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OMAHA — On a hot July day, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District Democratic nominee Denise Powell spoke alongside Rahm Emanuel, local union leaders and Premier-Midwest Beer & Beverage workers on strike to make the case for why the district should elect a Democrat for the first time in a decade.
“The momentum is huge … people are ready. They’re tired. They’re frustrated,” Powell said after her event. “I think Brinker (Harding, the GOP nominee) just keeps proving that he is not gonna be any better than what we have. … I think the choice is clear.”
As in other election cycles, Democrats — and election analysts — view the slightly red-leaning 2nd District as a pickup for the blue column to make gains in the U.S. House, as midterm elections often don’t go the way of the party that controls the White House.
Republicans are looking to defend the state’s most politically divided and diverse congressional district without retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon.
Bacon told the Examiner in June that Republicans can keep the seat because Harding is “a pragmatic, smart Republican” who can compete for independent voters in the district.
“Denise comes from the more left wing of the party. … Her challenge is going to be how she can also compete in the middle, because in the end, District 2 — it’s about who wins the middle vote,” Bacon said.
Harding and Powell have tried to paint each other as the extreme of their party.
Harding and Republicans seek to tie Powell to a string of wins for the progressive and Democratic socialist wings of the Democratic Party across the country and contend that she is “out of touch” with the district.
Meanwhile, Powell and Democrats want voters to think of Harding as a Republican who has embraced the MAGA label, pointing to President Donald Trump’s endorsement and Harding’s support of Trump’s policies.
Second District voters got a taste of the Republicans’ game plan for the next three months when U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise came to campaign for Harding.
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Johnson described the 2nd District race as a contest between “common sense and crazy” during his visit at a crowded Omaha cafe. Harding joined in by saying that communists are coming for Nebraska, pointing to Democratic socialist Melat Kiros’ June 30 victory over outgoing U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st District Democratic primary.
“We cannot fool ourselves to think that they’re not trying to get here to Nebraska,” Harding said. “We’re going to make sure that we do everything we can to get our message out that we will keep those heartland values and take them to D.C.”
Harding, in the same July campaign visit , said Powell won’t represent the entire district because she campaigned on anger and “Trump derangement syndrome.”
“I work for everyone, Republicans, Democrats, independents alike. That’s how I worked on the City Council,” Harding said. “That’s the same way I will treat my term in Congress.”
The Republican Congressional Committee has amplified a story from Fox News about Powell’s opposition to Omaha state Sen. Kathleen Kauth’s successful 2023 push for a bill that restricted minors from accessing puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones for gender-related care and prohibited gender reassignment surgery before age 19. The Nebraska Republican Party has posted about a Daily Wire story about Powell with the headline “Dem Candidate Tied To Revolutionary Org That Pushes Sex Ed On Kindergarteners.”
Powell has worked behind the scenes of state politics as co-founder of a group that coached local women to run for office and helped with recent Nebraska ballot initiatives. One pushed to codify abortion rights and failed; the other, to repeal a publicly funded voucher program for private K-12 schools, succeeded.
After her July campaign event with Emanuel, Powell told the Examiner the GOP strategy shows that Republicans have nothing of substance to offer voters in this election. Powell called the Republicans’ attacks “easy jabs that they’re trying to get in because they don’t have anything more substantial to hit me on.”
“Nebraskans are pragmatic, centrist, commonsense folks, and that’s how I’m showing up,” Powell said. “I think when voters meet me … they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s a working baseball mom. She’s not some crazy extremist.’
Powell, during her heated Democratic primary, was viewed as the more moderate candidate by national outlets.
Powell, during her speech when former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Omaha earlier this year, said Harding has embraced the Trump administration’s tax and spending law “even after it dumped thousands of our neighbors off their health insurance.”
“He thinks this war in Iran that is jacking up everyone’s gas prices … that is putting American and civilian lives at risk … he thinks this is great,” Powell told the crowd at Metro Community College. “Mike Johnson and Donald Trump know Brinker Harding is just a rubber stamp for their agenda.”
Buttigieg, who served as U.S. secretary of transportation under former President Joe Biden, said he traveled to Omaha because Powell is a leader. He said the district “can do better” than Harding.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has also tried to paint Harding as “MAGA” with press releases about Trump’s policies on taxes and spending. They even point to some of his votes as a city councilman: one example the DCCC highlighted was his vote against a motion to override former Mayor Jean Stothert’s veto of fire department funding in 2024, saying his vote put “Nebraska’s firefighters and working families’ lives at risk.”
“Brinker Harding is an avowed extremist whose views and policy stances are wildly out of step with everyday workers and families in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District,” one of the DCCC memos said.
Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, the DCCC chair, echoed similar criticism to the Omaha World-Herald this week during a quick visit to Omaha.
Harding has been on the Omaha City Council since 2017. During his first reelection bid in 2021, he pointed to what one would expect for a city council race — improving city services and promoting public safety during his first term in office.
He easily defeated his 2021 opponent; he ran unopposed last year for another term. Harding told Roll Call that Trump’s endorsement will “be a benefit to our campaign.”
“To have his endorsement, knowing what this district is, says a lot about the confidence that the White House and leadership have in me and our campaign,” Harding said to Roll Call.
Another wrinkle in the race could be two new political parties — who are still dealing with litigation. It is unclear which races the Nebraska Working People Party and the America First Party will put candidates in if the two become official.
Libertarian Eric Michael Foreman is also running for the 2nd District seat.
Whoever wins this November will have to balance representing the Nebraska swing district.
In her first campaign ad for the general election, Powell doesn’t mention her party affiliation but focuses on affordability and fighting corruption. Harding’s general election campaign ad with his family said he “will work with both sides to bring down the cost of living.”
The general election is Nov. 3.
