Political party strength in Nebraska
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2020) |
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Nebraska (including its time as a territory):
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- Secretary of State
- Attorney General
- State Auditor of Public Accounts
- State Treasurer
The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:
- State Legislature (technically non-partisan since 1937)
- State delegation to the U.S. Senate
- State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives (including non-voting delegate)
For years in which a presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.
Pre-statehood (1853–1866)
[edit]| Year | Executive offices | Legislature | United States Congress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Delegate | ||
| 1853 | William Walker (I)[a] | no legislature | Napoleon Bonaparte Giddings (D) |
| 1854 | Francis Burt (D) | ||
| 1855 | Mark W. Izard (D) | Territorial legislature | Bird Beers Chapman (D) |
| 1856 | |||
| 1857 | Fenner Ferguson (D) | ||
| 1858 | William Alexander Richardson (D) | ||
| 1859 | Samuel W. Black (D) | Experience Estabrook (D) | |
| 1860 | Samuel Gordon Daily (R) | ||
| 1861 | Alvin Saunders (R) | ||
| 1862 | |||
| 1863 | |||
| 1864 | |||
| 1865 | Phineas Hitchcock (R) | ||
| 1866 |
1867–1936
[edit]1937–present
[edit]| Year | Executive offices | State Legislature | United States Congress | Electoral votes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Lieutenant Governor |
Secretary of State |
Attorney General |
Auditor | Treasurer | Senator (Class I) |
Senator (Class II) |
House | |||
| 1937 | Robert Leroy Cochran (D) | Walter H. Jurgensen (D) | Harry R. Swanson (D) | Richard C. Hunter (D) | William H. Price (D) | Walter H. Jensen (D) | 43NP[r] (22R, 21D) |
Edward R. Burke (D) | George W. Norris (I) | 4D, 1R | |
| 1938 | |||||||||||
| Nate M. Parsons (D) | |||||||||||
| 1939 | William E. Johnson (R) | Walter R. Johnson (R) | Ray C. Johnson (R) | Truman W. Bass (R)[s] | 43NP (24R, 19D) |
3R, 2D | |||||
| John Havekost (D)[h] | |||||||||||
| 1940 | Willkie/ McNary (R) 
| ||||||||||
| 1941 | Dwight Griswold (R) | Frank Marsh Sr. (R)[t] | L. B. Johnson (R) | 43NP (26R, 17D) |
Hugh A. Butler (R)[d] | ||||||
| 1942 | |||||||||||
| 1943 | Roy W. Johnson (R) | Carl G. Swanson (R)[u] | 43NP (26R, 13D; 4 not reported) |
Kenneth S. Wherry (R)[d] | 4R | ||||||
| 1944 | 43NP (25R, 13D; 5 not reported) |
Dewey/ Bricker (R)
| |||||||||
| 1945 | 43NP (28R, 7D; 8 not reported) | ||||||||||
| 1946 | Edward Gillette (R)[v] | ||||||||||
| 1947 | Val Peterson (R) | Robert B. Crosby (R) | 43NP (20R, 9D; 14 not reported) | ||||||||
| 1948 | Dewey/ Warren (R)
| ||||||||||
| 1949 | Charles J. Warner (R)[d] | James Hodson Anderson (R)[w] |
43NP (22R, 5D; 16 not reported) |
3R, 1D | |||||||
| 1950 | Clarence S. Beck (R)[v] | 43NP (23R, 5D; 15 not reported) | |||||||||
| 1951 | James S. Pittenger (R)[h] | Frank B. Heintze (R) | 43NP (25R, 5D, 1I; 12 not reported) |
4R | |||||||
| 1952 | Fred A. Seaton (R)[k] | Eisenhower/ Nixon (R) 
| |||||||||
| Dwight Griswold (R)[d] | |||||||||||
| 1953 | Robert B. Crosby (R) | Frank Marsh (R) | 43NP (26R, 5D, 1I; 11 not reported) | ||||||||
| 1954 | 43NP (26R, 4D, 1I; 12 not reported) | ||||||||||
| Samuel W. Reynolds (R)[k] | Eva Bowring (R)[k] | ||||||||||
| Roman Hruska (R) | Hazel Abel (R) | ||||||||||
| 1955 | Victor E. Anderson (R) | Ralph W. Hill (R)[x] | 43NP (23R, 8D, 2I; 10 not reported) |
Carl Curtis (R) | |||||||
| 1956 | vacant | ||||||||||
| 1957 | Dwight W. Burney (R) | 43NP (25R, 13D, 1I; 4 not reported) | |||||||||
| 1958 | Bertha I. Hill (R)[h] | ||||||||||
| 1959 | Ralph G. Brooks (D)[d] | Richard R. Larsen (D) | 43NP (31R, 9D, 3I) |
2D, 2R | |||||||
| 1960 | Nixon/ Lodge (R)
| ||||||||||
| Dwight W. Burney (R)[m] | |||||||||||
| 1961 | Frank B. Morrison (D) | Clarence A. H. Meyer (R) | Clarence L. E. Swanson (R)[y] | 43NP (26R, 11D, 3I; 3 not reported) |
4R | ||||||
| 1962 | 43NP (27R, 10D, 3I; 3 not reported) | ||||||||||
| 1963 | 43NP (29R, 12D, 2I) |
3R | |||||||||
| 1964 | P. Merle Humphries (R)[h] | 43NP (28R, 13D, 2I) |
