In the Nebraska primary election on Tuesday, voters will pick their candidates for what is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the country — and for a Senate race that could be close if the Democratic wave is big enough.
Democrat Brad Ashford, an ex-Republican and former Congress member, is looking to reclaim the congressional seat he won in 2014 and lost in 2016. Incumbent Rep. Don Bacon beat Ashford by a single percentage point in 2016, and Ashford has earned the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue endorsement. But he does have a real primary race: Kara Eastman, president of a local nonprofit, is also running. She has a more progressive platform, backing Medicare-for-all.
Sen. Deb Fischer is a mainstream Republican through and through, and she’ll almost certainly keep her seat. But Democratic hopeful Jane Raybould — a Lincoln City Council member and former candidate for lieutenant governor — is promising to be “an independent voice” while slamming the incumbent as a “Washington Republican.” If 2018 really does bring a blue wave, this race could get competitive.