SEATTLE&nbsp;– 33,000 frontline workers at Boeing, members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Districts 751 and W24 voted to ratify a new union contract with the company that has instantly set a new standard for compensation and wages for aerospace industry workers, according to a media release from the union.

The deal followed a vigorous strike lasting nearly two months by the workers in Washington state, Oregon and California that made international headlines and drew widespread public support and bipartisan political support.&nbsp;

The new contract includes a 43.65% compounded wage increase – 38% before compounding – over the four-year life of the contract. In recent weeks, acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su worked on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration to help restart and reach a positive resolution to negotiations that had previously stalled.

Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24, issued the following joint statement following the votes being tallied:&nbsp;

“Working people know what it’s like when a company overreaches and takes away more than is fair. Through this strike and the resulting victory, frontline workers at Boeing have done their part to begin rebalancing the scales in favor of the middle class – and in doing so, we hope to inspire other workers in our industry and beyond to continue standing up for justice at work. Through this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace. Our members perform high quality and flight critical work for the airplanes we build and deserve a return on their labor investment that provides for the quality of life worthy of that labor.

“This contract also creates a new foundation to build on for the future and that future begins today. We are ready to help Boeing change direction and return to building the highest quality and safest airplanes in the world. Our members are critical to that mission, and now have a stronger voice in the decision making process to ensure those needed improvements are made. ‘There is no Boeing without the IAM’ has been our battle cry, and we are ready, again, to do our part to bring this company back to the standard that it never should have strayed from.

“Livable wages and benefits that can support a family are essential – not optional – and this strike underscored that reality. This contract will have a positive and generational impact on the lives of workers at Boeing and their families. We hope these gains inspire other workers to organize and join a union. Frontline Boeing workers have used their voices, their collective power, and their solidarity to do what is right, to stand up for what is fair – and to win.”

Brian Bryant, IAM International President, issued the following statement:&nbsp;

“This agreement represents a new standard in the aerospace industry – one that sends a clear statement that aerospace jobs must be middle class careers in which workers can thrive. Workers in the aerospace industry, led by the IAM — the most powerful aerospace union in the world — will not settle for anything less than the respect and family-sustaining wages and benefits they need and deserve. This agreement reflects the positive results of workers sticking together, participating in workplace democracy, and demonstrating solidarity with each other and with the community during a necessary and effective strike.&nbsp;

“Nearly every worker in America knows what it’s like for a company to take too much and give too little. A contract like this sends an inspiring message to all workers in the United States who are seeking to join unions or who have been shortchanged by their employer. We remain very thankful to Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, who on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration helped to bring the employer and the members together for productive talks to reach this agreement.”

Highlights of the latest tentative agreement approved Monday night by the union members include:

Further details of the negotiated resolution can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal">iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal</a>.&nbsp;

“For many frontline Boeing workers in the IAM Union, the terms of this contract will be life-changing,”&nbsp;said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “It’s the most significant upgrade we’ve had to our collective bargaining agreement in a decade – and it will prove to be an example for the rest of the industry to live up to. Their strike was a great example of workers standing up for not just themselves, but also their families and communities.”

