prospect of being the first person of color elected to a federal office in Nebraska.

— Ben Doody

Pete Ricketts votes for a Democrat — his wife — and says Dan Osborn is interfering with election

10:45 a.m. — Among the Nebraskans voting not long after polls opened Tuesday was Sen. Pete Ricketts, who cast his ballot at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

After about a decade in the state’s highest offices, including eight years as governor, Ricketts is pretty recognizable. But that didn’t get him a pass with poll-workers.

“You still need your ID,” one poll-worker joked as Ricketts approached and reached into his back pocket. “I don’t care who you are.”

The senator said he would follow the rules, presented his ID and collected his ballot.

Speaking to reporters outside the polling place, he encouraged fellow Nebraskans to exercise their right to vote.

Ricketts also said Osborn is "interfering" in the election by running as an independent when the Democratic Party — and the candidate officially backed by the party — has supported his campaign.

Also on the ballot this cycle is Susanne Shore, his wife and Nebraska’s former first lady, who is running for the NU Board of Regents. Because the race is nonpartisan, he was able to vote for Shore, a Democrat who has supported Democrats in other races.

“That’s the first Democrat I can remember voting for in a while,” he said.

— Julie Anderson

Nebraska's primary election is Tuesday. Our coverage so far