Nebraska State Senate Elections, 2010

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Nebraska State Senate elections, 2010

Qualifications • Campaign contributions Competitiveness analysis

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidates District 2 • District 4 • District 6 • District 8 • District 10 • District 12 • District 14 • District 16 • District 18 • District 20 • District 22 • District 24 • District 26 • District 28 • District 30 • District 32 • District 34 • District 36 • District 38 • District 40 • District 42 • District 44 • District 46 • District 48

Nebraska State Senate

Elections for the office of Nebraska State Senator were held in Nebraska on November 2, 2010.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was February 15, 2010, and the primary Election Day was May 11, 2010.

Half of the Senate was up for election, and of those 24 districts, incumbents ran for re-election in 21 of them. Of the remaining three districts, one incumbent was ineligible to run because of term limits.

State legislative elections in Nebraska are nonpartisan. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary election go on to face each other in the general election.^[1]

See also: Nebraska State Senate (Unicameral) and State legislative elections, 2010

November 2 General Election Results[edit]

The following candidates won election on November 2, 2010:

Term limits[edit]

See also: State legislatures with term limits

The Nebraska State Senate has been a term-limited state senate since Nebraska voters approved Initiative 415 (2000). Under the terms of Initiative 415, Nebraska's senators can serve no more than two consecutive 4-year terms in the state senate.

There are 49 Nebraska State Senators. In 2010, only one who was a current member was ineligible to run for the senate again:

• Arnie Stuthman

Campaign contributions[edit]

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for State Senate in Nebraska in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.^[2]

In 2010, the candidates for State Senate raised a total of $1,597,466 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:^[3]

Incumbency[edit]

Unopposed incumbents[edit]

Eight incumbents (33.33%) faced no competition in the November 2 general election and were thus guaranteed re-election in November.

Primary challenges[edit]

Thirteen incumbents faced competition in the May 11 primary. All 13 incumbents won their primaries.

Retiring incumbents[edit]

Three incumbent senators were not running for re-election, while 21 incumbents (87.5%) ran for re-election.

Incumbents who are retiring are:

• District 8: Tom White.
• District 14: Tim Gay.
• District 22: Arnie Stuthman. - Ineligible due to term limits.

Qualifications[edit]

To be eligible to serve in the Nebraska Senate, a candidate must be:^[4]

• At least 21 years of age
• A resident of Nebraska, and specifically a resident of the legislative district he or she wishes to serve, for at least one year prior to the general election
• Must not have ever been convicted of a felony

List of candidates

Partisan dominance in state senates heading into the 2010 state legislative elections

District 2[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Dave Pankonin: 3,354 a Incumbent Pankonin was first elected in 2006.
• Nate Louderback: 989 a

November 2 General election candidates:
Dave Pankonin 6,853
Nate Louderback 2,183

District 4[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Pete Pirsch: 2939 a Incumbent Pirsch was first elected in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:
Pete Pirsch 8,538

District 6[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• John Nelson: 2,023 a Incumbent Nelson was first elected in 2006.
• Todd Frazier: 651 a
• George Westphal: 451

November 2 General election candidates:
John Nelson 5,031
Todd Frazier 2,896

District 8[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Burke Harr: 862 a
• John Comstock: 655 a
• Richard Ream: 589

Note: Incumbent Tom White did not seek re-election.

November 2 General election candidates:
Burke Harr 3,257
John Comstock 3,101

District 10[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Robert "Bob" Krist: 1,391 a Incumbent Krist was first elected in 2009.
• Tim Lonergan: 1,166 a
• Larry Bradley: 392

November 2 General election candidates:
Robert "Bob" Krist 3,884
Tim Lonergan 3,829

District 12[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Steve Lathrop: 1,909 a Incumbent Lathrop was first elected in 2006.
• John Lillis: 959 a

November 2 General election candidates:
Steve Lathrop 6,074
John Lillis Note: Lillis did not appear on the general election ballot.

District 14[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Jim Smith: 1,544 a
• Teresa Whitehead: 1,527 a
• Don Todd: 271
• Ian Hartfield: 440

Note: Incumbent Tim Gay did not seek re-election in 2010.