“Our members went on strike for better wages and better working conditions – and they won by staying united and exercising democracy in the workplace,”&nbsp;said IAM Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett. “They hit the streets, held strong, and have been rewarded with an excellent contract. These provisions are not just deserved by this dedicated frontline workforce — they are also overdue. This will set a new standard for aerospace across the region, the nation, and the industry.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730804690093.png" alt="Image courtesy IAM 571" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy IAM 571</figcaption>
 </figure>SEATTLE&nbsp;– 33,000 frontline workers at Boeing, members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Districts 751 and W24 voted to ratify a new union contract with the company that has instantly set a new standard for compensation and wages for aerospace industry workers, according to a media release from the union.The deal followed a vigorous strike lasting nearly two months by the workers in Washington state, Oregon and California that made international headlines and drew widespread public support and bipartisan political support.&nbsp;The new contract includes a 43.65% compounded wage increase – 38% before compounding – over the four-year life of the contract. In recent weeks, acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su worked on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration to help restart and reach a positive resolution to negotiations that had previously stalled.Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24, issued the following joint statement following the votes being tallied:&nbsp;“Working people know what it’s like when a company overreaches and takes away more than is fair. Through this strike and the resulting victory, frontline workers at Boeing have done their part to begin rebalancing the scales in favor of the middle class – and in doing so, we hope to inspire other workers in our industry and beyond to continue standing up for justice at work. Through this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace. Our members perform high quality and flight critical work for the airplanes we build and deserve a return on their labor investment that provides for the quality of life worthy of that labor.“This contract also creates a new foundation to build on for the future and that future begins today. We are ready to help Boeing change direction and return to building the highest quality and safest airplanes in the world. Our members are critical to that mission, and now have a stronger voice in the decision making process to ensure those needed improvements are made. ‘There is no Boeing without the IAM’ has been our battle cry, and we are ready, again, to do our part to bring this company back to the standard that it never should have strayed from.“Livable wages and benefits that can support a family are essential – not optional – and this strike underscored that reality. This contract will have a positive and generational impact on the lives of workers at Boeing and their families. We hope these gains inspire other workers to organize and join a union. Frontline Boeing workers have used their voices, their collective power, and their solidarity to do what is right, to stand up for what is fair – and to win.”Brian Bryant, IAM International President, issued the following statement:&nbsp;“This agreement represents a new standard in the aerospace industry – one that sends a clear statement that aerospace jobs must be middle class careers in which workers can thrive. Workers in the aerospace industry, led by the IAM — the most powerful aerospace union in the world — will not settle for anything less than the respect and family-sustaining wages and benefits they need and deserve. This agreement reflects the positive results of workers sticking together, participating in workplace democracy, and demonstrating solidarity with each other and with the community during a necessary and effective strike.&nbsp;“Nearly every worker in America knows what it’s like for a company to take too much and give too little. A contract like this sends an inspiring message to all workers in the United States who are seeking to join unions or who have been shortchanged by their employer. We remain very thankful to Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, who on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration helped to bring the employer and the members together for productive talks to reach this agreement.”Highlights of the latest tentative agreement approved Monday night by the union members include:<ul>
 <li>38% general wage increase over four years – 13%, 9%, 9%, 7% which compounds to 43.65% over the life of the agreement&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>$12,000 Ratification Bonus: The ratification bonus combines the previous $7,000 ratification bonus and the $5,000 lump sum into the 401(k). Now, union members can choose how this total amount is received – in their paycheck, contribution to 401(k), or a combination of both.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>AMPP incentive plan is reinstated, with a guaranteed minimum annual payout of 4%, including 2024 payout in February 2025</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>401(k) employer match of 100% up to 8%</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Special company retirement contribution of 4% into 401(k) maintained</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>$105 pension multiplier per year for those vested in the pension plan</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Call-in language back to current contract</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>New long-term disability plan and big improvement to short term disability plan</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Health care cost containment</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Improved overtime rules</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Key job security provisions</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Increased Minimum Rates that now increase with COLA increases.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>Further details of the negotiated resolution can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal">iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal</a>.&nbsp;“For many frontline Boeing workers in the IAM Union, the terms of this contract will be life-changing,”&nbsp;said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “It’s the most significant upgrade we’ve had to our collective bargaining agreement in a decade – and it will prove to be an example for the rest of the industry to live up to. Their strike was a great example of workers standing up for not just themselves, but also their families and communities.”“Our members went on strike for better wages and better working conditions – and they won by staying united and exercising democracy in the workplace,”&nbsp;said IAM Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett. “They hit the streets, held strong, and have been rewarded with an excellent contract. These provisions are not just deserved by this dedicated frontline workforce — they are also overdue. This will set a new standard for aerospace across the region, the nation, and the industry.”

Boeing factory strike ends as workers vote to accept contract

United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) Christopher Ferretti and Shereece Dendy-Sanders will lead the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, general election.&nbsp; AUSAs Ferretti and Dendy-Sanders have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the District of Nebraska, and in that capacity are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Attorney Lehr said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election.&nbsp; Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence.&nbsp; The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.&nbsp; The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.&nbsp;The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.&nbsp; It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice.&nbsp; The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Attorney Lehr stated that: “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.&nbsp; We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.&nbsp;In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSAs/DEOs Ferretti and Dendy-Sanders will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.&nbsp; They can be reached by the public at (402) 661-3700.”

