State Sen. Carol Blood begins U.S. House campaign against Rep. Flood

State Sen. Carol Blood launched her campaign against incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Flood at a South Lincoln union hall Saturday afternoon.

“Make sure you say the B, not the F,” Blood told a group of supporters chanting her name. “And by the way, that’s a higher grade, too, right?”

Blood was highly critical of the U.S. Congress she hopes to join, saying it’s on track to become the most unproductive in modern history.

“I’m guessing right now, if they were up for an annual employment review, you wouldn’t give them a very high score, would you?” she said.

She went on to criticize Mike Flood and the House G.O.P. for their stance on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

“Mike Flood and his schoolyard bullies want to eat your lunch,” Blood said. “I will protect Medicare, I will protect Medicaid and I will protect Social Security as we know it.”

Blood also emphasized the difference between her and Flood on abortion.

While Blood was launching her campaign in South Lincoln, Flood was participating in the Nebraska Walk for Life, an anti-abortion rally at the State Capitol.

“The most significant difference between myself and Mike Flood is that he supports a complete and total ban on abortion and I personally believe that safe and accessible reproductive healthcare is a basic right,” Blood said, prompting the event’s loudest applause.

Blood said she expects Flood to make his campaign about immigration and told her supporters she believes the border crisis is the Republican Party’s fault.

“There’s a crisis at the border and we can’t pretend otherwise,” she said. “The question isn’t whether it’s a problem, but the real question is, what will Congress do about it? Because they have failed.”

Blood said she would work to pass a budget in Congress to provide the resources necessary to protect the border.

She concluded by telling her supporters she was going to win the election through hard work.

“It’s about time your voices are heard and it’s about time for a win,” Blood said.

When Blood ran for governor against Jim Pillen in 2022, she won Lancaster County by a slim margin, but lost by 23 percent statewide.

Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb attended Blood’s campaign launch and said she sees a path for victory in the state’s 1st Congressional which includes Lincoln, Bellevue, Fremont, Norfolk and Columbus.

“Right now, if you look at CD-1, the majority of votes are coming out of both Sarpy County and Lancaster County where Senator Blood is well known and got really strong numbers when she ran for governor,” Kleeb said. “We see the path for Sarpy, Lancaster and then picking up some votes in rural Nebraska as well.”

Kleeb also highlighted Blood’s opposition to eminent domain for private gain and said she expects that to resonate with rural voters.

No Democrat has held Nebraska’s First Congressional District seat since 1967.