# 2021 Omaha mayoral election

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The 2021 Omaha mayoral election was held in 2021. Incumbent Republican mayor Jean Stothert was re-elected to a third term in office. Stothert is the first person elected to a third consecutive term as mayor of Omaha in the modern era.
The position of mayor in Omaha is officially a non-partisan position. A blanket primary was held on April 6, 2021. The top two finishers in the primary moved on to the general election which was held on May 11, 2021.
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.

## Primary election
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Mark Gudgel, high school English teacher (Party preference: Democratic)
* Jasmine Harris, public health official (Party preference: Democratic)
* RJ Neary, real estate broker (Party preference: Democratic)
* Kimara Snipes, member of the Omaha school board (Party preference: Democratic)
* Jean Stothert, incumbent mayor (Party preference: Republican)

#### Failed to qualify

* Dawaune Hayes, founder and director of North Omaha Information Support Everyone (endorsed Harris, then Neary)
* Bill Queen, comedian (Party preference: Libertarian)

#### Declined

* Jim Cavanaugh, Douglas County commissioner (Party preference: Democratic)

### Debates and forums

2021 Omaha mayoral primary debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | | | | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Stothert | Neary | Harris | Snipes | Gudgel | Hayes |
| 1 | March 31, 2021 | Big Mama's Black Men United | N/A | Facebook | P | P | P | P | A | A |

### Endorsements

Federal officials
* Ben Nelson, former U.S. Senator and former Governor of Nebraska
Local officials
* Don Preister, Bellevue city councilor, former president of the Bellevue city council, and former state senator
Individuals
* Ann Ashford, attorney, wife of former U.S. Representative Brad Ashford, and candidate for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2020
* Kara Eastman, nonprofit executive and nominee for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2018 and 2020
Labor unions
* Omaha Police Union
Individuals
* Warren Buffett, investor, business tycoon, philanthropist, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and world's seventh-wealthiest person. (Democrat)
Federal officials
* Bob Kerrey, former U.S. Senator and former Governor of Nebraska
* John Joseph Cavanaugh III, former U.S. representative for NE-02 (1977-1981)
State officials
* Burke Harr, former state senator
Local officials
* Mike Fahey, former mayor
* Jim Suttle, former mayor
* Garry Gernandt, former Omaha City Councillor
* Vinny Palermo, Omaha City Council
Organizations
* Omaha Federation of Labor
* Omaha Labor Council
Local officials
* Dawaune Hayes
Individuals
* Steven Bonnell II, popular Twitch streamer, political commentator, YouTube personality, and Omaha native

### Results

2021 Omaha mayoral primary election results :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Jean Stothert (incumbent) | Jean Stothert (incumbent) | 47,976 | 56.86% |
| RJ Neary | RJ Neary | 13,166 | 15.36% |
| Jasmine Harris | Jasmine Harris | 12,002 | 14.06% |
| Kimara Snipes | Kimara Snipes | 7,472 | 8.76% |
| Mark Gudgel | Mark Gudgel | 4,087 | 4.80% |
| Write-in | Write-in | 106 | 0.12% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 84,809 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Jean Stothert, incumbent mayor (Republican)
* RJ Neary, real estate broker (Democratic)

### Debate and forums

2021 Omaha mayoral general debates and forums :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Participants | Participants |
| P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | | |
| P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | Stothert | Neary |
| 1 | April 22, 2021 | WOWT | Brian Mastre | Facebook | P | P |
| 2 | April 26, 2021 | KMTV | Jon Kipper | Facebook | P | P |
| 3 | May 2, 2021 | KETV | Rob McCartney | KETV | P | P |
| 4 | May 4, 2021 | Omaha by Design | N/A | Facebook | P | P |
| 5 | May 6, 2021 | KFAB | N/A | Facebook | P | P |

### Endorsements

U.S. Governors
* Dave Heineman, former Governor and former Lieutenant Governor
Local officials
* Donald Kleine, Douglas County Attorney, and former sheriff
Organization
* Omaha Police Union
* Omaha World-Herald
Individual
* Warren Buffett, investor and fifth-richest man in the world (Democrat)
U.S. Senators
* Bob Kerrey, former U.S. Senator and former Governor of Nebraska
U.S. Representatives
* John Joseph Cavanaugh III, former U.S. representative for NE-02 (1977-1981)
State Senator
* Burke Harr, former state senator
* Steve Lathrop, state senator
County commission
* Mike Boyle, Douglas County Commissioner, former mayor
Country Treasurer
* John Ewing, Douglas County Treasurer
Local officials
* Ben Gray, Omaha City Council
* Chris Jerram, Omaha City Council
* Dawaune Hayes, founder and director of North Omaha Information Support Everyone
* Garry Gernandt, former Omaha City Councillor
* Jasmine Harris, public health official
* Jim Suttle, former mayor
* Mark Gudgel, high school English teacher
* Mike Fahey, former mayor
* Vinny Palermo, Omaha City Council
Organizations
* Omaha Federation of Labor
* Omaha Labor Council
* Nebraska Democratic Party
Individuals
* Jane Kleeb, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party

#### Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of April 26, 2021 :
| Candidate (party) | Total receipts | Total disbursements | Cash on hand |
| Jean Stothert (R) | $1,129,681 | $1,535,900 | $406,219 |
| RJ Neary (D) | $675,381 | $728,668 | $53,287 |
| Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission ||||

### Results

2021 Omaha mayoral general election results :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Jean Stothert (incumbent) | Jean Stothert (incumbent) | 62,646 | 64.76% |
| RJ Neary | RJ Neary | 33,822 | 34.14% |
| Write-in | Write-in | 859 | 0.90% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 97,327 | 100.00% |
Results by City Council district :
| District | Jean Stothert Republican | Jean Stothert Republican | RJ Neary Democratic | RJ Neary Democratic | Write-ins | Write-ins | Total |
| District | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total |
| 1 | 8,538 | 56.36% | 6,424 | 42.41% | 186 | 1.23% | 15,148 |
| 2 | 3,101 | 40.51% | 4,433 | 57.92% | 120 | 1.57% | 7,654 |
| 3 | 6,345 | 48.72% | 6,425 | 49.34% | 253 | 1.94% | 13,023 |
| 4 | 4,563 | 64.13% | 2,485 | 34.93% | 67 | 0.94% | 7,115 |
| 5 | 12,195 | 75.23% | 3,959 | 24.42% | 56 | 0.35% | 16,210 |
| 6 | 15,389 | 74.96% | 5,058 | 24.64% | 83 | 0.40% | 20,530 |
| 7 | 12,515 | 70.92% | 5,038 | 28.55% | 94 | 0.53% | 17,647 |