November 2 General election candidates:
Jim Smith 6,203
Teresa Whitehead 4,995

District 16[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Kent Rogert: 2,495 a Incumbent Rogert was first elected in 2006.
• Lydia Brasch: 2,268 a
• Debra Bosshart: 968

November 2 General election candidates:
Kent Rogert 4,300
Lydia Brasch 4,796

District 18[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Scott Lautenbaugh: 2,716 a Incumbent Lautenbaugh was first elected in 2007.
• Carl Lorenzen: 2,112 a

November 2 General election candidates:
Scott Lautenbaugh 7,691
Carl Lorenzen 5,505

District 20[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Brad Ashford: 3,143 a Incumbent Ashford was first elected in 1986.

November 2 General election candidates:
Brad Ashford 7,690

District 22[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Paul Schumacher: 1,877 a
• Mike Moser: 1,873 a
• Rebecca Rayman: 1,257
• Roy Zach: 535

Note: Incumbent Arnie Stuthman did not seek re-election in 2010.

November 2 General election candidates:
Paul Schumacher 4,974
Mike Moser 4,558

District 24[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Greg Adams: 4,666 a Incumbent Adams was first elected in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:
Greg Adams 8,385

District 26[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Amanda McGill: 5,455 a Incumbent McGill was first elected in 2006.
• Tom Dierks: 2,345 a
• Bob Van Valkenburg: 806

November 2 General election candidates:
Amanda McGill 4,621
Tom Dierks 4,169

District 28[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Bill Avery: 4,644 a Incumbent Avery was first elected in 2006.
• Nancy Russell: 2,518 a

November 2 General election candidates:
Bill Avery 4,831
Nancy Russell 2,474

District 30[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Norm Wallman: 3,575 a Incumbent Wallman was first elected in 2006.
• John Knabe: 2,142 a
• Robert Tiemann: 2,033

November 2 General election candidates:
Norm Wallman 6,375
John Knabe 5,736

District 32[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Russ Karpisek: 4,495 a Incumbent Karpisek was first elected in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:
Russ Karpisek 7,642

District 34[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Annette Dubas: 4,690 a Incumbent Dubas was first elected in 2006.
• Brandon Hunnicutt: 2,150 a

November 2 General election candidates:
Annette Dubas 8,021
Brandon Hunnicutt 2,174

District 36[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• John Wightman 4,265 a Incumbent Wightman was first elected in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:
John Wightman 6,734

District 38[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Tom Carlson 899 a Incumbent Carlson was first elected in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:
Tom Carlson 9,396

District 40[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Tyson Larson: 3,002 a
• Merton Dierks: 2,769 a Incumbent Dierks was first elected in 1986.
• Adam Dea: 260

November 2 General election candidates:
Tyson Larson 5,583
Merton Dierks 5,085

District 42[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Thomas Hansen: 4,494 a Incumbent Hansen was first elected in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:
Thomas Hansen 8,673

District 44[edit]

• Mark Christensen: 4,615 a Incumbent Christensen was first elected in 2006.
• Thomas Baker: 2,818 a

November 2 General election candidates:
Mark Christensen 7,267
Thomas Baker 4,758

District 46[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• Danielle Nantkes Conrad: 2,092 a Incumbent Conrad was first elected in 2007.
• Chad Wright: 1,938 a

November 2 General election candidates:
Danielle Nantkes Conrad 2,259
Chad Wright 2,174

District 48[edit]

May 11 primary result:

• John Harms: 4,537 a Incumbent Harms was first elected in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:
John Harms 7,644

See also[edit]

• Nebraska State Senate (Unicameral)
• State legislative elections, 2010
• Primary election dates in 2010

External links[edit]

• Official General Election Results, 2010
• November 2, 2010 general election results
• List of 2010 candidates for Nebraska Legislature (dead link)
• May 11, 2010 primary election results
• Nebraska Democratic Party's list of 2010 candidates, including endorsed nonpartisan legislative candidates (dead link)
• Project Vote Smart list of candidates for Nebraska State Senate in the November 2, 2010 election

Footnotes[edit]