The 2024 United States Senate special election in Nebraska was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the Class 2 member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, to complete the term of

Ben Sasse Benjamin Eric Sasse ( ; born February 22, 1972) is an American politician and higher education administrator. He represented Nebraska in the United States Senate from 2015 to 2023, resigning to become the 13th president of the University of Flo ...

, who resigned on January 8, 2023, to become the president of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. On January 12, 2023, Governor

Jim Pillen James Douglas Pillen (born December 31, 1955) is an American politician, veterinarian, and livestock producer serving as the 41st and current governor of Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Pillen served on the University of ...

appointed Republican former governor

Pete Ricketts John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

to fill the seat until the election. Ricketts won the special election, defeating Democratic nominee Preston Love Jr. with about 63% of the vote. This was the first time since

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

where both of Nebraska's U.S. Senate seats were concurrently up for election. Primary elections took place on May 14, 2024. Ricketts outperformed other Republicans who faced contested statewide elections in this cycle.

Appointment

Republican

, former

governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential ...

(2015–2023) and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, was appointed on January 12, 2023 by Governor Jim Pillen. Ricketts' appointment was met with controversy as Ricketts had financially supported Pillen's 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

Applied to be appointed

In total, 111 individuals submitted applications for Sasse's seat, and nine candidates were interviewed by Pillen. Applicants included: * Ann Ashford, attorney, widow of former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

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 from 2015 to 2017. He is the m ...

, and candidate for in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

''(Democratic)'' * Tom Becka, radio personality ''(Independent)'' * Larry Bolinger, author and perennial candidate ''(Republican)'' *

Sid Dinsdale John Sidney "Sid" Dinsdale (born July 26, 1952) is an American banker. The president of Pinnacle Bancorp, Inc., which has 130 banking locations in eight states and assets of $7.6 billion, Dinsdale was a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate ...

, bank president and candidate for the U.S. Senate in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

''(Republican)'' *

Greg Ibach Gregory Ibach is an American farmer and government official from Sumner, Nebraska, who served as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Prior to assuming the role, he was the Nebraska director of agriculture. ...

, former

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs The under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs is a high-ranking position within the United States Department of Agriculture that supervises policy development and day-to-day operations of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, ...

(2017–2021) and former Nebraska Director of Agriculture (2005–2017) ''(Republican)'' * Brett Lindstrom,

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from the 18th district (2015–2023), candidate for in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and for governor of Nebraska in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

''(Republican)'' * Bryan Slone, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Republican candidate for governor of Nebraska in

''(Independent)'' * Melanie Standiford, former

KNOP-TV KNOP-TV (channel 2) is a television station in North Platte, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside two low-power stations: CBS affiliate KNPL-LD (channel 10) and Class A Fox affiliate KIIT-CD (chan ...

news director ''(Republican)'' * John Glen Weaver,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

veteran and candidate for in

''(Republican)''

Republican primary

Candidates

, incumbent U.S. senator (2023–present) * Mac Stevens, realtor * John Glen Weaver, realtor and candidate for in

Endorsements

Fundraising

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

* Preston Love Jr.,

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

professor, campaign manager for the

Jesse Jackson 1984 presidential campaign In 1984, Jesse Jackson became the second African American (after Shirley Chisholm) to mount a nationwide campaign for President of the United States, running as a Democrat. In the primaries, Jackson, who had been written off by pundits as a ...

, and write-in candidate for U.S. Senate in

Declined

*Paul Theobald,

Wayne State College Wayne State College (WSC) is a public college in Wayne, Nebraska. It is part of the Nebraska State College System and enrolls 4,202 students. The college opened as a public normal school in 1910 after the state purchased the private Nebraska Nor ...

professor and nominee for in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Endorsements

Fundraising

Results

General election

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

;Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic *

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

(largest city:

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

) *

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

(largest city:

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

)

By congressional district

Ricketts won all three congressional districts.

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Official campaign websites
Preston Love Jr. (D) for Senate

Pete Ricketts (R) for Senate
{{2024 United States elections Nebraska special United States Senate special United States Senate 2024 Nebraska Senate 2024 2024 special Nebraska 2024

Appointment

Applied to be appointed

Republican primary

Candidates

Endorsements

Fundraising

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Declined

Endorsements

Fundraising

Results

General election

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References

External links