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OMAHA — Political action committee co-founder Denise Powell again led the Democratic primary pack in first-quarter fundraising in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, as she has for all but one quarter.
She is one of six Democrats still competing to be the party’s nominee in a nationally watched open-seat race in the Omaha area’s slightly right-leaning swing district after the retirement of Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon.
The top-polling trio in the race includes State Sen. John Cavanaugh, Douglas County District Court Clerk Crystal Rhoades and Powell, two elected officials with names known to local voters and a well-funded upstart.
Three lesser-known Democrats are also competing: Navy veteran Kishla Askins, who again raised a significant sum, and two who did not, Democratic Socialist Melanie Williams and former immigration attorney Evangelos Argyrakis.
Powell raised $437,760 in this fundraising quarter, according to the latest federal fundraising reports. Cavanaugh raised $360,589. Kishla Askins raised $70,077. Rhoades raised $50,067. Williams raised $2,123.
Powell drew most of her individual fundraising this quarter from New York and California donors, with Nebraska in third. Cavanaugh’s top states for individual donors this quarter were Nebraska, Illinois, and California. Rhoades’ top states for donations were New York, California and Nebraska.
Cavanaugh drew the most support this quarter from political action committees, much of it from unions backing him. Powell drew her top PAC support this quarter from PACs that support Latino and Latina candidates and women. Rhoades didn’t list PAC support this quarter, but many of her individual donations were bundled by AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Many of Powell’s donations were bundled by EMILY’s List. Askins boosted her tally with a six-figure personal loan.
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To date, Powell leads the major contenders in fundraising and money spent, having raised nearly $1.5 million and spent more than $1 million. Cavanaugh is next, having raised more than $1 million and spent $689,000. Rhoades has raised nearly $163,000 and has spent nearly $114,000. Askins raised $545,653 and has spent $365,566.
Cavanaugh has $345,299 cash on hand. Powell has $458,232 cash on hand. Askins $180,087 cash on hand. Rhoades has $49,114 cash on hand. Williams has $383 in cash on hand.
Rhoades’ top expenditure this quarter was roughly $6,266 on “campaign managing expense[s]” for Cerberus Strategies, a firm she and her husband, Ben Onkka, run. Rhoades has previously said she is not focusing on fundraising but on talking to voters, as “raised the necessary funds to run a strong, voter-centered campaign. Instead of prioritizing ads.”
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Powell, whose campaign said it expects to pile on campaign ads as Election Day approaches, has spent $243,205 on TV advertising from Buying Time, records show. She spent $15,000 on Digital Consulting from SB Digital, Inc.
Meg Mandy, senior advisor to the Powell campaign, said, “Denise has outraised every other person running for Congress and has more local endorsements than any other Democrat. More than 9,300 people have pitched in to support her grassroots campaign.”
Cavanaugh spent $263,177 on TV advertising from Screen Strategies Media. Cavanaugh is trying to fight back against attacks from his primary opponents and some national Republicans, including a group with ties to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Katie Bartizal, Cavanaugh’s campaign manager, said Cavanaugh is proud of his haul as those donations “come from Nebraskans, grassroots donors, and from the more than a dozen labor unions that support John.”
“John’s grassroots Nebraska supporters are up against big money being spent and orchestrated by political consultant Denise Powell,” Bartizal said.
Outside spending is already a factor in the 2nd District Democratic primary, including Powell-aligned groups like BOLD PAC and GOP-led groups like American Action Network.
Cavanaugh has asked a Powell-aligned superPAC to stop “misleading Nebraska voters” about his record and has sent a letter to the group’s chair and treasurer.
Mandy has said the national organizations that support Powell do so because they “know that the path for Democrats to take back Congress runs right through NE-02 and Denise is the strongest candidate to flip this seat.”
Rhoades said, “Voters do not want candidates aligned with special interests, dark money, or billionaires to fund paid advertising campaigns.”
Evangelos Argyrakis has yet to file a campaign fundraising report for his bid. Federal law requires congressional candidates to file campaign finance paperwork once a campaign has raised or spent $5,000 for a race.
Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding, the presumptive Republican nominee, raised $359,185 this quarter, with $737,172 on hand. Early voting has already started. Nebraska’s primary election is May 12. The general election is Nov. 3.
