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LINCOLN — State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha passed business owner and political action committee co-founder Denise Powell in fundraising for the fourth quarter of 2025 in the six-candidate Democratic primary to represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, according to federal campaign finance reports.
Powell still leads in overall fundraising and in campaign cash on hand headed into the 2026 election year, though she lags both Cavanaugh and Douglas County District Court Clerk Crystal Rhoades in local name ID and polling. Cavanaugh and Rhoades are the race’s only two currently elected officials.
Cavanaugh, whose father held the Omaha-area congressional seat in the late 1970s, is the early favorite in the Democratic primary race in Nebraska’s most politically divided and diverse district.
The Republican 2nd District primary race lost a key competitor in former State Sen. Brett Lindstrom last month, which likely steers the race toward Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding.
Cavanaugh’s campaign noted that his fundraising had increased each quarter.
“The investment that Nebraskans have made in our campaign shows that people here are ready for new leaders who will lower costs and stop corruption,” Cavanaugh said.
Cavanaugh raised $343,608 during the last three months of 2025, Federal Election Commission documents show. Powell raised $305,313 over the same span. Powell has $624,760 in cash on hand, while Cavanaugh has $410,998.
While Powell raised $1.04 million last year, this was the first quarter that she didn’t lead the field in fundraising. Cavanaugh raised $674,113 in 2025.
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Rhoades raised $112,610 last year. Powell spent $421,782 in 2025. Cavanaugh spent $263,115 last year. Rhoades spent $77,477.
This time, like last, the Cavanaugh campaign and others competitors of Powell’s highlighted that some of her donations are reserved for the general election and can’t be spent during the primary.
The Cavanaugh campaign, for example, said without naming Powell that other candidates are using money reserved for the general election to “pump up their disappointing cash-on-hand” in a press release.
Powell said her haul shows that she is best positioned to flip the NE-02 seat to Democrats.
“It’s why I’m the only candidate in this race to have raised over a million dollars, and January was one of our strongest fundraising months yet,” Powell said.
Powell’s opponents have said she will need to spend more money, compared to the race’s better-known candidates, to boost her name ID. Powell spent $30,378 on direct marketing in the last quarter.
Cavanaugh and Rhoades have been on local ballots for years. Rhoades, who has said she is focused on knocking doors and talking to voters, not just dialing for dollars, raised $61,900. Rhoades listed $35,133 cash on hand.
Rhoades said she does not have to pay consultants hundreds of thousands of dollars for work that she and her husband can do — both are political consultants. Rhoades said people want to get big money out of politics, so she would rather focus on earning votes than buying ads.
A recent election in north Texas that drew national attention saw a Democrat win a state senate race despite being outspent by roughly 10 to 1.
“This is a two-person race between myself and Cavanaugh,” Rhoades said, “despite being outspent by my opponents, I remain extremely competitive and confident in our path to victory.”
Polling from the Cavanaugh and Rhoades campaigns shown to the Examiner have consistently shown Cavanaugh and Rhoades in the first two slots, with varying gaps between first and second place. Powell is consistently third, with a lead over the next pack of Democratic candidates.
The Cavanaugh and Powell campaigns have both dubbed themselves the race’s “front runner,” with Cavanaugh saying his haul shows “people here are ready for new leaders who will lower costs and stop corruption.”
National political experts have said they view the 2nd District as a potential Democratic pickup in this year’s midterms, as Republicans lost the incumbent advantage when GOP U.S. Rep. Don Bacon announced he would retire from Congress after his current term.
Beyond the better-known candidates, three others are trying to find footing, and two of them are raising significant funds.
Navy veteran Kishla Askins raised $224,710, and former congressional staffer James Leuschen raised $104,143. Askins said her campaign is “powered by people who believe in our mission.”
Leuschen said he is “confident we’ll have the resources we need to compete aggressively,” adding that he focuses on building momentum with voters.
Evangelos Argyrakis hasn’t filed yet to file a report on campaign fundraising for his Democratic bid. Federal law requires congressional candidates to file campaign finance paperwork once a campaign has raised or spent $5,000.
The winner of the May 12 Democratic primary will likely face off against Harding.
Harding raised $315,400 this quarter, with $543,996 on hand. Lindstrom, who dropped out of the GOP race after being pressed to consider a late GOP bid for governor, raised $83,873 and had $300,590 in cash on hand, according to his fourth quarter campaign finance report.
“We are in the strongest possible position to conserve and build resources and win [the district] this November,” Harding said.
The general election in the House race is Nov. 3.