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.&nbsp; The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (402) 493-8688.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at&nbsp;<a href="https://civilrights.justice.gov/">https://civilrights.justice.gov/</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 800-253-3931.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Attorney Lehr said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate.&nbsp; It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities.&nbsp; State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.&nbsp;

United States Attorneys OfficeUnited States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) Christopher Ferretti and Shereece Dendy-Sanders will lead the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, general election.&nbsp; AUSAs Ferretti and Dendy-Sanders have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the District of Nebraska, and in that capacity are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Attorney Lehr said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election.&nbsp; Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence.&nbsp; The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.&nbsp; The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.&nbsp;The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.&nbsp; It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice.&nbsp; The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Attorney Lehr stated that: “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.&nbsp; We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.&nbsp;In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSAs/DEOs Ferretti and Dendy-Sanders will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.&nbsp; They can be reached by the public at (402) 661-3700.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.&nbsp; The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (402) 493-8688.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at&nbsp;<a href="https://civilrights.justice.gov/">https://civilrights.justice.gov/</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 800-253-3931.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; United States Attorney Lehr said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate.&nbsp; It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities.&nbsp; State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.&nbsp;

U.S. Attorney Announces District Election Officers

UNMC research continues to grow, with total research expenditures increasing by 8% to $217.7 million in fiscal year 2024, the largest total in UNMC’s history.

“In the last two years, we’ve seen a big jump in research activity taking place,” said Ken Bayles, PhD, vice chancellor for research. “Clinical trials continue to be strong, and basic science research is expanding, bolstered by the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence&nbsp;(CoBRE) grant that Dr. Rebekah Gundry received. In addition, Department of Defense-funded research through NSRI continues to grow.”

Dr. Bayles noted that research funding received from federal agencies reached a new record of $141 million. “Federal awards continue to be the strongest source of funding for our faculty. This indicator shows we’re heading in the right direction.”

UNMC estimates that research funding brings about 30 jobs to Nebraska per $1 million in funding, meaning more than 5,000 jobs will be created in Nebraska from the 2024 awards.

Dr. Bayles also noted that UNMC received three new institutional training grants from the National Institutes of Health, expanding UNMC’s ability to recruit and train students and postdoctoral scholars in health-related areas of high need.

“An important part of our research mission is to train and mentor the next generation of scientists and scholars,” said UNMC Interim Chancellor Dele Davies, MD. “These new grants add to the strength of our training programs, and I’m excited to see the impact they will have on driving discoveries.”

Still, the steady rise of expenditures, he said, is the most accurate gauge of how UNMC’s research efforts continue to expand and is how UNMC is compared to other universities.

While award metrics reflect the funding transferred to UNMC in a given year, research expenditures better represent actual research activity. Expenditures also account for research funded by donors, academic health center partners and state-aided funds.

“This is the best reflection of the work that our scientists are doing,” Dr. Bayles said. “We continue to expand our research in impactful areas and our growing support from federal agencies suggest this will continue well into the future.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730730280584.jpeg" alt="Ken Bayles, PhD, UNMC vice chancellor for research (Courtesy)" />
 <figcaption>Ken Bayles, PhD, UNMC vice chancellor for research (Courtesy)</figcaption>
 </figure>UNMCUNMC research continues to grow, with total research expenditures increasing by 8% to $217.7 million in fiscal year 2024, the largest total in UNMC’s history.“In the last two years, we’ve seen a big jump in research activity taking place,” said Ken Bayles, PhD, vice chancellor for research. “Clinical trials continue to be strong, and basic science research is expanding, bolstered by the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence&nbsp;(CoBRE) grant that Dr. Rebekah Gundry received. In addition, Department of Defense-funded research through NSRI continues to grow.”Dr. Bayles noted that research funding received from federal agencies reached a new record of $141 million. “Federal awards continue to be the strongest source of funding for our faculty. This indicator shows we’re heading in the right direction.”UNMC estimates that research funding brings about 30 jobs to Nebraska per $1 million in funding, meaning more than 5,000 jobs will be created in Nebraska from the 2024 awards.Dr. Bayles also noted that UNMC received three new institutional training grants from the National Institutes of Health, expanding UNMC’s ability to recruit and train students and postdoctoral scholars in health-related areas of high need.“An important part of our research mission is to train and mentor the next generation of scientists and scholars,” said UNMC Interim Chancellor Dele Davies, MD. “These new grants add to the strength of our training programs, and I’m excited to see the impact they will have on driving discoveries.”Still, the steady rise of expenditures, he said, is the most accurate gauge of how UNMC’s research efforts continue to expand and is how UNMC is compared to other universities.While award metrics reflect the funding transferred to UNMC in a given year, research expenditures better represent actual research activity. Expenditures also account for research funded by donors, academic health center partners and state-aided funds.“This is the best reflection of the work that our scientists are doing,” Dr. Bayles said. “We continue to expand our research in impactful areas and our growing support from federal agencies suggest this will continue well into the future.”

