# 2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska

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The 2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Nebraska. Incumbent Republican Deb Fischer was re-elected to a second term against Lincoln city councilwoman Jane Raybould and Libertarian candidate Jim Schultz.
The candidate filing deadline was March 1, 2018, and the primary election was held on May 15, 2018.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Nominated

* Deb Fischer, incumbent U.S. senator

#### Eliminated in primary

* Jack Heidel, retired University of Nebraska at Omaha professor
* Dennis Frank Macek
* Jeffrey Lynn Stein
* Todd Watson, businessman and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014

#### Declined

* Shane Osborn, former state treasurer and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014
* Don Stenberg, state treasurer, former attorney general, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and candidate in 1996, 2006 and 2012

### Endorsements
#### Federal officials

* Donald Trump, president of the United States

#### Governors

* Dave Heineman, Nebraska (former)
* Kay Orr, Nebraska (former)
* Pete Ricketts, Nebraska
* Charles Thone, Nebraska (former)

#### U.S. senators

* Ben Sasse, Nebraska

#### U.S. representatives

* Don Bacon, Nebraska
* Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska
* Adrian Smith, Nebraska

#### Statewide politicians

* Mike Foley, lieutenant governor
* Charlie Janssen, Auditor of Public Accounts
* Shane Osborn, former State Treasurer
* Doug Peterson, Attorney General
* Don Stenberg, State Treasurer and former Attorney General

#### Mayors

* Jean Stothert, Omaha

#### Organizations

* Maggie's List
* National Federation of Independent Business
* National Right to Life
* Nebraska Cattlemen
* Nebraska Farm Bureau
* Omaha Professional Fire Fighters Association, IAFF L385
* Susan B. Anthony List
* U.S. Chamber of Commerce

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Deb Fischer (inc.) | 128,157 | 75.79% |
| | Republican | Todd F. Watson | 19,661 | 11.63% |
| | Republican | Jack Heidel | 9,413 | 5.57% |
| | Republican | Jeffrey Lynn Stein | 6,380 | 3.77% |
| | Republican | Dennis Frank Macek | 5,483 | 3.24% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 169,094 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominated

* Jane Raybould, Lincoln City Councilwoman, former Lancaster County Commissioner and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014

#### Eliminated in primary

* Chris Janicek, businessman
* Larry Marvin, perennial candidate
* Frank Svoboda

### Endorsements
#### U.S. senators

* Ben Nelson, Nebraska (2001–2013)

#### Local and statewide politicians

* Chris Beutler, mayor of Lincoln

#### Labor unions

* National Education Association Fund
* Nebraska State Education Association

#### Organizations

* End Citizens United
* League of Conservation Voters
* Planned Parenthood Action Fund
* Rachel's Action Network
* Sierra Club

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jane Raybould | 59,067 | 63.75% |
| | Democratic | Chris Janicek | 18,752 | 20.24% |
| | Democratic | Frank B. Svoboda | 10,548 | 11.38% |
| | Democratic | Larry Marvin | 4,393 | 4.74% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 92,660 | 100.00% |

## Libertarian primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Jim Schultz

### Results

Libertarian primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Libertarian | Jim Schultz | 1,202 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,202 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe R | October 26, 2018 |
| Inside Elections | Safe R | November 1, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |
| Fox News | Likely R | July 9, 2018 |
| CNN | Safe R | July 12, 2018 |
| RealClearPolitics | Safe R | November 5, 2018 |

### Debates

| Host network/sponsors | Date | Link(s) | Participants | Participants | Participants |
| Host network/sponsors | Date | Link(s) | Jane Raybould (D) | Deb Fischer (R) |
| KMTV-TV | August 27, 2018 | | Invited | Invited |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Deb Fischer (R) | Jane Raybould (D) | Undecided |
| DFM Research | October 23–27, 2018 | 683 | ± 3.8% | 54% | 39% | 7% |
| Grassroots Targeting (R) | Late June 2018 | 1,000 | ± 3.1% | 63% | 28% | – |
| Meeting Street Research (R-Fischer) | January 24–28, 2018 | 500 | – | 51% | 34% | – |
| Public Policy Polling (D-Raybould) | November 10–12, 2017 | 1,190 | ± 2.8% | 42% | 31% | 27% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Generic Republican | Generic Democrat | Undecided |
| Meeting Street Research (R-Fischer) | January 24–28, 2018 | 500 | – | 47% | 32% | – |

