2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election

See also: 2018 United States gubernatorial elections

2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election

* * *

| <- 2014 | November 6, 2018 | 2022 ->

|
|

Turnout| 57.95%[1]
|  |  |

|
|

Nominee  | Pete Ricketts | Bob Krist |
Party  | Republican | Democratic
Running mate  | Mike Foley | Lynne Walz
Popular vote  | 411,812 | 286,169
Percentage  | 59.00% | 41.00%

* * *

County results

Congressional district results

Precinct results

Ricketts: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%
Krist: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%
Tie: 50% No votes

* * *

| Governor before election

Pete Ricketts
Republican

| Elected Governor

Pete Ricketts
Republican

|

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The 2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Nebraska, concurrently with the election of Nebraska's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various Nebraska and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Pete Ricketts won re-election to a second term.[2]

## Republican primary

[edit]

### Candidates

[edit]

#### Declared

[edit]

* Krystal Gabel, writer, candidate for Metropolitan Utilities District in 2016 and candidate for Omaha City Council in 2017[3][4]
* Pete Ricketts, incumbent governor[2][5]

* Running mate: Mike Foley, incumbent lieutenant governor[5]

#### Declined

[edit]

* Mike Flood, former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature[6]
* Bob Krist, state senator (running as a Democrat)[7][8]

### Endorsements

[edit]

Pete Ricketts

* Nebraska Farm Bureau[9]
* NRA Political Victory Fund[10]

### Results

[edit]

Results by county:

Ricketts—>90%

Ricketts—80–90%

Ricketts—70–80%

Ricketts—60–70%

Republican primary results  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Republican | Pete Ricketts (incumbent)  | 138,292  | 81.42
| Republican | Krystal Gabel | 31,568  | 18.58
Total votes  | 169,860  | 100.00

## Democratic primary

[edit]

### Candidates

[edit]

#### Declared

[edit]

* Tyler Davis, University of Nebraska, Omaha instructor[11]
* Bob Krist, state senator[12]

* Running Mate: Lynne Walz, state senator[13]

* Vanessa Gayle Ward, activist[12]

#### Declined

[edit]

* Chuck Hassebrook, former Regent of the University of Nebraska and nominee for governor in 2014 (running for the legislature)[14][15]
* Steve Lathrop, former state senator (running for the legislature)[14][16]

### Endorsements

[edit]

Bob Krist

State legislators

* Burke Harr, Nebraska Legislature 8th District[17]

Mayors

* Chris Beutler, Lincoln[17]

Federal-level politicians

* Brad Ashford, former congressman

### Results

[edit]

Results by county:

Krist—70–80%

Krist—60–70%

Krist—50–60%

Krist—40–50%

Krist—<40%

Tie

Ward—40–50%

Ward—50–60%

Democratic primary  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Democratic | Bob Krist | 54,992  | 59.81
| Democratic | Vanessa Gayle Ward  | 26,478  | 28.80
| Democratic | Tyler Davis  | 10,472  | 11.39
Total votes  | 91,942  | 100.00

## Independents

[edit]

State Senator Bob Krist announced in September 2017 he left the Republican Party in order to mount a third party challenge against Governor Ricketts.[8] Krist planned to create a new party in order to run, which will require submitting 5,000 signatures to qualify the party for the ballot.[8] However, in February 2018 he abandoned the independent candidacy and became a Democrat.

### Candidates

[edit]

#### Withdrawn

[edit]

* Bob Krist, state senator (running as a Democrat)[8]

## General election

[edit]

### Predictions

[edit]

Source  | Ranking  | As of

|
|

The Cook Political Report[18] | Safe R  | October 26, 2018
The Washington Post[19] | Safe R  | November 5, 2018
FiveThirtyEight[20] | Safe R  | November 5, 2018
Rothenberg Political Report[21] | Safe R  | November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball[22] | Safe R  | November 5, 2018
RealClearPolitics[23] | Safe R  | November 4, 2018
Daily Kos[24] | Safe R  | November 5, 2018
Fox News[25][a] | Likely R  | November 5, 2018
Politico[26] | Safe R  | November 5, 2018
Governing[27] | Safe R  | November 5, 2018

Notes

1. ^ The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races

### Debates

[edit]

Host
network/sponsors  | Date  | Link(s)  | Participants

|
|
|

Bob
Krist (D)  | Pete
Ricketts (R)
KMTV-TV | August 30, 2018
3:00 pm MDT  | [28] | Invited  | Invited