UNMC research continues to reach new levels

Nebraska's Natural Resources Districts

LINCOLN, Nebraska&nbsp;– Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) are now accepting orders for conservation tree seedlings for spring planting. By ordering early, you can secure your preferred species and make a lasting contribution to the environment.

Since 1972, Nebraska’s NRDs have partnered with landowners to plant over 101 million trees statewide. At just $1.20 per seedling, and with cost-share programs available in many districts, these conservation trees provide immense benefits to people, wildlife, and the environment. They offer shade, shelter homes, reduce soil erosion, protect crops and livestock, support wildlife by providing food and cover, buffer noise, and add beauty to the landscape.

“The NRD Conservation Tree Program is about more than just trees—it’s about protecting our natural resources like soil, water, and wildlife,” said Martin Graff, Nebraska Association of Resources Districts president. “Every tree seedling planted helps prevent soil erosion, shields crops and livestock, filters water, and acts as a natural defense against harsh weather.”

As windbreaks mature, NRD foresters recommend landowners consider rehabilitating old windbreaks or planning new plantings. The NRD Conservation Tree Program provides an affordable way for landowners to safeguard their property. NRD staff and foresters collaborate with landowners to choose the best tree species, create planting plans, and, in many cases, even handle the planting.

A notable collaboration in tree planting began in December 2021 when Lincoln-based Executive Travel launched its ETGreen campaign, pledging to plant 1 million trees in partnership with Nebraska’s NRDs. The campaign funded over 162,000 trees between 2022 and 2024, and Executive Travel has committed another $50,000 for tree planting in 2025. This partnership offsets seedling costs for Nebraska landowners while supporting Executive Travel’s long-term tree planting goal. Learn more about ETGreen:&nbsp;<a href="https://vimeo.com/648711812" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/648711812</a>

NRD tree programs offer various services such as planting assistance, weed barrier installation, weed control, and drip irrigation. Popular tree species sell out quickly, so don’t miss the opportunity to get your order in early for the best selection. To learn more about cost-share options or to place an order, contact your local NRD or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nrdnet.org/" target="_blank">www.nrdnet.org</a>&nbsp;and click on “Find Your NRD.”

For more information on the NRD Conservation Tree Program, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nrdtrees.org/" target="_blank">www.nrdtrees.org</a>.

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD), the trade association for Nebraska's 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRD), works with individual districts to protect lives, property and the future of Nebraska’s natural resources. NRDs are unique to Nebraska, and act as local government entities with broad responsibilities to protect Nebraska’s natural resources. Major Nebraska river basins form the boundaries of the 23 NRDs, enabling districts to respond to local conservation and resource management needs. Learn more about Nebraska’s NRDs at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nrdnet.org/" target="_blank">www.nrdnet.org</a>.