Johnson/ Humphrey (D)
| ||||||||
| 1965 | Philip C. Sorensen (D) | Fred Sorensen (D) | 49NP[z] (31R, 12D, 2I; 4 not reported) |
2R, 1D | |||||||
| 1966 | |||||||||||
| 1967 | Norbert Tiemann (R) | John E. Everroad (R) | Wayne R. Swanson (R) | 49NP (33R, 12D, 2I; 2 not reported) |
3R | ||||||
| 1968 | Nixon/ Agnew (R)
| ||||||||||
| 1969 | 49NP (36R, 11D; 2 not reported) | ||||||||||
| 1970 | |||||||||||
| 1971 | J. James Exon (D) | Frank Marsh (R) | Allen J. Beermann (R) | Ray A. C. Johnson (R) | 49NP (36R, 12D, 1I) | ||||||
| 1972 | |||||||||||
| 1973 | 49NP (33R, 15D, 1I) | ||||||||||
| 1974 | |||||||||||
| 1975 | Gerald T. Whelan (D) | Paul L. Douglas (R)[w] | Frank Marsh (R)[w] | ||||||||
| 1976 | Ford/ Dole (R)
| ||||||||||
| 1977 | 49NP (30R, 17D, 2I) |
Edward Zorinsky (D)[d] | 2R, 1D | ||||||||
| 1978 | 49NP (28R, 19D, 2I) | ||||||||||
| 1979 | Charles Thone (R) | Roland A. Luedtke (R) | 49NP (25R, 22D, 2I) |
J. James Exon (D) | |||||||
| 1980 | Reagan/ Bush (R)
| ||||||||||
| 1981 | Kay A. Orr (R)[v] | 49NP (30R, 17D, 2I) |
3R | ||||||||
| 1982 | 49NP (31R, 16D, 2I) | ||||||||||
| 1983 | Bob Kerrey (D) | Donald McGinley (D) | 49NP (30R, 17D, 2I) | ||||||||
| 1984 | 49NP (29R, 19D, 1I) | ||||||||||
| 1985 | Robert M. Spire (R)[v] | 49NP (26R, 22D, 1I) | |||||||||
| 1986 | 49NP (25R, 23D, 1I) | ||||||||||
| 1987 | Kay A. Orr (R) | William E. Nichol (R) | Frank Marsh (R) | 49NP (26R, 22D, 1I) | |||||||
| David Karnes (R)[aa] | |||||||||||
| 1988 | 49NP (27R, 21D, 1I) |
Bush/ Quayle (R)
| |||||||||
| 1989 | 49NP (28R, 20D, 1I) |
Bob Kerrey (D) | 2R, 1D | ||||||||
| 1990 | 49NP (29R, 19D, 1I) | ||||||||||
| 1991 | Ben Nelson (D) | Maxine Moul (D)[ab] | Don Stenberg (R) | John Breslow (D) | Dawn Rockey (D) | 49NP (27R, 21D, 1I) | |||||
| 1992 | 49NP (26R, 22D, 1I) |
Bush/ Quayle (R)
| |||||||||
| 1993 | |||||||||||
| Kim M. Robak (D)[v] | |||||||||||
| 1994 | 49NP (25R, 23D, 1I) | ||||||||||
| 1995 | Scott Moore (R)[ac] | John Breslow (R)[ad] | Dave Heineman (R)[ae] | 49NP (26R, 22D, 1I) |
3R | ||||||
| 1996 | Dole/ Kemp (R)
| ||||||||||
| 1997 | 49NP (27R, 21D, 1I) |
Chuck Hagel (R) | |||||||||
| 1998 | 49NP (26R, 21D, 2I) | ||||||||||
| 1999 | Mike Johanns (R)[af] | David Maurstad (R)[ag] | Kate Witek (R) | 49NP (28R, 19D, 2I) | |||||||
| 2000 | 49NP (29R, 18D, 2I) |
Bush and Cheney (R)
| |||||||||
| 2001 | John A. Gale (R)[v] | 49NP (31R, 16D, 2I) |
Ben Nelson (D) | ||||||||
| Dave Heineman (R)[v] | Lorelee Hunt Byrd (R)[v][ah] | ||||||||||
| 2002 | |||||||||||
| 2003 | Jon Bruning (R) | 49NP (34R, 13D, 2I) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Ron Ross (R)[aa] | ||||||||||
| 2005 | Dave Heineman (R)[ai] | Rick Sheehy (R)[v][w] | 49NP (32R, 15D, 2I) | ||||||||
| 2006 | Kate Witek (D)[aj] | ||||||||||
| 2007 | Mike Foley (R) | Shane Osborn (R) | 49NP (30R, 17D, 2I) | ||||||||
| 2008 | 4 – McCain/ Palin (R) 1 – Obama/ Biden (D) [ak]
| ||||||||||
| 2009 | 49NP (31R, 18D) |
Mike Johanns (R) | |||||||||
| 2010 | 49NP (30R, 19D) | ||||||||||
| 2011 | Don Stenberg (R) | 49NP (32R, 17D) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Romney/ Ryan (R)
| ||||||||||
| 2013 | Lavon Heidemann (R)[h][w] | 49NP (29R, 19D, 1I) |
Deb Fischer (R) | ||||||||
| 2014 | |||||||||||
| John E. Nelson (R)[k] | |||||||||||
| 2015 | Pete Ricketts (R) | Mike Foley (R) | Doug Peterson (R) | Charlie Janssen (R) | 49NP (34R, 14D, 1I) |
Ben Sasse (R) | 2R, 1D | ||||
| 2016 | 49NP (35R, 13D, 1I) |
Trump/ Pence (R)
| |||||||||
| 2017 | 49NP (31R, 16D, 1L, 1I) |
3R | |||||||||
| 2018 | |||||||||||
| 2019 | Bob Evnen (R) | John Murante (R)[al] | 49NP (30R, 18D, 1I) | ||||||||
| 2020 | 4 – Trump/ Pence (R) 1 – Biden/ Harris (D) [am]
| ||||||||||
| 2021 | 49NP (32R, 17D) | ||||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||||
| 2023 | Jim Pillen (R) | Joe Kelly (R) | Mike Hilgers (R) | Mike Foley (R) | Pete Ricketts (R)[h] | ||||||
| Tom Briese (R)[h] | 49NP (32R, 16D, 1I) | ||||||||||
| 2024 | 4 – Trump/ Vance (R) 1 – Harris/ Walz (D) [an]
| ||||||||||
| 49NP (33R, 15D, 1I) | |||||||||||
| 2025 | |||||||||||
- ^ Provisional