### Results

[edit]

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2018[29] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Republican | Pete Ricketts (incumbent)  | 411,812  | 59.00%  | +1.85%
| Democratic | Bob Krist | 286,169  | 41.00%  | +1.77%
Total votes  | 697,981  | 100.00%  | N/A
| Republican hold

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

* Burt (largest village: Tekamah)
* Saline (largest city: Crete)
* Thurston (largest village: Pender)

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

* Douglas (largest city: Omaha)

#### By congressional district

[edit]

Rickets won 2 of 3 congressional districts, with Krist winning the remaining one, which elected a Republican.[30]

District  | Ricketts  | Krist  | Representative

|
|
|

1st | 56% | 44%  | Jeff Fortenberry
2nd | 49%  | 51% | Don Bacon
3rd | 74% | 26%  | Adrian Smith

## See also

[edit]

* Nebraska elections, 2018

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Nebraska Voter Turnout in 2022" (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. November 8, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
2. ^ a b Walton, Don (April 21, 2016). "Ricketts ties conservative goals to two terms". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
3. ^ "Omaha writer, marijuana advocate announces bid for governor as Republican". Lincoln Journal Star. July 22, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
4. ^ Kirkley, Sara (August 28, 2017). "Omaha writer says Nebraskans need options in governor's race". NTV News. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
5. ^ a b Walton, Don (June 4, 2017). "Ricketts embarks on re-election campaign, promises tax relief every year". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
6. ^ Duggan, Joe (June 29, 2017). "After Heineman says Mike Flood would make an 'outstanding governor,' ex-speaker says it's not his time". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
7. ^ Hammel, Paul (May 3, 2017). "State Sen. Bob Krist says he's thinking about challenging Pete Ricketts for governor in 2018". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
8. ^ a b c d Konnath, Hailey (July 17, 2017). "Nebraska State Sen. Bob Krist to leave GOP, try to challenge Ricketts as third-party candidate". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
9. ^ Koeller, Austin (August 26, 2018). "Pete Ricketts receives NE Farm Bureau endorsement". Grand Island Independent. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018.(subscription required)
10. ^ "NRA Endorses Ricketts, Evnen, Murante for Top State Offices in Nebraska". NRA-ILA. April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. "National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) proudly announces its endorsement of Pete Ricketts for Governor of Nebraska"
11. ^ Jordan, Joe (October 26, 2017). "Democrats Short List for Governor Slowly Emerging". News Channel Nebraska. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
12. ^ a b Schulte, Grant (February 12, 2018). "Nebraska Governor hopeful joins Democratic Party". USNews. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
13. ^ Gaardner, Nancy (April 30, 2018). "State Sen. Lynne Walz chosen as Democrat Bob Krist's running mate". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
14. ^ a b Walton, Don (July 2, 2017). "Good week for Ricketts in political terms". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
15. ^ Walton, Don (August 30, 2017). "Chuck Hassebrook seeks seat in Legislature". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
16. ^ Hammel, Paul (August 29, 2017). "Ex-State Sen. Steve Lathrop plans to run for his old seat, challenging incumbent Merv Riepe". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
17. ^ a b Roseann Moring. "Gubernatorial candidate Bob Krist switches to Democratic Party". Omaha World-Herald.
18. ^ "2018 Governor Race Ratings for October 26, 2018". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
19. ^ "The Washington Post's gubernatorial race ratings". The Washington Post. October 16, 2018.
20. ^ "2018 Governor Forecast | FiveThirtyEight". FiveThirtyEight. October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
21. ^ "2018 Gubernatorial Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
22. ^ "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2018 Governor". www.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
23. ^ "2018 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. October 9, 2018.
24. ^ "2018 Governor Race Ratings". Daily Kos. June 5, 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
25. ^ "2018 Midterm Power Ranking". Fox News.
26. ^ "Politico Race Ratings". Politico.
27. ^ "2018 Governor Elections: As November Nears, More Governors' Races Become Tossups". www.governing.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
28. ^ "WATCH: Ricketts, Krist debate at state fair". KMTV. August 30, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
29. ^ "Official Results: General Election – November 6, 2018". Nebraska Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
30. ^ "The Electoral College: Maine and Nebraska's Crucial Battleground Votes". January 9, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Candidates at Vote Smart
* Candidates at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites

* Bob Krist (D) for Governor
* Pete Ricketts (R) for Governor

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