### Results

2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Deb Fischer (inc.) | 403,151 | 57.69% | −0.08% |
| | Democratic | Jane Raybould | 269,917 | 38.62% | −3.61% |
| | Libertarian | Jim Schultz | 25,349 | 3.63 | — |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 466 | 0.07% | — |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 133,234 | 19.06% | +3.52% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 698,883 | 100.00% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### By county

From Secretary of State of Nebraska
| County | Deb Fischer Republican | Deb Fischer Republican | Jane Raybould Democratic | Jane Raybould Democratic | Jim Schultz Libertarian | Jim Schultz Libertarian | Write-in | Write-in | Total votes |
| County | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | Total votes |
| Adams | 63.44% | 6,487 | 32.61% | 3,334 | 3.93% | 402 | 0.02% | 2 | 10,225 |
| Antelope | 81.56% | 2,061 | 15.67% | 396 | 2.65% | 67 | 0.12% | 3 | 2,527 |
| Arthur | 87.07% | 202 | 10.34% | 24 | 2.59% | 6 | 0.00% | 0 | 232 |
| Banner | 83.76% | 263 | 12.42% | 39 | 3.82% | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | 314 |
| Blaine | 84.79% | 223 | 12.93% | 34 | 2.28% | 6 | 0.00% | 0 | 263 |
| Boone | 76.56% | 1,757 | 19.91% | 457 | 3.22% | 74 | 0.31% | 7 | 2,295 |
| Box Butte | 72.51% | 2,632 | 23.00% | 835 | 4.41% | 160 | 0.08% | 3 | 3,630 |
| Boyd | 83.11% | 797 | 13.35% | 128 | 3.55% | 34 | 0.00% | 0 | 959 |
| Brown | 83.25% | 1,153 | 13.72% | 190 | 3.03% | 42 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,385 |
| Buffalo | 66.86% | 10,939 | 29.12% | 4,765 | 3.97% | 650 | 0.04% | 7 | 16,361 |
| Burt | 67.93% | 1,995 | 28.46% | 836 | 3.54% | 104 | 0.07% | 2 | 2,937 |
| Butler | 71.00% | 2,470 | 25.04% | 871 | 3.94% | 137 | 0.03% | 1 | 3,479 |
| Cass | 63.97% | 6,787 | 31.98% | 3,393 | 3.99% | 423 | 0.06% | 6 | 10,609 |
| Cedar | 81.56% | 2,866 | 15.28% | 537 | 3.16% | 111 | 0.00% | 0 | 3,514 |
| Chase | 85.73% | 1,340 | 11.77% | 184 | 2.43% | 38 | 0.06% | 1 | 1,563 |
| Cherry | 80.18% | 1,913 | 13.16% | 314 | 6.08% | 145 | 0.59% | 14 | 2,386 |
| Cheyenne | 78.76% | 2,566 | 17.77% | 579 | 3.41% | 111 | 0.06% | 2 | 3,258 |
| Clay | 73.87% | 1,979 | 22.10% | 592 | 4.03% | 108 | 0.00% | 0 | 2,679 |
| Colfax | 69.27% | 1,731 | 27.73% | 693 | 3.00% | 75 | 0.00% | 0 | 2,499 |
| Cuming | 79.45% | 2,672 | 17.96% | 604 | 2.56% | 86 | 0.03% | 1 | 3,363 |
| Custer | 81.78% | 3,797 | 14.80% | 687 | 3.40% | 158 | 0.02% | 1 | 4,643 |
| Dakota | 59.02% | 2,677 | 37.28% | 1,691 | 3.62% | 164 | 0.09% | 4 | 4,536 |
| Dawes | 68.79% | 2,334 | 26.94% | 914 | 4.19% | 142 | 0.09% | 3 | 3,393 |
| Dawson | 69.77% | 4,363 | 26.50% | 1,657 | 3.63% | 227 | 0.10% | 6 | 6,253 |
| Deuel | 80.61% | 578 | 15.20% | 109 | 4.18% | 30 | 0.00% | 0 | 717 |
| Dixon | 74.38% | 1,655 | 21.93% | 488 | 3.64% | 81 | 0.04% | 1 | 2,225 |