Nebraska's Natural Resources DistrictsLINCOLN, Nebraska&nbsp;– Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) are now accepting orders for conservation tree seedlings for spring planting. By ordering early, you can secure your preferred species and make a lasting contribution to the environment.Since 1972, Nebraska’s NRDs have partnered with landowners to plant over 101 million trees statewide. At just $1.20 per seedling, and with cost-share programs available in many districts, these conservation trees provide immense benefits to people, wildlife, and the environment. They offer shade, shelter homes, reduce soil erosion, protect crops and livestock, support wildlife by providing food and cover, buffer noise, and add beauty to the landscape.“The NRD Conservation Tree Program is about more than just trees—it’s about protecting our natural resources like soil, water, and wildlife,” said Martin Graff, Nebraska Association of Resources Districts president. “Every tree seedling planted helps prevent soil erosion, shields crops and livestock, filters water, and acts as a natural defense against harsh weather.”As windbreaks mature, NRD foresters recommend landowners consider rehabilitating old windbreaks or planning new plantings. The NRD Conservation Tree Program provides an affordable way for landowners to safeguard their property. NRD staff and foresters collaborate with landowners to choose the best tree species, create planting plans, and, in many cases, even handle the planting.A notable collaboration in tree planting began in December 2021 when Lincoln-based Executive Travel launched its ETGreen campaign, pledging to plant 1 million trees in partnership with Nebraska’s NRDs. The campaign funded over 162,000 trees between 2022 and 2024, and Executive Travel has committed another $50,000 for tree planting in 2025. This partnership offsets seedling costs for Nebraska landowners while supporting Executive Travel’s long-term tree planting goal. Learn more about ETGreen:&nbsp;<a href="https://vimeo.com/648711812" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/648711812</a>NRD tree programs offer various services such as planting assistance, weed barrier installation, weed control, and drip irrigation. Popular tree species sell out quickly, so don’t miss the opportunity to get your order in early for the best selection. To learn more about cost-share options or to place an order, contact your local NRD or visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nrdnet.org/" target="_blank">www.nrdnet.org</a>&nbsp;and click on “Find Your NRD.”For more information on the NRD Conservation Tree Program, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nrdtrees.org/" target="_blank">www.nrdtrees.org</a>.The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD), the trade association for Nebraska's 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRD), works with individual districts to protect lives, property and the future of Nebraska’s natural resources. NRDs are unique to Nebraska, and act as local government entities with broad responsibilities to protect Nebraska’s natural resources. Major Nebraska river basins form the boundaries of the 23 NRDs, enabling districts to respond to local conservation and resource management needs. Learn more about Nebraska’s NRDs at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nrdnet.org/" target="_blank">www.nrdnet.org</a>.

NRDs Now Taking Orders for Spring Tree Seedlings

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/02/love-makes-history-again-while-ricketts-lays-groundwork-for-second-run-in-2026/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — Making history has become a political habit for Preston Love Jr., the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, who is facing U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican incumbent.

In 2020, Love became the state’s first Black candidate for the U.S. Senate backed by a major political party after the Nebraska Democratic Party abandoned its nominee, Chris Janicek.

This year, Love became the first Black Nebraskan to win a major party’s Senate nomination. His opponent, Ricketts, is a two-term governor who was appointed to the Senate by his successor.

Love also managed the barrier-breaking presidential campaign of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the mid-1980s, a campaign credited with broadening who Americans might accept as president.

Love has made no bones about the steep climb he faces Tuesday against Ricketts, the political face of one of the most influential donor families in conservative politics nationally.&nbsp;

Love compared his upstart campaign to David in search of a rock to knock off Goliath. He acknowledged that his campaign is at least partially aimed at boosting turnout for other races.&nbsp;

Love, who has helped run voter turnout efforts in North Omaha, said he wants his campaign to help motivate poorer voters who too often lose hope in the value of the process.&nbsp;

He said it could make a difference in Nebraska’s 2nd District U.S. House race between Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas and U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and in the presidential contest.

“I didn’t really choose the race,” Love told “Picking Corn,” the Nebraska Examiner’s political podcast. “I chose the time to run. If there were others, I would not run and (would) support them.”

His campaign raised $236,000, spent $195,000 and has $41,000 in cash on hand, campaign finance filings show. Ricketts has raised $5.4 million, spent $4.2 million and has $1.2 million in cash.

A separate Pete Ricketts Victory Fund raised $4.5 million and spent $4.4 million, sending much of that money to national Republicans, political committees and Ricketts’ Senate campaign.

