{"id":2602442,"date":"2026-05-13T20:36:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T00:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/denise-powell-wins-nebraska-democratic-primary-in-race-to-fill-bacons-house-seat\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:37:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T00:37:49","slug":"denise-powell-wins-nebraska-democratic-primary-in-race-to-fill-bacons-house-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/denise-powell-wins-nebraska-democratic-primary-in-race-to-fill-bacons-house-seat\/","title":{"rendered":"Denise Powell wins Nebraska Democratic primary in race to fill Bacon&#8217;s House seat"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdenise-powell-wins-nebraska-democratic-primary-in-race-to-fill-bacons-house-seat%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602442&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Denise Powell,a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >political organizer<\/a> and founder of the Omaha-based PAC Nebraska\u2019s Women Who run,defeated Nebraska state Sen. John Cavanaugh in the state\u2019s high-profile Democratic primary on Tuesday night. With about 90% of votes counted, Powell led narrowly-about 40% to Cavanaugh\u2019s roughly 38%-according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p>powell will now face Republican nominee Brinker Harding, an Omaha City Council member who won the GOP nomination unopposed, in the general election.Libertarian Eric Michael Foreman will also be on the ballot. Powell\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/retired-navy-seal-morgan-luttrell-announces-run-for-congress-in-texas\/\" title=\"Retired Navy Seal Morgan Luttrell Announces Run For Congress In Texas\">priorities include protecting<\/a> the Democratic process, lowering costs for Nebraskans, and defending abortion.<\/p>\n<p>The primary drew national attention as Democrats see Nebraska\u2019s 2nd Congressional District as a key opportunity to flip a \u201cblue dot\u201d area in Omaha, and because the race between the six candidates was unusually intense, fueled by major endorsements and an estimated $5 million in outside spending. Powell criticized Cavanaugh-aligned with the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC-arguing that if Cavanaugh won the congressional seat, his state senate seat could be filled by a Republican, weakening Democratic leverage and potentially leading to changes such as electoral college reforms and redistricting. With Powell winning, Cavanaugh retains his state senate seat, which runs until January 2029.<\/p>\n<p>Cook Political Report rates the district as lean-Democratic; it voted for Harris in 2024 and Biden in 2020, but supported Trump in 2016. In 2024, incumbent Don Bacon narrowly won re-election, defeating Tony Vargas by 1.8 percentage points.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Political organizer Denise Powell defeated state Sen. John Cavanaugh on Tuesday night in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Nebraska\/\">Nebraska<\/a>\u2018s high-profile<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-primary\/\"> Democratic primary<\/a> in the race to replace retiring Rep.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/don-bacon\/\"> Don Bacon<\/a> (R-NE).<\/p>\n<p>With roughly 90% of votes counted, Powell narrowly bested Cavanaugh with about 40% of the vote to Cavanaugh\u2019s roughly 38%, according to the <em>Associated Press.<\/em><\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4567440\/south-carolina-redistricting-special-session-house-map\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>South Carolina\u2019s McMaster to call special session to redraw House map<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4566906\/gallrein-lead-massie-latest-kentucky-primary-poll\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Gallrein takes the lead over Massie in latest Kentucky primary polling<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4566889\/hakeem-jeffries-plan-democrats-gain-12-seats-2028\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Jeffries rolls out plan for Democrats to gain 12 seats with pre-2028 redistricting<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Powell is now set to take on candidate Brinker Harding, an Omaha City Council member who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination. Libertarian nominee Eric Michael Foreman will also appear on the general election ballot. In the wake of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s 2016 election win, Powell founded Nebraska\u2019s Women Who Run, an Omaha-based PAC that helps promote women running for office in the Cornhusker State. She is running her campaign based on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/deniseforcongress.org\/priorities\/\">priorities<\/a> like safeguarding the Democratic process, lowering costs for Nebraskans, and defending abortion.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Democratic primary drew national attention not only because of Democrats\u2019 desire to flip Nebraska\u2019s 2nd Congressional District blue but because of the heated primary between the six candidates that ran for the seat. Powell and Cavanaugh appeared as front-runners in the primary, as their candidacies drew <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4563824\/nebraska-democrats-pick-nominee-fight-blue-dot\/\">big-name endorsements<\/a> and over <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nebraskaexaminer.com\/2026\/05\/11\/outside-spending-reaches-fever-pitch-in-ne-02-dem-primary-as-candidates-spar-over-dark-money\/\">$5 million in outside spending<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Powell, endorsed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus\u2019s campaign arm, slammed Cavanaugh\u2019s campaign as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4563824\/nebraska-democrats-pick-nominee-fight-blue-dot\/\">a risk to Nebraska\u2019s so-called \u201cblue dot,\u201d<\/a> which allowed the Omaha area to cast Nebraska\u2019s only vote for former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"748\">Kamala Harris<\/a> in the 2024 election. <\/p>\n<p>Powell argued that if Cavanaugh, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-jersey-democrats-break-with-party-to-endorse-ciattarelli\/\" title=\"New Jersey ... break with party to endorse Ciattarelli\">state senator backed<\/a> by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, was elected to the seat, his state senate seat could be at risk of being filled by a Republican state senator by Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/jim-pillen\/\" type=\"mediapress_author\" id=\"12394\">Jim Pillen <\/a>(R-NE). If Pillen made this move, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4563824\/nebraska-democrats-pick-nominee-fight-blue-dot\/\">Powell argued that state Senate Democrats<\/a> would further weaken their bargaining ability with the Republican supermajority and expose Nebraska Democrats to things like an overhaul of their electoral college system and a possible GOP redistricting campaign.<\/p>\n<p>With Powell now the Democratic nominee, Cavanaugh will retain his seat in the state Senate, with his term not set to expire until January 2029.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4563824\/nebraska-democrats-pick-nominee-fight-blue-dot\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4563824\">NEBRASKA DEMOCRATS TO PICK NOMINEE IN FIGHT FOR \u2018BLUE DOT\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <em>Cook Political Report<\/em> rates Nebraska\u2019s 2nd District as a lean-Democratic seat, with its race summary noting that \u201cDemocrats have a prime opportunity to flip this seat,\u201d which Bacon has held for the GOP since 2017. The district went for Harris in 2024 and former President Joe Biden in 2020 but voted for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Trump<\/a> in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>In his last general election in 2024, Bacon narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent, Tony Vargas, by a 1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-nearly-half-of-americans-say-bidens-vaccine-mandates-go-too-far\/\" title=\"POLL: Nearly Half Of Americans Say Biden\u2019s Vaccine Mandates Go Too Far\">8 percentage point margin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Denise Powell beats John Cavanaugh in Nebraska Democratic primary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2602443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-88av8die7-1778539646686-e1778553660587.jpg?1778525352&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32923,79641,6571,14648,41215],"class_list":["post-2602442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democratic-party","tag-denise-powell","tag-elections","tag-nebraska","tag-u-s-house"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-88av8die7-1778539646686-e1778553660587.jpg?1778525352&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602442"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602446,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602442\/revisions\/2602446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}