A clean sweep for Republicans in Nebraska's U.S. House of Representative contests Tuesday.
National eyes were on the District 2 race against incumbent Republican Don Bacon and newcomer Democrat Kara Eastman. In the end, Bacon retained his seat and his second term by receiving 52% of the vote compared to Eastman's 48%. Bacon defeated Eastman by just over 7,000 votes.
Eastman released a statement this morning. "From the beginning I promised that we would run a campaign that didn't put winning over integrity, and that we did. We fought for working people and for those of us who feel like our voices aren't heard by the people in power. We energized Democrats like never before. We refused to corporate PAC money and didn't sell out to big-money interests. We didn't play by the old rules, and I'm so proud of my team and our message." Eastman plans to speak with Congressman Bacon this morning.
1st District Congressman Jeff Fortenberry retained his seat as well as 3rd District Congressman Adrian Smith.
Senator Deb Fischer retained her seat in the U.S. Senate defeating challenger Democrat Jane Raybould.
Republican Governor Pete Ricketts defeated Democratic challenger Bob Krist for Nebraska's top office. Charlie Janssen was reelected as State Auditor.
In Douglas County, Diane Battiato retained her position as Assessor/Register of Deeds receiving just over 50% of the vote over Republican challenger Walt Peffer with 49%.
Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning received nearly 53% of the vote over challenger Mike Hughes with nearly 47%.
Thousands of low income Nebraskans will now have health care coverage. Voters approved Initiative 427 that expands Medicaid to an additional 90,000 low income Nebraskans currently not covered.
Voters in Gretna approved an $85 million school bond issue that will fund the construction of a new elementary school and make improvements and expansions at another elementary school and at the high school.
The Douglas County town of Scribner voted in favor of an ordinance that bans illegal immigrants from living or working within the city limits. Similar to an ordinance in nearby Fremont, renters are required to get a license before renting property that discloses their status. Employers must also use a federal database before hiring workers to verify they are in the country legally.
There was one upset in Iowa's U.S. House of Representatives. Incumbent Republican David Young lost to Democrat Cindy Axne.
Republican Congressman Steve King retained his seat by defeating Democrat J.D. Scholtan.
Incumbent Republican Governor Kim Reynolds narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell. Reynolds received 50% of the vote over Hubbell's 47%.