There has been a
bit of
attention in Daily Kos diaries to the state legislature races. There is certainly no underestimating the importance of these races, and so today I focus on the very unique situation in Nebraska.
So, get ready for a nonpartisan, unicameral legislative race with 21 open seats up for election.
First, a primer:
Nebraska is the only unicameral (one-house) legislature in the nation. There are 49 senators elected by district. It is also the only nonpartisan legislature. All candidates run on a nonpartisan ballot, and the top two votegetters in the primary advance to the general election. Ideally, this is supposed to reduce partisanship and allow things to get done quicker. Realistically, the Republicans control committee assignments, and bills like the Omaha Public Schools split get pushed through quickly. The unicameral was the brainchild of George Norris, a progressive Republican (and later Independent) Senator. Norris was the first in a long line of solidly independent Nebraska Senators.
In 2000, Nebraskans approved an initiative limiting State Senators to two consecutive terms. The term limits take effect this year, meaning that 20 Senators are term-limited out of office. One other Senator, Jeanne Combs, dropped out of her race and is not running for reelection, leaving 21 seats open. By 2007, for better or worse, half of the legislature will be completely different. In 2009, most of the other half will be termed out, including the infamous Ernie Chambers.
Maps:
Statewide District Map
Omaha Metro Area
Lancaster County (Lincoln)
Hall County (Grand Island)
Here's the current makeup of the Nebraska Unicameral:
Democrats: 12
Republicans: 35
Independents: 2
Seats up for election in 2006: 24
Democratic Open Seats: 6
Republican Open Seats: 15
Republican Incumbents: 3
Democrats advanced at least one candidate past the primary in 15 of these races, including two races that advanced 2 Democrats.
Here's a brief overview of some of those races:
LD 6 (Pam Brown, D)
D Lynne Anderson
R John Nelson
Anderson came in first in the primary despite a 3:1 Republican turnout advantage.
LD 8 (Pat Bourne, D)
D Tom White
D Marc Kraft
This is one of the two races that advanced two Democrats.
LD 10 (Mike Friend, R)
R Mike Friend
D Rob Wimberley
This is the district I grew up in, and Friend is the only Republican incumbent facing a Democrat in 2006. Wimberley received 18% of the vote in the primary.
LD 12 (Pam Redfield, R)
R Jean Stothert
D Steve Lathrop
Lathrop won a straight-up primary matchup 53-47 despite high Republican turnout. This looks like a pickup.
LD 14 (Nancy Thompson, D)
R Tim Gay
D Ian Hartfield
Gay received 77% of the vote in the primary, so it's safe to say he'll win the general.
LD 16 (Matt Conneally, D)
D Kent Rogert
R Jeff Bush
The other 2004 Congressional candidate's seat should remain in Democratic hands, though. Rogert got 64% in the primary.
LD 20 (Jim Jensen, R)
D Carol Casey
R Brad Ashford
Casey got 43% in the two-way primary, but presumably more Democrats could turnout for the general. Should be a tossup.
LD 26 (Marian Price, R)
D Amanda McGill
R Steve Guittar
The former communications director for the NDP, McGill grabbed 51% in a three-way primary. Another pickup opportunity.
LD 28 (Chris Beutler, D)
D Bill Avery
R Bob Swanson
Avery got 28% in a very competitive primary. This is a relatively blue district, though.
LD 30 (Dennis Byars, R)
R Tony Ojeda
D Norman Wallman
Byars tried to challenge the term limits but failed. Wallman got 22% in a five-way primary, finishing second. Ojeda still seems likely to win, though.
LD 32 (Jeanne Combs, R)
D Russ Karpisek
R Ron Schwab
And this is why you contest every seat. Karpisek got 43% in the primary, with high Republican turnout. Combs, the vocal proponent of a conceal and carry law that passed the legislature this spring, bowed out of the race a few weeks after the primary. Republicans collected signatures to get Schwab on the ballot, but Karpisek has to be the favorite in this race. Another pickup opportunity.
LD 34 (Bob Kremer, R)
D Annette Dubas
R Greg Senkbile
Dubas got 41% in the primary, and finished first. Senkbile got 36%. Another toss-up.
LD 40 (Doug Cunningham, R)
R Cap Dierks
D Tom Noecker
Dierks was one of the conservative Democrats who switched to the Republican Party, along with Sens. Abbie Cornett and Pat Engel. Noecker finished second in the primary with 19% of the vote.
LD 44 (Tom Baker, R)
R Mark Christensen
D Frank Shoemaker
Shoemaker surprised and got 21% of the vote in the primary, finishing second. But in this state, in his district, it seems very unlikely that he'll win.
LD 46 (David Landis, D)
D Carol Brown
D Danielle Nantkes
Nantkes, the former President of Nebraska Young Democrats, finished three votes behind Brown in the primary. This one is another toss-up, but will remain a Democratic seat.
Democratic Pickups: 3
Republican Pickups: 1
Toss-Ups: 2
Best case scenario has the Dems with 16 seats heading into next year. If Mike Foley defeats Kate Witek in the State Auditor race, someone will be appointed to his seat after the election. That will most likely not change the balance of power, however.
In 1994, there was an even partisan split in the legislature, with Ernie Chambers as an independent. Now, Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2:1. Somewhere along the line, the party stopped recruiting candidates or caring about winning elections (see the disasterous 2002 result, for example). We are fortunate to finally see a real effort toward getting candidates elected this time around, and I hope it continues, because rebuilding the party starts from the ground up.
UPDATE: Added LD-10 and LD-40.