The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the three

U.S. representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the state of Nebraska, one from each of the state's three

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. The elections coincided with the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...

, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. The primaries were held on May 10.

Overview

Statewide

By district

Results of the 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska by district:

District 1

The 1st district encompassed most of the eastern quarter of the state and almost completely enveloped the 2nd district. It included the state capital, Lincoln, as well as the cities of Fremont,

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, Norfolk,

Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...

and South Sioux City. Incumbent Republican

Jeff Fortenberry Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry (born December 27, 1960) is a former United States congressman. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022, representing as a member of the Republican Party. In October 2021, a federal ...

, who had represented the district since 2005, ran for re-election He was re-elected with 69% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+10.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Daniel Wik, Physician

Results

General election

Results

District 2

The 2nd district was based in the

Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area The Omaha metropolitan area, officially known as the Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), is an urbanized region in Nebraska and Iowa in the American Midwest, centered on the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The region consists ...

and included all of Douglas County and the urbanized areas of

Sarpy County Sarpy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 190,604, making it the third-most populous county in Nebraska. Its county seat is Papillion. Sarpy County is part of the ...

. Incumbent Democrat

Brad Ashford John Bradley Ashford (November 10, 1949 – April 19, 2022) was an American politician who served in the Nebraska Legislature and the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. After serving in the state l ...

, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was elected with 49% of the vote in 2014, defeating Republican incumbent Lee Terry. The district had a Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) of R+4.

Democratic primary

Scott Kleeb, a businessman who was the nominee for

Nebraska's 3rd congressional district Nebraska's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses its western three-fourths; it is one of the largest non-at-large districts in the country, covering nearly , two time zones and 68 c ...

in 2006 and for the U.S. Senate in

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, was speculated to challenge Ashford, a centrist Democrat, from the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

. Kleeb ultimately did not run and Ashford won the primary unopposed.

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Declined

= * Scott Kleeb, businessman, nominee for the 3rd district in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and for U.S. Senate in

Results

Republican primary

Former state senator and Douglas County Commissioner

Chip Maxwell Chip Maxwell (born August 10, 1962) is an American politician and conservative talk radio host from the state of Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, Maxwell served in the unicameral Nebraska Legislature from 2001 to 2005 and on the ...

, who considered running as an independent against Terry in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and retired United States Air Force Brigadier General Don Bacon ran in the Republican primary.

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Don Bacon, retired United States Air Force Brigadier General

=Eliminated in primary

= *

, former state senator

=Withdrawn

= *Dirk Arneson, salesmen (withdrew September 3, 2015, and endorsed Bacon)

Endorsements

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Steven Laird

=Eliminated in primary

= * Jeffrey Lynn Stein * Andy Shambaugh

Results

General election

Campaign

The general election race was characterized as a tossup with the incumbent Ashford having a slight edge.

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 3

The 3rd district encompassed the western three-fourths of the state; it was one of the largest non-at-large Congressional districts in the country, covering nearly , two time zones and 68.5 counties. It was mostly sparsely populated but included the cities of Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings,

North Platte North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and

Scottsbluff Scottsbluff is a city in Scotts Bluff County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 14,436 at the 2020 census. Scottsbluff is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhandl ...

. Incumbent Republican Adrian Smith, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 75% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of R+23.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Adrian Smith, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary

No Democrats filed

General election

Results

References

External links

U.S. House elections in Nebraska, 2016
at

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Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets {{2016 United States elections Nebraska

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United States House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...