Love had support from some small television advertising buys from an outside group tied to local progressives earlier in the campaign. He went on the air more meaningfully this week, he announced on Twitter, or X.

Ricketts is campaigning like an incumbent who knows he represents a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2 to 1 and where nonpartisans make up about a quarter of the electorate.&nbsp;

He is an overwhelming favorite to fill out the final two years of former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse’s term. Ricketts’ spending seems aimed at laying the groundwork to run for a six-year term in 2026.

Ricketts &nbsp;has run waves of television and radio ads focused on national issues, such as U.S. competition with China, national security and&nbsp; fighting bureaucratic overreach in Washington, D.C.

He is barnstorming the state this weekend with other members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation to boost GOP turnout statewide and to help Republicans in key races, including Bacon.

Ricketts has spent much of the campaign telling conservatives he would block the worst spending impulses of President Joe Biden and his potential successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.

He also pledged to be a reliable vote for tax and regulatory cuts sought by former President Donald Trump. He held the state’s purse strings tightly as governor.&nbsp;

On the stump, Ricketts has mainly ignored Love, focusing on what he describes as the missteps of the Biden administration and the need for GOP stewardship of the economy.

He said he still believes, as he did when he ran for governor, that governments benefit from his private sector experience with his father’s company, which became TD Ameritrade.

Ricketts pointed to customer-service-focused improvements in how quickly Nebraskans can access the Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program, or SNAP, which he has also pushed at the federal level.&nbsp;

“Really that’s what we did is we took that business experience to run government more like a business and we improved the level of services we provided,” Ricketts told the Examiner.

Ricketts has emphasized national defense and said the Senate needed a stricter immigration bill than the bipartisan border bill proposed by Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford.

That bill, which the Border Patrol union called the strongest in a generation, died after Trump intervened. Trump and some of his supporters wanted to avoid giving Biden a win on the issue.

Ricketts is no stranger to controversy. He has angered advocates for people in need and people with disabilities, who say he cares more about costs than people.

He angered some local Latinos by sending members of the Nebraska State Patrol and the Nebraska National Guard to the U.S.-Mexican border to help Texas with enforcement challenges there.

Some in the Nebraska Republican Party have questioned Ricketts’ loyalty to Trump, although he endorsed the former president once it became clear Trump would win the GOP nomination.

However, rank-and-file Republicans did not criticize Ricketts’ state spending on immigration, typically handled by the federal government. Gov. Jim Pillen has continued border deployments.&nbsp;

Love, a longtime civil rights activist, criticized the state’s results from one-party rule. He argues that more competition for people’s votes and voices would better serve Nebraska.

He said people have to go beyond caring about which party wins more from a public stance than finding a compromise policy approach that better solves people’s problems.

But Love said Trump presents unique challenges.

“Trump has become a wedge in our country,” Love said. “So we no longer have the luxury of just having divisions. … And so when do we take a stand? Each of us. … It’s now.”

As he told the Examiner’s podcast, Love studied economics while playing football for Coach Bob Devaney at the University of Nebraska and worked for IBM for over a decade.

He owned a computer store in Atlanta, where he said he met and joined luminaries of the civil rights movement. He still takes people from Nebraska on trips there to experience the past.

He has said he would protect a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health decisions and that he would protect voting rights by passing federal legislation named after the late civil rights leader John Lewis.

He has said economic development needs to be broader and more inclusive, helping communities where private investment sometimes leaves people to fend for themselves or at the whims of nonprofits.

He is open about his past struggles with addiction, saying it helps inform the sensitivities of his rehabilitation-and-treatment-focused approach to drugs he’d like to see adopted.

Ricketts backed Initiative 434, a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion after the first trimester, with some exceptions. Love supported Initiative 439, an abortion-rights amendment that would add a right to abortion to the Nebraska Constitution until fetal viability, the timing of which would be defined by a treating health care practitioner.

Both candidates stressed the need to fix Congress’ broken budget process, with Ricketts and Love saying the Senate needs to go back to regular appropriations and clearer committee work.

Both said they support U.S. military aid to Israel and Ukraine, though Love stressed the importance of doing more to make sure that innocent Palestinian civilians are protected.

