Nebraskans discuss the issues that brought them to the polls on Tuesday

Music blasted over the speakers at the Nebraska Democratic Party election results watch party in Omaha on Tuesday night.

Rosa La Puente raised her voice over the din.

“We, as immigrants, have chosen to be Americans,” La Puente said. “And we not only have the right to vote, but our duty is to vote. So that our kids, grandkids and neighbors can have a better, much less cruel society than we are living in right now.”

Immigration was just one issue that voters like La Puente weighed in on at watch parties across the city. Elsewhere in Omaha, Dolores Bangert opposed the war in Iran and said she voted to advocate for minority rights, including for trans people and others in the LGBTQ+ community. But at another Omaha watch party, Alexander Liu said they were not sure if their rights would be upheld by a democratic presence.

“I'm going to be cautious,” Liu said. “I am very much a ‘actions over words’ person.”

That lack of confidence in party leadership is something Nebraska Freedom Coalition founder Patrick Peterson feels rings true across political aisles.

“The Nebraska Republican party is in a very, very weak position,” Peterson said. “People are dissatisfied with politicians running for office and not delivering on the campaign promises. Nothing became more affordable. There isn’t more transparency.”

Voter turnout across Nebraska came in at just under 27%, according to the latest election data from the secretary of state’s office. Many primary races, including the Senate race, the governor’s race and the Democratic race for secretary of state, were not competitive. Both the Democratic and Republican candidates for attorney general ran unopposed, as did current State Auditor Mike Foley.

University of Nebraska at Omaha political science professor Randall Adkins said he was somewhat surprised by the low turnout.

“Now we've got mail voting processes in Nebraska,” Adkins said. “We've made it really easy for people, and they're still not, they still didn't turn out to vote in this election.”

The 2020 primary elections saw the highest turnout in recent years at 40.5%, and turnout has been on the downturn since. Comparatively, general elections in the state tend to have much higher turnout, with presidential election years seeing the most voters at an average of 75%.

Adkins said the many non-competitive races may have been a reason why voter turnout was low.

“I think that probably has something to do with the fact that there weren't primary races at the top of the ticket that were competitive,” Adkins said. “You know, you've got an incumbent senator running for reelection, incumbent governor running for reelection. You know, your highest-profile competition is the secretary of state's office.”

In the secretary of state race, Scott Petersen defeated incumbent Bob Evnen for the Republican nomination. Adkins said voters may be hoping for a change in leadership, with Petersen being farther to the right than Evnen on election security.

“I have a feeling that this may be a sort of conventional Republican position versus, you know, Republican MAGA position,” Adkins said. “There's a difference between the two candidates on how they view elections and election accountability.”

Outside of the secretary of state race, Republicans were mostly preaching unity.

Brinker Harding, the Republican nominee for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, spoke during a Republican unity rally Wednesday morning following the primary. He touted the benefits of the One Big Beautiful Bill, tax cuts and immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration. Harding added that he and his fellow Republicans hope Trump will come to visit Omaha.

Meanwhile Mary Jane Truemper, chair of the Nebraska GOP, said in a release Wednesday morning that Democrats are only supporting values held by big donors in California and New York - not Nebraska.

“The values that define this state - faith, family, hard work, and personal responsibility - are not for sale,” Truemper wrote. “And no amount of outside spending will change that.”

Tuesday night, Gov. Jim Pillen talked about the importance of Republicans coming together and getting out their message for the general election.

“I think it's important that we as conservatives talk about what we've gotten accomplished, what we stand for, that we stand up for our values, that we're pro-life, and that we stand up for concealed carry and the Second Amendment and everything in between, and that we're shrinking government, we're decreasing spending, and that we're doing extraordinary things to grow the good life," he said.

State Democratic party chair Jane Kleeb wrote in a press release that the party’s primary wins were based on 10 years worth of work, and she expressed strong support for the women who will face off with Republicans come November: Lynne Walz against Pillen, Sarah Slattery against Petersen, and Jocelyn Brasher against Attorney General Mike Hilgers.

“Democratic women will get things done for the people,” Kleeb wrote. “The enthusiasm of our base and the coalition we are building across party lines will deliver real results for Nebraskans.”

Ana Hernandez sat beside Rosa La Puente on Tuesday night, waiting for the results from the primaries and talking about Nebraska voters. She said that despite recent political division, there is more that people have in common than not.

“At the end of the day, we’re all Nebraskans,” Hernandez said. “We’re trying to meet a middle ground of agreement where we can all live together.”