Backemeyer to face Flood in Nebraska's 1st District

Nebraska Democrats in the state's 1st Congressional District voted Chris Backemeyer as their candidate to challenge incumbent Rep. Mike Flood Tuesday night. The Associated Press called the race for Backemeyer shortly after polls closed.

By the end of the night, Backemeyer, a former State Department worker living in Lincoln, held a strong lead over Eric Moyer, a renewable energy manager, who's also from Lincoln, taking 58% of the vote.

The 1st Congressional District covers 12 counties in eastern Nebraska. The area includes Omaha suburbs Bellevue and Papillion, and the cities of Lincoln, Fremont, Columbus and Norfolk. The district also includes Offutt Air Force Base and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

"Our goal is going to be to talk to every single voter we can between now and November," Backemeyer said at the Democratic watch party at Lincoln's Hub Cafe. "We want to hear their concerns and hear what they want to see in their representative. We want to talk about what we can do to make their life better."

Despite the race call, Moyer did not immediately concede the race, instead calling for the rest of the results to be tallied.

"I want to see what all the numbers are before I form an opinion," Moyer said around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Incumbent Republican Mike Flood ran unopposed in his primary and automatically advanced to November. Flood, a broadcast owner, lawyer and former state senator from Norfolk, has held the seat since 2022.

In a statement to the media on Tuesday night, Flood highlighted work on lowering taxes and housing costs.

"While Washington is gridlocked, I am getting things done: passing bipartisan legislation to lower housing costs, supporting the largest tax cut in American history, and delivering more than $100 million in federal funding back to Nebraska," Flood said.

His campaign has touted a housing affordability bill passed by the House in February. Flood was an original co-sponsor, though it hasn’t been signed into law yet.

Libertarian Nik Sandman, a Lincoln religious broadcaster and former southwest Nebraska farmer and mail carrier, also ran unopposed in his primary. Sandman automatically advanced to November. He opposes abortions, euthanasia, and also wants to advocate for government health care and reform farm subsidies, according to a conversation with Nebraska Public Media News this year.