Aaron Sanderford
LINCOLN — Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood overcame strong Democratic turnout in the 1st District’s largest city, winning re-election Tuesday over State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue.
And Republican U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith cruised to re-election over Democrat Dan Ebers in Nebraska’s sprawling, rural 3rd Congressional District, which covers roughly three-fourths of the state.
Blood, who is term-limited in the Legislature, had argued that Flood was no longer the pragmatic Speaker of the Legislature who many Nebraskans remembered. She said he has shifted farther to the right than many in his district are comfortable with.
Flood says he was always conservative
Flood denied changing his views after serving separate stints as a state senator from Norfolk.
He said he had always been conservative but remains willing to work across the aisle with people on issues such as national security and the future of finance, including crypto.
He won the 1st District’s Republican-leaning areas, as well as enough Lancaster County voters to overcome its Democratic lean.
He was leading 56%-44% as of midnight. The Associated Press called the race after the first couple rounds of Tuesday evening’s results were released.
Flood said he was grateful to have the two years to run a normal race after having to run in a rare special election and regular election in rapid succession in 2022. He said he’s getting more comfortable with the people and issues facing his district.
“It’s nice to be in an election that’s not a fire drill,” Flood said. “It gives you a chance to meet the voters and to go to different communities. You have to develop relationships in Columbus and Fremont and Seward and Clarkson. It takes time.”
Blood, who supports abortion rights, tried to make reproductive health a separation point in the race, given that Nebraskans voted Tuesday on two abortion-related ballot measures.
But Flood has been hard for Democrats to unseat because of his base of support in northeast Nebraska, where a large number of Catholic voters share his opposition to abortion.
He has described his tough-on-crime views, his adversarial stance on China and his pro-agriculture, pro-university research positions as being squarely in the mainstream of his mixed district.
Immigration was a flash point in the race, with Blood questioning whether Flood or his GOP colleagues were sincere about trying to fix a broken immigration system.
Flood argued part of the problem lay at the feet of a Democratic Senate and president.
Blood argued district deserved more effective representation
Blood argued she would do more to protect Medicare and Social Security for seniors. But, in the end, the district sided with Flood, who owns News Channel Nebraska and other broadcast stations.
Flood joined Congress after a special election in June 2022. He replaced U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned after being convicted of federal crimes related to campaign finance. Fortenberry has since had his federal conviction overturned on a technicality of where the trial was held. He faces new charges, which he is contesting as political in nature.
Personal and family health issues kept Blood from the trail, but she said she did all she could. She said her campaign knocked on thousands of doors.
“We knew that everyone was saying that we had like a 1 percent chance of winning, and my opponent entered the race with a million dollars,” Blood said. “The one thing we had to do was work harder.”
Smith sails to re-election again
In the 3rd District, Smith easily defeated Ebers, who moved from Cambridge, Neb., to Lincoln for his job in hotel management. House candidates don’t have to live in a district to run there.
The district is one of the most Republican-leaning in the country. The race was largely over after the GOP primary, which Smith won 74%-19%. He was leading 81%-19% as of midnight.
“I’m humbled and grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve Nebraskans in the House and continue the fight for tax relief and to cut wasteful spending, to secure the border, and to grow the economy,” Smith said.
During the campaign, Smith argued most Nebraskans care more about bread-and-butter issues like agricultural trade and making American products and manufacturing more competitive than they do about other issues.
He spoke most often about inflation and the need to help consumers bounce back from four years under President Joe Biden. Ebers argued that Nebraskans needed a more collaborative approach. Ebers had no immediate comment Tuesday night.