| Dodge | 64.90% | 7,827 | 31.71% | 3,824 | 3.36% | 405 | 0.03% | 4 | 12,060 |
| Douglas | 46.30% | 94,777 | 50.35% | 103,070 | 3.29% | 6,727 | 0.06% | 133 | 204,707 |
| Dundy | 84.07% | 649 | 12.82% | 99 | 2.98% | 23 | 0.13% | 1 | 772 |
| Fillmore | 67.99% | 1,718 | 27.31% | 690 | 4.67% | 118 | 0.04% | 1 | 2,527 |
| Franklin | 77.39% | 1,044 | 18.90% | 255 | 3.71% | 50 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,349 |
| Frontier | 79.90% | 831 | 16.63% | 173 | 3.46% | 36 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,040 |
| Furnas | 80.36% | 1,719 | 15.61% | 334 | 4.02% | 86 | 0.00% | 0 | 2,139 |
| Gage | 58.74% | 4,896 | 36.28% | 3,024 | 4.91% | 409 | 0.07% | 6 | 8,335 |
| Garden | 81.52% | 816 | 13.89% | 139 | 4.40% | 44 | 0.20% | 2 | 1,001 |
| Garfield | 83.48% | 667 | 14.14% | 113 | 2.25% | 18 | 0.13% | 1 | 799 |
| Gosper | 79.69% | 667 | 17.56% | 147 | 2.75% | 23 | 0.00% | 0 | 837 |
| Grant | 93.69% | 282 | 4.65% | 14 | 1.66% | 5 | 0.00% | 0 | 301 |
| Greeley | 73.57% | 732 | 23.92% | 238 | 2.51% | 25 | 0.00% | 0 | 995 |
| Hall | 62.45% | 10,483 | 33.50% | 5,624 | 3.96% | 665 | 0.09% | 15 | 16,787 |
| Hamilton | 74.88% | 3,076 | 21.81% | 896 | 3.24% | 133 | 0.07% | 3 | 4,108 |
| Harlan | 77.11% | 1,149 | 19.26% | 287 | 3.49% | 52 | 0.13% | 2 | 1,490 |
| Hayes | 89.06% | 350 | 8.14% | 32 | 2.54% | 10 | 0.25% | 1 | 393 |
| Hitchcock | 82.48% | 890 | 14.27% | 154 | 3.24% | 35 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,079 |
| Holt | 77.75% | 3,226 | 17.47% | 725 | 4.60% | 191 | 0.17% | 7 | 4,149 |
| Hooker | 82.96% | 258 | 15.76% | 49 | 0.96% | 3 | 0.32% | 1 | 311 |
| Howard | 70.20% | 1,696 | 25.25% | 610 | 4.51% | 109 | 0.04% | 1 | 2,416 |
| Jefferson | 64.22% | 1,913 | 31.02% | 924 | 4.63% | 138 | 0.13% | 4 | 2,979 |
| Johnson | 62.06% | 1,101 | 32.75% | 581 | 5.07% | 90 | 0.11% | 2 | 1,774 |
| Kearney | 74.22% | 1,952 | 22.51% | 592 | 3.23% | 85 | 0.04% | 1 | 2,630 |
| Keith | 79.19% | 2,542 | 17.66% | 567 | 3.12% | 100 | 0.03% | 1 | 3,210 |
| Keya Paha | 87.05% | 336 | 10.88% | 42 | 2.07% | 8 | 0.00% | 0 | 386 |
| Kimball | 81.30% | 1,122 | 14.64% | 202 | 3.99% | 55 | 0.07% | 1 | 1,380 |
| Knox | 78.37% | 2,812 | 18.65% | 669 | 2.98% | 107 | 0.00% | 0 | 3,588 |
| Lancaster | 42.22% | 49,449 | 53.94% | 63,175 | 3.77% | 4,412 | 0.08% | 95 | 117,131 |
| Lincoln | 71.99% | 8,999 | 23.09% | 2,886 | 4.85% | 606 | 0.07% | 9 | 12,500 |
| Logan | 90.80% | 306 | 6.82% | 23 | 2.37% | 8 | 0.00% | 0 | 337 |
| Loup | 80.46% | 247 | 16.61% | 51 | 2.93% | 9 | 0.00% | 0 | 307 |
| Madison | 75.61% | 7,949 | 21.27% | 2,236 | 3.07% | 323 | 0.05% | 5 | 10,513 |
| McPherson | 87.02% | 228 | 8.40% | 22 | 4.58% | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | 262 |
| Merrick | 76.21% | 2,563 | 19.24% | 647 | 4.52% | 152 | 0.03% | 1 | 3,363 |
| Morrill | 80.33% | 1,699 | 14.56% | 308 | 5.06% | 107 | 0.05% | 1 | 2,115 |
