There are some big questions that Nebraska voters will have the chance to answer by filling out their primary ballots Tuesday.
Which Democrat will emerge from the crowded and expensive race for the nomination in the 2nd Congressional District?
Will an anti-abortion pastor from Paxton be the Democrats' nominee for the U.S. Senate race?
Can a skeptic who questions the integrity of our election systems beat a two-term incumbent who has the backing of nearly every Republican elected to statewide office or the Legislature?
And which legislative seats may be viable for a flip between parties?
Tuesday is Nebraska's primary election day, and voters will decide who will be on their ballots in November's general election. Races include federal, statewide, legislative and local offices.
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Polls in the Central time zone open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Check Nebraska's voter information website for registration status and poll location.
For the full list of races, visit the World-Herald's list of primary elections.
Here's a deeper look at some key races.
CD2
Omaha-area nonpartisans, Republicans, Democrats and non-voters who watch TV or videos online have probably seen the ads about the 2nd Congressional District's Democratic primary.
That race will have seven names on the ballot: Evangelos Argyrakis, Kishla Askins, John Cavanaugh, James Leuschen, Denise Powell, Crystal Rhoades and Melanie Williams.
Powell, a political action committee founder, and Cavanaugh, a state lawmaker, are dominating the airwaves. Each campaign has bought ads to promote their respective candidates but also call out the other. Both say they will stand up to President Donald Trump and fight for working people.
Powell has said Cavanaugh vacating his seat in the Legislature could tilt the balance of power in the Legislature to allow Republicans to enact stricter abortion laws and make Nebraska winner-take-all in presidential elections.
Cavanaugh said he's confident in Democratic candidates to flip legislative seats this year. He also points out Republicans already have the supermajority they need to pass controversial policy, but key GOP swing votes stave off those bills.
Cavanaugh has fought back by calling out the millions in financial support that Powell has received from super PACs that are mostly not in Nebraska. PACs have poured millions into advertising in support of Powell and opposition of Cavanaugh.
He calls it "dark money" and has said her campaign is backed by special interests that Powell pledged not to take money from, namely the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Democratic Majority for Israel. Powell's campaign has criticized the ads, saying she has not taken money from AIPAC. DMFI did buy less than $2,000 in TV ads against Cavanaugh in Omaha, but the group said it hasn't contributed to any candidates.
Askins, a Navy veteran and former federal official, is also airing TV ads and has decried policy being sidelined in the campaign.
Rhoades, the Douglas County District Court clerk, emphasizes voter contact over money or ads. She said she's reached out to about 170,000 voters and touts her years holding elected office locally.
Williams, a Democratic Socialist and activist, started her campaign much later than the field and has emphasized social media to get her message out.
Argyrakis, a disbarred attorney, has told The World-Herald his campaign is active, thought he thinks the field should support Cavanaugh. Leuschen, an economic policy expert, has suspended his campaign.
Ricketts vs. Osborn vs. ...
While the CD2 race is the most hyped, it's not the weirdest one on the Democratic ballot.
That's certainly the race for the party nomination in the U.S. Senate race.
The state party chose to sit out this race to make way for independent candidate Dan Osborn to challenge U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, but the primary ballot won't reflect that.
Democratic voters will be asked to pick between two people they may never have heard of before: Bill Forbes, a pro-life activist pastor from Paxton who voted three times for Trump, and Cindy Burbank, who previously said she wants to win the primary to drop out and make way for Osborn.
Democrats had been eyeing Forbes prior to the deadline to join the primary. They saved screenshots of his social media and recordings of his sermons before he could delete them, in case he decided to join the race.
Forbes is a registered Democrat and has produced campaign messaging that says he'll stand up to Trump, but the party says he's a far-right operative, possibly even a Ricketts plant, who is trying to play spoiler and ensure a Ricketts victory. The senator's campaign denies any dealings with Forbes.
The state party has a policy not to endorse in primaries, but it's firmly telling voters to choose Burbank over Forbes.
Referendum on election security?
Overall, the GOP primary ballot is more low-key. Incumbents like Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen are at the top of the ticket and have far more money and name-recognition than their respective opponents.
Attorney General Mike Hilgers, Auditor Mike Foley and Treasurer Joey Spellerberg are not facing primary opponents. Omaha City Council Vice President Brinker Harding is the party nominee in the 2nd Congressional District, setting up a hot general election race with whoever emerges from the Democrats' side.
The main contested race appears to be the one for the party's nomination for secretary of state.
The incumbent Bob Evnen is seeking a third term and running on his track record. He's called Nebraska's system for elections the gold standard.
Scott Petersen is in his first campaign and said Evnen needs to build faith among election skeptics. He himself says has election integrity concerns tied to the technology used in balloting and the continued federal investigations of election fraud in other states.
There's no evidence of widespread fraud or miscounting in Nebraska. Petersen said that may be because Evnen has not looked hard enough.
Petersen is a former Douglas County Republican Party chair and has worked behind the scenes for conservative candidates for about a decade. While Evnen got endorsements from most of the top Republican officials in the state prior to Petersen joining, Petersen has racked up endorsements from county parties.
Petersen launched his campaign in February and has already raised more than $114,000. Evnen this year has raised about $147,000. But as an incumbent, he's carried over cash from previous years. As of recent reports, he has $229,000 in cash on hand and has spent more than $245,000 on this reelection campaign.
Possible flips in the Legislature
Legislative races are nonpartisan, so each primary functions to narrow the field down to two candidates in the general election. The results can also indicate who the front-runner is in a race or signal that a district may be close to a flip.
In the Omaha area, districts 4, 6, 10, 16 and 36 have two candidates who will both advance.
Districts 8, 12, 14, 18 and 20 each have three candidates, meaning the third-place candidate in each race will not advance to the general election.
District 8's lawmaker is the term-limited Sen. Megan Hunt, a progressive nonpartisan. Democrats Erin Feichtinger and Josh Livingston and nonpartisan Terry Brewer are vying to replace her.
District 12's Sen. Merv Riepe, a Republican and notable swing vote in the Legislature, is facing challenges from Democrats Christy Knorr and Thomas Kastrup. Robin Richards, a Democrat, is running a write-in campaign for the seat.
District 14's lawmaker is Speaker John Arch, who is term-limited. The candidates in the district are Republicans Bill Bowes and Jay Jackson and Democrat SuAnn Witt.
District 18 features three candidates seeking to replace Sen. Christy Armendariz, who did not seek reelection after her first term. The race has been one of the most heated contests for Legislature. Democrat Jess Goldoni was the target of an ad campaign that called her both MAGA and woke. She thinks the effort boosted her name recognition. Republican Derek Schwartz has called out Republican Taylor Royal over his ads that claim Schwartz didn't vote in 2016 and doesn't support Trump. Schwartz said he lived in Iowa at the time and caucused for Trump.
District 20 Sen. John Fredrickson is seeking reelection. The Democrat is facing Republicans Dan Witt and Chris Anderson.
