In the quiet arithmetic of a democracy, Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, the Omaha-centered seat long anchored in Republican hands, has passed to Democrat Denise Powell, a political organizer who defeated Omaha City Council member Brinker Harding. The seat opened when Representative Don Bacon, a Republican who had chosen to step away after his long tenure, declined another term. The result, as CBS News projected it, reflects a district that has leaned red in its House races while showing a more divided loyalty in presidential contests, and it reminds us that the places which look settled
Democrat Denise Powell Flips Nebraska's 2nd District Seat Vacated by Retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon
A seat Republicans held for all but two of thirty years has changed hands.
Mark
Why does a single House seat in Omaha get this much attention?
Mimi
Partly because it was open. Don Bacon announced last year he wouldn't run again, and Democrats saw a prime chance to flip it.
Mark
And it did flip. Who won?
Mimi
Denise Powell, a political organizer, beat Republican Brinker Harding, who sits on the Omaha City Council. That's per a CBS News projection.
Luke
Worth noting that it's a projection. The reporting here is that CBS projected the result; it doesn't give vote totals or a margin.
Mark
What's the history of the district?
Mimi
Republicans have held it for all but two years in three decades, yet it voted for a Democrat in three of the last five presidential elections.
Mark
So it's split in its habits?
Mimi
Right, and Nebraska splits its electoral votes by district, so this one district can matter in a tight presidential race.
Luke
Careful about reading too much into that. The source says the vote could matter in a close race; it doesn't say what Powell's win means for 2028.
Mark
What about Bacon himself?
Mimi
He criticized Trump on tariffs and the Russia-Ukraine war, and he narrowly won in 2024 before stepping aside.
Luke
And the reporting doesn't say why the seat flipped, only that it did.
El Pulso
- An open seat in a district that had been Republican for nearly three decades suddenly became contested ground.
- Democrat Denise Powell, a political organizer, pushed past Omaha City Council member Brinker Harding to claim the seat.
- The departure of Rep. Don Bacon, a retiring Republican who had grown critical of his own party's stances on tariffs and Ukraine, opened a door Democrats had been waiting for.
- Because Nebraska splits its Electoral College votes by district, this single seat could decide a future presidential contest, and the flip sharpens that stakes.
- The district now moves into Democratic hands, and its political future will be watched closely as the next presidential cycle approaches.
In the quiet arithmetic of a democracy, Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, the Omaha-centered seat long anchored in Republican hands, has passed to Democrat Denise Powell, a political organizer who defeated Omaha City Council member Brinker Harding. The seat opened when Representative Don Bacon, a Republican who had chosen to step away after his long tenure, declined another term. The result, as CBS News projected it, reflects a district that has leaned red in its House races while showing a more divided loyalty in presidential contests, and it reminds us that the places which look settled are often the ones still deciding who they are.
Democrat Denise Powell has won Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, according to a CBS News projection, ending a long stretch of Republican control. She will succeed Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who chose not to seek a sixth term.
Powell, a political organizer, defeated Omaha City Council member Brinker Harding in a race that drew national attention because the seat was open. Bacon's retirement gave Democrats the opening they had been hoping for, in a district he had only narrowly held in 2024.
The seat's history explains why the result matters. Republicans have held it for nearly all of the last three decades, yet it has backed a Democrat in three of the last five presidential elections. Nebraska's practice of awarding electoral votes by district means this single vote could prove decisive in a close presidential race, and that possibility will keep the district in focus in the years ahead.
Democrat Denise Powell has won Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, according to a CBS News projection, flipping a seat that Republicans have held for most of the past three decades. She will succeed Rep. Don Bacon, the Republican who is retiring.
Powell, a political organizer, defeated Brinker Harding, a member of the Omaha City Council who ran as the Republican candidate. The district covers the Omaha area, and the race was one of the more closely watched contests in the country because the seat was open.
Bacon announced last year that he would not seek a sixth term. His decision gave Democrats what the source describes as a prime opportunity to take the seat. He had narrowly won reelection in 2024, a sign of how competitive the district had become even with an incumbent on the ballot. Bacon has also been a Republican who criticized President Trump on certain issues, including tariffs and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The history of the district helps explain why the outcome matters. Republicans have held it for all but two years of the last three decades. Yet it has voted for a Democrat in three of the last five presidential elections, which makes it an unusual place: a district with a long Republican record in House races but a more divided pattern at the top of the ticket.
Nebraska's rules add to its significance. The state is deep red, but it allocates its Electoral College votes by congressional district rather than winner-take-all. That arrangement has put the 2nd District in the spotlight in presidential election years, because its single electoral vote could take on greater importance in a close race for the White House.
With Powell's win, a seat that Republicans held through Bacon's tenure moves to Democratic hands. The district's role in the Electoral College means that its politics will keep drawing attention in the next presidential contest, when its single electoral vote could again matter.
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Politics & Governance