2025 Omaha mayoral election
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| Elections in Nebraska |
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The 2025 Omaha mayoral election will be held on May 13, 2025, to elect the mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. A primary election will be held on April 1, in which the two highest-placing candidates will advance to the general election. Municipal elections in Omaha are officially nonpartisan.
Incumbent Republican mayor Jean Stothert is running for re-election to what would be a record fourth term in office.
Background
[edit]Incumbent Republican mayor Jean Stothert was re-elected Mayor of Omaha after defeating RJ Neary by a margin of 29.62% in 2021. The last time a Democrat was elected mayor was Jim Suttle in 2009. February 28 is the last day for mayoral candidates to file.[1]
Primary election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Terry Brewer, community organizer (Party preference: Independent)[2]
- John Ewing, Douglas County Treasurer and nominee for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2012 (Party preference: Democratic)[3]
- Jasmine Harris, public health official and candidate for mayor in 2021 (Party preference: Democratic)[4]
- Mike McDonnell, state senator and former chief of the Omaha Fire Department (Party preference: Republican)[5]
- Jean Stothert, incumbent mayor (Party preference: Republican)[6]
Declined
[edit]- Pete Festersen, president of the Omaha City Council and candidate for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2014 (Party preference: Democratic) (running for re-election)[7][8]
Campaign
[edit]Key issues in the campaign included crime, infrastructure, and the future of the Omaha Streetcar project.[9]
Controversy arose when an anonymous Reddit user posted screenshots of an email exchange between Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb and Mike McDonnell's campaign manager, which showed that Kleeb had sent photos of an anti-Jean Stothert ad to McDonnell's campaign several weeks before it was released to the public. Both Democrats in the race, John Ewing and Jasmine Harris, criticized Kleeb's action. Rumors had spread that the Nebraska Democratic Party was supporting the Republican McDonnell's candidacy, possibly in exchange for his deciding vote to preserve Nebraska's split Electoral College vote system. These allegations were denied by McDonnell's campaign and by Nebraska Democratic Party executive director Precious McKesson, who affirmed the party's support for the two Democrats in the race.[10]
Endorsements
[edit]- State legislators
- Steve Halloran, state senator[11]
- Burke Harr, former state senator (Democratic)[11]
- Julie Slama, state senator[11]
- Local officials
- Mike Fahey, former mayor of Omaha (Democratic)[11]
- P. J. Morgan, Douglas County commissioner and former mayor of Omaha[11]
- U.S. Governors
- Dave Heineman, former Governor of Nebraska[6]
Debates and forums
[edit]| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Independent | Democratic | Democratic | Republican | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
|||||||||
| Brewer | Ewing | Harris | McDonnell | Stothert | |||||
| 1 | March 11, 2025 | WOWT Omaha Press Club |
Brian Mastre | Youtube[12] | P | P | P | P | P |
| 2 | March 16, 2025 | KETV | TBD | TBD | I | I | I | I | I |
Fundraising
[edit]| Campaign finance reports as of March 5, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate (party) | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Jean Stothert (R) | $325,577 | $340,653 | $711,751 |
| Mike McDonnell (R) | $115,500 | $221,906 | $248,701 |
| John Ewing (D) | $35,746 | $69,639 | $72,058 |
| Jasmine Harris (D) | $19,384 | $22,407 | $7,417 |
| Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission[13][14] | |||
Results
[edit]| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Brewer | |||
| John Ewing | |||
| Jasmine Harris | |||
| Mike McDonnell | |||
| Jean Stothert (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | |||
General election
[edit]Polling
[edit]- McDonnell vs. Stothert
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Mike McDonnell |
Jean Stothert |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amp Research[15][A] | January 22–23, 2025 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 37.4% | 34.4% | 28.2% |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
- Partisan sponsors
- ^ Poll conducted for McDonnell's campaign
References
[edit]- ^ John Chapman, Elaina Riley and Jackson Piercy (January 6, 2025). "Filing period opens for 2025 Omaha city election candidates". WOWT. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Parsons, McKenzy (February 25, 2025). "Omaha's mayoral race officially has four candidates". KETV.
- ^ Hegarty, Aaron (April 5, 2024). "John Ewing officially challenging Jean Stothert for Omaha mayor". KETV. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Jasmine Harris announces run for mayor of Omaha". Omaha World-Herald. October 1, 2024.
- ^ McKenzy, Parsons (November 20, 2024). "Nebraska State Sen. Mike McDonnell to announce his candidacy for Omaha mayor". KETV. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Sanderford, Aaron (March 26, 2024). "Stothert running for a record fourth term as Omaha mayor". Nebraska Examiner.
- ^ Riley, Elaina (March 26, 2024). "Stothert running for a record fourth term as Omaha mayor". Nebraska Examiner.
Festersen said the mayor's announcement 'does not impact my own decision-making' about whether to run.
- ^ Riley, Elaina (October 15, 2021). "Omaha City Council president seeking re-election in 2025". WOWT.
- ^ Anderson, Jake (February 4, 2025). "2025 Omaha election guide: Mayoral, city council candidates". KETV. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ Bowling, Chris (March 6, 2025). "'Not Normal': Democratic mayoral hopeful irked that party leaders communicated with GOP challenger". Flatwater Free Press. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Sanderford, Aaron (November 21, 2024). "State Sen. Mike McDonnell says Omaha needs a mayor who listens". Nebraska Examiner. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ LIVE: MAYORAL DEBATE (March 11, 2025)
- ^ "Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission". Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ Aaron, Hegarty (March 5, 2024). "Stothert keeps big lead in campaign fundraising in race for mayor". KETV. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ Amp Research Polling
External links
[edit]- Official websites for mayoral candidates
- Terry Brewer (I) for Mayor
- John Ewing (D) for Mayor
- Jasmine Harris (D) for Mayor
- Mike McDonnell (R) for Mayor
- Jean Stothert (R) for Mayor
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