Nebraska held an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for May 10, 2022. The filing deadline for an incumbent was February 15, 2022. The filing deadline for non-incumbent candidates was March 1, 2022.

Jim Pillen won election in the general election for Governor of Nebraska.

Joe Kelly won election in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska.

Pete Ricketts (R) was not able to run for re-election due to term limits. This was one of 36 gubernatorial elections that took place place in 2022. The governor serves as a state's top executive official and is the only executive office that is elected in all 50 states. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 28 Republican governors and 22 Democratic governors. Click here for a map with links to our coverage of all 50 states' responses to the pandemic and here for an overview of all 36 gubernatorial elections that took place in 2022.

Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican trifectas, 14 Democratic trifectas, and 13 divided governments where neither party held trifecta control. There were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

A state government trifecta refers to a situation where one party controls a state's governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Governor

General election

General election for Governor of Nebraska

Jim Pillen defeated Carol Blood, Scott Zimmerman, Robert Borer, and Dave Wright in the general election for Governor of Nebraska on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jim Pillen (R)	59.2	398,334
	Carol Blood (D)	36.0	242,006
	Scott Zimmerman (L)	3.9	26,455
	Robert Borer (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Dave Wright (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Other/Write-in votes	0.9	5,798

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 672,593
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska

Carol Blood defeated Roy Harris in the Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 10, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Carol Blood	88.7	88,859
	Roy Harris	11.3	11,267

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 100,126
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Nebraska

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 10, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jim Pillen	33.9	91,555
	Charles Herbster	29.9	80,771
	Brett Lindstrom	26.1	70,554
	Theresa Thibodeau	6.1	16,432
	Breland Ridenour	1.7	4,685
	Michael Connely	1.1	2,838
	Donna Nicole Carpenter	0.6	1,536
	Lela McNinch	0.4	1,192
	Troy Wentz	0.3	708

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 270,271
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Nebraska

Scott Zimmerman advanced from the Libertarian primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 10, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Zimmerman	100.0	1,595

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,595
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Lieutenant Governor

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska

Joe Kelly defeated Al Davis and Jason Blumenthal in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Joe Kelly (R)	59.2	398,334
	Al Davis (D)	36.0	242,006
	Jason Blumenthal (L)	3.9	26,455
	Other/Write-in votes	0.9	5,798

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 672,593
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Nebraska

Election information in Nebraska: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 28, 2022
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 21, 2022
Online: Oct. 21, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 28, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 28, 2022
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 11, 2022 to Nov. 7, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Election competitiveness

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from three outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[1]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Race ratings: Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in Nebraska in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Nebraska, click here.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source	Notes
Nebraska	Governor	Ballot-qualified party	N/A	$1,050.00	2/15/2022	Source
Nebraska	Governor	Unaffiliated	4,000	$1,050.00	9/1/2022	Source

Past elections

	← 2018
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: February 15, 2022/March 1, 2022
	Primary: May 10, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Gov. Pete Ricketts (Republican); Lt. Gov. Mike Foley (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Central time zone); 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Mountain time zone); Voting in Nebraska
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Nebraska; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Auditor; State Board of Education (4 seats); State Board of Regents (2 seats); Public Service Commissioner (2 seats)

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

See also: Presidential voting trends in Nebraska and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Nebraska, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Nebraska's 1st	Mike Flood	Republican	R+9
Nebraska's 2nd	Don Bacon	Republican	Even
Nebraska's 3rd	Adrian Smith	Republican	R+29

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Nebraska^[5]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Nebraska's 1st	43.3%	54.3%
Nebraska's 2nd	52.2%	45.8%
Nebraska's 3rd	23.1%	74.9%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 53.4% of Nebraskans lived in one of the state's 90 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 46.2% lived in one of two Trending Democratic counties: Douglas and Lancaster. Overall, Nebraska was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Nebraska following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Nebraska county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	90	53.4%
Trending Democratic	2	46.2%
Trending Republican	1	0.3%
Total voted Democratic	2	46.2%
Total voted Republican	91	53.8%

Historical voting trends

Nebraska presidential election results (1900-2020)

6 Democratic wins
25 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Nebraska

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Nebraska.

U.S. Senate election results in Nebraska
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	62.7%	24.4%
2018	57.7%	38.6%
2014	64.4%	31.5%
2012	57.8%	42.2%
2008	57.5%	40.1%
Average	60.0	35.4

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Nebraska

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Nebraska.

Gubernatorial election results in Nebraska
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	59.0%	41.0%
2014	57.2%	39.2%
2010	73.9%	26.1%
2006	73.4%	24.5%
2002	68.7%	27.5%
Average	66.4	31.7

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Nebraska's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Nebraska, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	3	5
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	3	5

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Nebraska's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Nebraska, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Pete Ricketts
Lieutenant Governor	Mike Foley
Secretary of State	Bob Evnen
Attorney General	Doug Peterson

State legislature

The table below highlights the partisan composition of the Nebraska State Senate as of November 2022.

Nebraska State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	17
	Republican Party	32
	Independent	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		49

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Nebraska was a Republican trifecta, with a majority in the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2022
Seven years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Nebraska and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Nebraska
	Nebraska	United States
Population	1,961,504	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	76,817	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	85.3%	70.4%
Black/African American	4.8%	12.6%
Asian	2.5%	5.6%
Native American	0.9%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more	3.9%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	11.2%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	91.6%	88.5%
College graduation rate	32.5%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$63,015	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	10.4%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Footnotes

↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[1] Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.

[2] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018

[3] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018

[4] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018

[5] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

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Nebraska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

Candidates and election results

Governor

General election

General election for Governor of Nebraska

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Nebraska

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Nebraska

Lieutenant Governor

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska

Voting information

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Election competitiveness

Race ratings

Ballot access requirements

Past elections

Election analysis

Presidential elections

Cook PVI by congressional district

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2012-2020

Historical voting trends

Statewide elections

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

State executive

State legislature

Nebraska State Senate

Trifecta control

Demographics

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2024 Elections

2025 Elections

Analysis

Public Policy

Information for candidates

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