# 2017 Omaha mayoral election

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The 2017 Omaha mayoral election was held on May 9, 2017. Incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert won re-election to a second term in office.
The position of mayor in Omaha is officially a non-partisan position. A blanket primary was held on April 4, 2017. The top two finishers in the primary, Jean Stothert and Heath Mello, moved on to the general election.
Alongside the mayor, the Omaha City Council was up for re-election. It is also officially non-partisan. However, it remained controlled by a Democratic majority, as only district 7 has a general election between a Democrat and a Republican. Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 remained Democratic whereas districts 5 and 6 remained Republican. The incumbent Republican in district 7 was re-elected as well.

## Anti-abortion Democratic Criticism

Mello was opposed by NARAL Pro-Choice America due to earlier introduction of anti-abortion legislation, and support of legislation introduced by others. Pro-choice advocates also assailed Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez for their support of Mello. The Huffington Post reported that Mello sponsored the final version of a 20-week abortion ban approved by the governor in 2010. He also cast anti-abortion votes, including supporting a requirement for physicians to be physically present during an abortion, which limited access to telemedicine abortion care. Additionally, he supported a law banning insurance plans in the state from covering abortions. He was endorsed in 2010 by anti-abortion group Nebraska Right to Life.

## Primary election
### Candidates

* Jean Stothert, incumbent Mayor
* Heath Mello, former State Senator
* Taylor Royal
* Christopher N. Geary
* Ean Mikale
2017 Omaha mayoral primary election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Jean Stothert | 25,501 | 43.71% |
| | Nonpartisan | Heath Mello | 24,155 | 41.40% |
| | Nonpartisan | Taylor Royal | 6,289 | 10.78% |
| | Nonpartisan | Ean Mikale | 1,781 | 3.05% |
| | Nonpartisan | Christopher N. Geary | 547 | 0.94% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 67 | 0.11% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 58,340 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of April 24, 2017 :
| Candidate (party) | Total receipts | Total disbursements | Cash on hand |
| Jean Stothert (R) | $499,659 | $1,535,900 | $241,352 |
| Health Mello (D) | $899,213 | $1,131,433 | $240,898 |
| Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission ||||

### Results

2017 Omaha mayoral general election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Jean Stothert (inc.) | 52,509 | 52.78% |
| | Nonpartisan | Heath Mello | 46,761 | 47.01% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 209 | 0.21% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 99,479 | 100.00% |

#### Results by city council district

Results by City Council district :
| District | Jean Stothert Republican | Jean Stothert Republican | Heath Mello Democratic | Heath Mello Democratic | Total |
| District | # | % | # | % | Total |
| 1 | 7,386 | 46.86% | 8,375 | 53.13% | 15,751 |
| 2 | 2,388 | 28.59% | 4,433 | 71.40% | 8,352 |
| 3 | 5,209 | 38.63% | 8,275 | 61.36% | 13,484 |
| 4 | 4,122 | 49.17% | 4,261 | 50.82% | 8,383 |
| 5 | 10,312 | 65.23% | 5,495 | 34.76% | 15,807 |
| 6 | 12,609 | 65.31% | 6,696 | 34.68% | 19,305 |
| 7 | 9,387 | 61.36% | 5,911 | 38.63% | 15,298 |