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Five candidates for Omaha mayor prepare for a debate in the city’s mayoral primary at the Omaha Press Club. Shown, left to right, are Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, former State Sen. Mike McDonnell, Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing, nonprofit executive Jasmine Harris and community advocate Terry Brewer. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
OMAHA — Incumbent Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing easily advanced Tuesday to next month’s general election for mayor.
Despite outspending Ewing by hundreds of thousands of dollars, former State Sen. Mike McDonnell finished a distant third after angering key parts of both major political parties.
The Nebraska Democratic Party censured the then-Democrat last year for casting the critical vote to pass new restrictions on abortion and transgender health care. He also angered the right by withholding his vote for shifting Nebraska to winner-take-all in presidential elections after joining the Nebraska Republican Party.
McDonnell, who ran for mayor as a Republican, has been highly critical of the incumbent GOP mayor, attempting as a longtime union leader to outflank her on the right.
Community activist Jasmine Harris finished fourth after pledging to focus on public safety through investing more in community-based programs. Terry Brewer, the founding pastor of New Covenant Church of God in Christ in North Omaha, finished fifth in the primary election.
Much of the race discussed the city’s streetcar project, taxes, and housing costs.
Stothert is seeking a fourth term as the city’s top elected official, a record in the modern era. While the mayor’s race is nonpartisan, local parties have campaigned for central candidates.
“Our campaign has been built around our record of progress, determination, and the successes we’ve had,” Stothert said after the first batch of election results. “That’s the positive message we will continue to deliver for the next six weeks.”
McDonnell heavily criticized Stothert during the campaign, emphasizing her spending and the poor quality of city streets, among other issues. Stothert won anyway.
As of the 10:25 p.m. results in Douglas County, she had 25,056 votes. Ewing had 21,623 votes. And McDonnell had 13,859 votes according to unofficial election results.
McDonnell conceded the race before 10 p.m., saying he was “proud” of his campaign because he was “listening to the people.”
Ewing has been the Douglas County treasurer for almost two decades and was a former member of the Omaha Police Department. He has campaigned to improve city infrastructure and create more jobs.
“We believed all along that we were going to be in the general election. We believe that citizens of this community appreciate good government,” Ewing told the Nebraska Examiner.
Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse had anticipated a voter turnout slightly above average for the local race.
McDonnell is known statewide for his stint in the Nebraska Legislature, where he voted no on Republicans’ 11th-hour push for winner-take-all before the 2024 presidential election. He also helped Republicans pass the state’s stricter law banning abortion after 12 weeks of gestational age. He spent much of his campaign railing against the Omaha streetcar project favored by Stothert and downtown Omaha businesses, including Mutual of Omaha. Other candidates echoed McDonnell’s criticism of the $459 million project, but said it was too far along to stop without the city facing legal and financial risk.
Ewing told the Flatwater Free Press that the project needs to continue, but that city residents should have been able to vote on it.
The Nebraska Democratic Party got one of its two endorsed candidates through with Ewing. U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb, endorsed Stothert. The Douglas County Republican Party endorsed McDonnell.
Stothert and Ewing are likely to increase their leads Friday, when Kruse’s county election office will count about 7,000 outstanding early votes turned in on Election Day. Those typically follow the same pattern as the first round of counted early votes that Kruse released at 8 p.m. Tuesday, which showed Stothert leading, Ewing second and McDonnell third.
Harris said that the results weren’t what she had hoped for, but she would continue to prioritize the people of Omaha.
“I’ll continue to do the work in front of me, and I look forward to others joining in on how we can continue to build an Omaha that works for everyone, regardless if it’s an elected seat or not,” Harris told the Examiner.
The general election is set for May 13.
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