- ^ Impeached and removed from office for misappropriation of state funds; the impeachment was expunged six years later.
- ^ As state secretary of state, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Died in office.
- ^ The Coalition elected an Anti-Monopolist as Senate President Pro Tempore.[1]
- ^ a b James E. Boyd won the 1890 election and was sworn in on January 8, 1891. However, due to a question of his U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the office, he did not take office until February 8, 1892.
- ^ Resigned on November 20, 1889 to take an elected seat in the United States House of Representatives.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Appointed to fill vacancy.
- ^ A Republican was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore, but the chamber was organized by the coalition of Democrats and Populists.[2]
- ^ A Silver Republican was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore, and the Silver Republicans were in coalition with the Democrats and Populists in organizing both chambers.[3]
- ^ a b c d e f Appointed to fill vacancy; did not seek election.
- ^ Resigned on May 1, 1901 to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
- ^ a b As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ Resigned in 1910 to take office as Solicitor of the United States Treasury.
- ^ Died in office on August 19, 1935.
- ^ Died in office on December 21, 1936.
- ^ Changed party affiliation from Republican to Independent in 1936.
- ^ Due to a constitutional amendment passed in 1934, effective with the 1936 election, the Nebraska Legislature became a non-partisan unicameral body with 43 elected members.
- ^ Died in office on August 21, 1939.
- ^ Died in office on February 9, 1951.
- ^ Resigned on December 31, 1945.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Appointed to fill vacancy; subsequently elected.
- ^ a b c d e Resigned.
- ^ Died in office on July 13, 1958.
- ^ Died in office on April 5, 1964.
- ^ Due to the mandate of "one man, one vote" in Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims in redistricting, the Legislature expanded to 49 members.
- ^ a b Appointed to fill vacancy; lost election to a full term.
- ^ Resigned on October 4, 1993 to take office as director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
- ^ Resigned on December 15, 2000 to take a position with Union Pacific Railroad.
- ^ Changed party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in November 1994 after winning reelection as a Democrat.
- ^ Resigned on October 1, 2001 to take office as Lieutenant Governor.
- ^ Resigned on January 20, 2005 to take office as United States Secretary of Agriculture.
- ^ Resigned on October 1, 2001 to take office as director of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VIII.
- ^ Resigned on January 6, 2004.
- ^ As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term and was later elected in his own right.
- ^ Changed party affiliation from Republican to Democratic in August 2006.
- ^ McCain and Palin received the state's two at-large votes and one vote each in the First and Third Congressional Districts while Obama and Biden received one vote in the Second District.
- ^ Resigned on September 18, 2023 to lead the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems.
- ^ Trump and Pence received the state's two at-large votes and one vote each in the First and Third Congressional Districts while Biden and Harris received one vote in the Second District.
- ^ Trump and Vance received the state's two at-large votes and one vote each in the First and Third Congressional Districts while Harris and Walz received one vote in the Second District.
References
[edit]- ^ "Senate journal of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska. 1883". HathiTrust. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
- ^ "Senate journal of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska. 1893". HathiTrust. p. ii, viii–x. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
- ^ "Senate journal of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska. 1897". HathiTrust. p. vi, viii. Retrieved 2021-06-23.