- Lead
- 194,821
- Total
- 952,182
- vs nation
- R+19.0
- Turnout
- 68.3%
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+20.5MIT Election Lab
- Population
- 1,978,7072024 5-year
- Population density
- 26 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
- Land area
- 76,815 sq miTIGER/Line
- Median household income
- $76,4752024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 75.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+27.7 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41.7 in 1984MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Kansas, KS · twin score 81.8
Midterm durability
Total general-election participants divided by same-year citizen voting-age population. These are total ballots or participating voters—not presidential candidate votes.
- 2024 total turnout
- 68.3%965,145 participants ÷ 1,413,883 CVAP
- 2020→2022 drop-off
- +21.8 ptsPresidential-dependent
- Drop-off versus state
- 0.0 ptsPositive means a larger decline than the statewide pattern
- Mechanical 2026 scenario
- 46.5%–51.0%Recent-cycle and two-cycle persistence scenarios; not a forecast
| Election | Participants | CVAP | Turnout | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 · Presidential | 869,815 | 1,341,016 | 64.9% | B/A |
| 2018 · Midterm | 708,924 | 1,358,786 | 52.2% | B/A |
| 2020 · Presidential | 966,786 | 1,373,561 | 70.4% | B/A |
| 2022 · Midterm | 682,741 | 1,405,396 | 48.6% | B/A |
| 2024 · Presidential | 965,145 | 1,413,883 | 68.3% | B/A |
Sources and methods
- 2016: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-state-v1:observed:aggregated; allocation share 0.0%; series 276/110.
- 2018: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-state-v1:observed:aggregated; allocation share 0.0%; series 279/137.
- 2020: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-state-v1:observed:aggregated; allocation share 0.0%; series 282/1.
- 2022: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-state-v1:observed:aggregated; allocation share 0.0%; series 285/182.
- 2024: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-state-v1:observed:aggregated; allocation share 0.0%; series 288/227.
presidential history
Party record book
Nebraska · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 · 34 presidential cycles
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Franklin D. Roosevelt1932
63.0%
359,082 votes · D+27.7
Runner-up · Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936 · 57.1%
Republican
Ronald Reagan1984
70.6%
460,054 votes · R+41.7
Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1972 · 70.5%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Joe Biden2020
374,583votes
39.2% of the vote · R+19.1
Runner-up · Kamala Harris, 2024 · 369,995 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2024
564,816votes
59.3% of the vote · R+20.5
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 556,846 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
William J. Bryan1896
+11.4pts D vs U.S.
Place D+5.4 · U.S. R+6.1
Runner-up · Woodrow Wilson, 1916 · +11.1 pts
Republican
Benjamin Harrison1892
+32.7pts R vs U.S.
Place R+31.1 · U.S. D+1.7 · a third-party candidate carried the Place
Runner-up · George W. Bush, 2004 · +30.8 pts
On the ballot
Incumbent Gov. Jim Pillen (R), first elected 2022, is not term-limited and won the GOP primary (~75-76%). Former state senator Lynne Walz won the Democratic primary (~91%); no relation to Minnesota's Tim Walz. A Legal Marijuana NOW candidate (Rick Beard) also won that party line per Wikipedia but is single-sourced and omitted from the confirmed major-candidate list.
No Democratic nominee will appear on Nebraska’s November 2026 U.S. Senate ballot. Democratic nominee Cindy Burbank formally declined the nomination; Independent Dan Osborn is the principal challenger to Sen. Pete Ricketts (R).
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
| Year | Seats won | D % | R % | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R 3 | 36.4% | 63.6% | 929,392 | |
| R 3 | 35.5% | 62.5% | 663,187 | |
| R 3 | 34.6% | 62.2% | 941,298 | |
| R 3 | 38.0% | 62.0% | 696,570 |
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Registration and the presidential vote track closely here — within 2.8 points.
1,258,210 registered voters · 2026
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
−366 net domestic migration · 2025
Net −33,280 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
| Year | Net domestic migration |
|---|---|
| 2011 | −1,013 |
| 2012 | −993 |
| 2013 | −878 |
| 2014 | −1,653 |
| 2015 | −2,297 |
| 2016 | −1,963 |
| 2017 | −3,599 |
| 2018 | −3,334 |
| 2019 | −4,220 |
| 2021 | −5,817 |
| 2022 | −4,533 |
| 2023 | −1,074 |
| 2024 | −1,540 |
| 2025 | −366 |
While Nebraska went to Donald Trump by 20.5 points, Omaha’s Second District handed its single electoral vote to the Democrat — the “blue dot.”
- The split electoral vote
- NE-02 (Omaha) went to the Democrat in 2024 — its 3rd time in 5 cycles (2008, 2020, 2024) — as the state went R+20.5 · MIT Election Lab / Akashic
- Statewide margin, 2024
- R+20.5 (R+19.1 in 2020) — a 1.4-pt move toward Trump · MIT Election Lab
- The two Democratic counties
- Douglas (Omaha) D+10.1 and Lancaster (Lincoln) D+4.3 — the only two of 93 counties Democratic · MIT Election Lab 2024
- Reddest county
- Grant County R+91.8 (351–15) — the widest county margin in the state · MIT Election Lab 2024
- German and Czech roots
- 31% German ancestry; a Czech share among the larger of any state · ACS 2024 5-year
- Open races in 2026
- Gov. Pillen (R) seeks a 2nd term vs Lynne Walz (D); Sen. Ricketts (R) faces independent Dan Osborn · Akashic 2026 forecast
The states whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/state/NE/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.