| Nance | 71.54% | 885 | 25.46% | 315 | 2.99% | 37 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,237 |
| Nemaha | 68.48% | 1,788 | 27.84% | 727 | 3.68% | 96 | 0.00% | 0 | 2,611 |
| Nuckolls | 75.40% | 1,321 | 20.83% | 365 | 3.77% | 66 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,752 |
| Otoe | 64.62% | 4,098 | 31.17% | 1,977 | 4.10% | 260 | 0.11% | 7 | 6,342 |
| Pawnee | 67.13% | 774 | 28.79% | 332 | 4.08% | 47 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,153 |
| Perkins | 82.60% | 1,011 | 14.71% | 180 | 2.70% | 33 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,224 |
| Phelps | 79.50% | 3,068 | 17.39% | 671 | 3.01% | 116 | 0.10% | 4 | 3,859 |
| Pierce | 84.59% | 2,339 | 12.33% | 341 | 3.04% | 84 | 0.04% | 1 | 2,765 |
| Platte | 75.85% | 8,372 | 21.23% | 2,343 | 2.87% | 317 | 0.05% | 5 | 11,037 |
| Polk | 75.20% | 1,574 | 21.40% | 448 | 3.39% | 71 | 0.00% | 0 | 2,093 |
| Red Willow | 78.49% | 3,051 | 17.91% | 696 | 3.60% | 140 | 0.00% | 0 | 3,887 |
| Richardson | 69.29% | 2,137 | 27.82% | 858 | 2.82% | 87 | 0.06% | 2 | 3,084 |
| Rock | 85.56% | 569 | 11.88% | 79 | 2.56% | 17 | 0.00% | 0 | 665 |
| Saline | 53.46% | 2,255 | 41.06% | 1,732 | 5.43% | 229 | 0.05% | 2 | 4,218 |
| Sarpy | 58.08% | 39,306 | 37.99% | 25,706 | 3.86% | 2,610 | 0.08% | 51 | 67,673 |
| Saunders | 68.06% | 6,479 | 27.99% | 2,664 | 3.90% | 371 | 0.05% | 5 | 9,519 |
| Scotts Bluff | 68.84% | 7,398 | 26.87% | 2,887 | 4.19% | 450 | 0.10% | 11 | 10,746 |
| Seward | 65.21% | 4,607 | 30.77% | 2,174 | 3.99% | 282 | 0.03% | 2 | 7,065 |
| Sheridan | 81.98% | 1,670 | 13.50% | 275 | 4.47% | 91 | 0.05% | 1 | 2,037 |
| Sherman | 67.67% | 873 | 28.68% | 370 | 3.57% | 46 | 0.08% | 1 | 1,290 |
| Sioux | 83.24% | 447 | 12.85% | 69 | 3.91% | 21 | 0.00% | 0 | 537 |
| Stanton | 80.36% | 1,817 | 16.05% | 363 | 3.58% | 81 | 0.00% | 0 | 2,261 |
| Thayer | 71.89% | 1,606 | 24.13% | 539 | 3.98% | 89 | 0.00% | 0 | 2,234 |
| Thomas | 86.09% | 291 | 10.65% | 36 | 3.25% | 11 | 0.00% | 0 | 338 |
| Thurston | 53.03% | 970 | 44.67% | 817 | 2.13% | 39 | 0.16% | 3 | 1,829 |
| Valley | 77.20% | 1,388 | 19.97% | 359 | 2.78% | 50 | 0.06% | 1 | 1,798 |
| Washington | 70.28% | 6,462 | 26.52% | 2,438 | 3.17% | 291 | 0.03% | 3 | 9,194 |
| Wayne | 74.21% | 2,388 | 22.50% | 724 | 3.26% | 105 | 0.03% | 1 | 3,218 |
| Webster | 73.09% | 997 | 23.31% | 318 | 3.59% | 49 | 0.00% | 0 | 1,364 |
| Wheeler | 82.85% | 343 | 14.49% | 60 | 2.66% | 11 | 0.00% | 0 | 414 |
| York | 71.41% | 3,659 | 25.00% | 1,281 | 3.51% | 180 | 0.08% | 4 | 5,124 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
* Dakota (largest municipality: South Sioux City)
* Saline (largest municipality: Crete)
* Thurston (largest municipality: Pender)

#### By congressional district

Fischer won all three congressional districts.
| District | Fischer | Raybould | Representative |
| 1st | 55% | 42% | Jeff Fortenberry |
| 2nd | 49% | 48% | Don Bacon |
| 3rd | 72% | 24% | Adrian Smith |