Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016
2018→ ←2014 |
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November 8, 2016 |
May 10, 2016 |
Don Bacon  |
Brad Ashford  |
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Cook Political Report:Toss-up[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball:Lean D[2] Rothenberg & Gonzales:Toss-up/Tilt D[3] |
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The2nd Congressional District of Nebraska held an election for theU.S. House of Representatives onNovember 8, 2016.
Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District was abattleground district in 2016.Don Bacon (R) defeatedDemocratic incumbentBrad Ashford andSteven Laird (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Bacon defeatedChip Maxwell to win the Republican primary, while Laird defeatedAndy Shambaugh andJeffrey Lynn Stein to win the Libertarian nomination. The primary elections took place on May 10, 2016.[4][5]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Aprimary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Nebraska, participation rules for primaries vary by the office up for election. State legislative primaries use a nonpartisantop-two primary system in which any voter can participate. Congressional primaries are partisan, but any voter may vote in the congressional primary of their choice. For all other statewide offices, a state party can determine if it will allow unaffiliated voters to vote their primary ballot.[6]
As of October 2025, the Democratic Party held a semi-closed primary in which registered party members and unaffiliated voters could participate, and the Republican Party held a closed primary in which only registered party members could participate.[7][8]
Incumbent: Heading into the election, the incumbent wasBrad Ashford (D), who was first elected in 2014.
As of the2010 redistricting cycle,Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District was located in the eastern portion of thestate and included Douglas County and part of Sarpy County.[9]
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Don Bacon | 48.9% | 141,066 | |
| Democratic | Brad AshfordIncumbent | 47.7% | 137,602 | |
| Libertarian | Steven Laird | 3.3% | 9,640 | |
| Total Votes | 288,308 | |||
| Source:Nebraska Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Bacon | 66% | 32,328 | ||
| Chip Maxwell | 34% | 16,677 | ||
| Total Votes | 49,005 | |||
| Source:Nebraska Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Laird | 46.2% | 108 | ||
| Andy Shambaugh | 38% | 89 | ||
| Jeffrey Lynn Stein | 15.8% | 37 | ||
| Total Votes | 234 | |||
| Source:Nebraska Secretary of State | ||||
Candidates
General election candidates: Brad AshfordDon Bacon a Steven Laird |
Primary candidates:[10] |
Democratic a | Republican aChip Maxwell[4] |
Third Party/Other aAndy Shambaugh (Libertarian)[4] Jeffrey Lynn Stein (Libertarian)[4] |
Race background
IncumbentBrad Ashford was one of the initial 14 members of theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Frontline Program. The program was designed to help protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents heading into the 2016 election.[11]
Don Bacon was a member of theNRCC's Young Guns Program in 2016. The Young Guns program "supports and mentors challenger and open-seat candidates in races across the country."[12]
Endorsements
Brad Ashford (D)
Don Bacon (R)
Polls
| Nebraska's 2nd District - Brad Ashford vs. Don Bacon | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Brad Ashford | Don Bacon | Margin of Error | Sample Size | |||||||||||||||
| Global Strategy Group (D) September 14-18, 2016 | 50% | 40% | +/-4.9 | 402 | |||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email toeditor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
Media
Brad Ashford
Support
Opposition
Don Bacon
Support
Opposition
DCCC
TheDCCC released the following ad againstChip Maxwell prior to the Republican primary in an attempt to appeal to Republican primary voters. The ad calls Maxwell "a self-professed tea party conservative" and his opponent,Don Bacon, "the hand-picked candidate of the Washington political establishment."
Campaign themes
Don Bacon
| “ |
| ” |
| —Don Bacon's campaign website,http://www.donbacon2016.com/issues/ | ||
Campaign contributions
Source: This graphic was generated using data from theFEC.
Source: This graphic was generated using data from theFEC.
Brad Ashford
Source: This graphic was generated using data from theFEC.
Don Bacon
Source: This graphic was generated using data from theFEC.
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
District history
2014
The 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska held an election for theU.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.Brad Ashford (D) defeated incumbentLee Terry (R) andSteven Laird (L) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brad Ashford | 49% | 83,872 | |
| Republican | Lee TerryIncumbent | 45.7% | 78,157 | |
| Libertarian | Steven Laird | 5.3% | 9,021 | |
| Total Votes | 171,050 | |||
| Source:Nebraska Secretary of State | ||||
2012
The 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska held an election for theU.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. IncumbentLee Terry won re-election in the district.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Ewing | 49.2% | 129,767 | |
| Republican | Lee TerryIncumbent | 50.8% | 133,964 | |
| Total Votes | 263,731 | |||
| Source:Nebraska Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Important dates and deadlines
- See also:Nebraska elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Nebraska in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| December 1, 2015 | Ballot access | Filing period for both incumbents and non-incumbents running in the primary election opens | |
| December 1, 2015 | Ballot access | Filing period for both incumbents and non-incumbents running in the general election opens | |
| February 16, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing period for incumbents running in the primary election closes | |
| March 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing period for non-incumbents running in the primary election closes | |
| April 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | First primary statement due | |
| May 2, 2016 | Campaign finance | Second primary statement due | |
| May 10, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| June 20, 2016 | Campaign finance | Post-primary statement due | |
| July 15, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing period for incumbents running in the general election closes | |
| August 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing period for non-incumbents running in the general election closes | |
| October 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | First general statement due | |
| October 31, 2016 | Campaign finance | Second general statement due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| January 17, 2017 | Campaign finance | Post-general statement due | |
| Sources:Nebraska Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings Information – 2016 Election," accessed July 1, 2015 Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, "2016 Election Year – Candidate Brochure," June 2015 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska, 2016
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑Cook Political Report, "2016 House Race Ratings," accessed August 24, 2016
- ↑Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 House," accessed August 24, 2016
- ↑Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "House Ratings," accessed August 24, 2016
- ↑4.04.14.24.34.44.54.6Nebraska Secretary of State, "Statewide Candidate List," March 2, 2016
- ↑The New York Times, "Nebraska Primary Results," May 10, 2016
- ↑Nebraska Legislature, "Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32–912," accessed October 27, 2025
- ↑Nebraska Secretary of State, "How nonpartisan voting works in Nebraska primary elections," accessed October 27, 2025
- ↑Nebraska Democratic Party, "2026 Democratic Candidates," accessed October 27, 2025
- ↑Nebraska Redistricting Map, "Map," accessed August 29, 2012
- ↑Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑Roll Call, "Exclusive: DCCC Announces 14 Incumbents in Frontline Program," February 12, 2015
- ↑NRCC, "32 Congressional Candidates Announced “On the Radar” as Part of NRCC’s Young Guns Program," November 19, 2015
- ↑Omaha.com, "U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorses Brad Ashford over Don Bacon in 2nd District House race," June 20, 2016
- ↑Omaha.com, "Don Bacon picks up Ricketts' endorsement in 2nd District race," April 29, 2016
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see:Public policy in the 2016 elections!