Ricketts said it was important that the U.S. help its allies defend themselves without placing unreasonable limits on how. He said Israel needs full American backing against Hamas.

“Hamas started a war, and wars are horrible,” Ricketts told the podcast. “This is why you don’t start wars.”

They both also backed the need for a focus on improving crop insurance in the next farm bill, which Love said has taken too long for Congress to fix.

Ricketts lost his first Senate race in 2006 to former U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., in what was then the most expensive Senate race in Nebraska history. Nelson beat him 64%-36%.

Ricketts mostly self-financed that campaign and later described his decision as a mistake. He has raised more funds from supporters for his successful gubernatorial bids and his 2024 campaign.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730740028087.jpeg" alt="U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., right, is running for the final two years of a U.S. Senate term against Democratic challenger Preston Love Jr. (Candidate photos courtesy of their campaigns. Capitol photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., right, is running for the final two years of a U.S. Senate term against Democratic challenger Preston Love Jr. (Candidate photos courtesy of their campaigns. Capitol photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>Aaron Sanderford<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/02/love-makes-history-again-while-ricketts-lays-groundwork-for-second-run-in-2026/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — Making history has become a political habit for Preston Love Jr., the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, who is facing U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican incumbent.In 2020, Love became the state’s first Black candidate for the U.S. Senate backed by a major political party after the Nebraska Democratic Party abandoned its nominee, Chris Janicek.This year, Love became the first Black Nebraskan to win a major party’s Senate nomination. His opponent, Ricketts, is a two-term governor who was appointed to the Senate by his successor.Love also managed the barrier-breaking presidential campaign of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the mid-1980s, a campaign credited with broadening who Americans might accept as president.Love has made no bones about the steep climb he faces Tuesday against Ricketts, the political face of one of the most influential donor families in conservative politics nationally.&nbsp;Love compared his upstart campaign to David in search of a rock to knock off Goliath. He acknowledged that his campaign is at least partially aimed at boosting turnout for other races.&nbsp;<h2>Love wants to boost turnout</h2>Love, who has helped run voter turnout efforts in North Omaha, said he wants his campaign to help motivate poorer voters who too often lose hope in the value of the process.&nbsp;He said it could make a difference in Nebraska’s 2nd District U.S. House race between Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas and U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and in the presidential contest.“I didn’t really choose the race,” Love told “Picking Corn,” the Nebraska Examiner’s political podcast. “I chose the time to run. If there were others, I would not run and (would) support them.”His campaign raised $236,000, spent $195,000 and has $41,000 in cash on hand, campaign finance filings show. Ricketts has raised $5.4 million, spent $4.2 million and has $1.2 million in cash.A separate Pete Ricketts Victory Fund raised $4.5 million and spent $4.4 million, sending much of that money to national Republicans, political committees and Ricketts’ Senate campaign.Love had support from some small television advertising buys from an outside group tied to local progressives earlier in the campaign. He went on the air more meaningfully this week, he announced on Twitter, or X.<h2>Ricketts aims to win and win again</h2>Ricketts is campaigning like an incumbent who knows he represents a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2 to 1 and where nonpartisans make up about a quarter of the electorate.&nbsp;He is an overwhelming favorite to fill out the final two years of former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse’s term. Ricketts’ spending seems aimed at laying the groundwork to run for a six-year term in 2026.Ricketts &nbsp;has run waves of television and radio ads focused on national issues, such as U.S. competition with China, national security and&nbsp; fighting bureaucratic overreach in Washington, D.C.He is barnstorming the state this weekend with other members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation to boost GOP turnout statewide and to help Republicans in key races, including Bacon.Ricketts has spent much of the campaign telling conservatives he would block the worst spending impulses of President Joe Biden and his potential successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.He also pledged to be a reliable vote for tax and regulatory cuts sought by former President Donald Trump. He held the state’s purse strings tightly as governor.&nbsp;<h2>Ricketts has a record</h2>On the stump, Ricketts has mainly ignored Love, focusing on what he describes as the missteps of the Biden administration and the need for GOP stewardship of the economy.He said he still believes, as he did when he ran for governor, that governments benefit from his private sector experience with his father’s company, which became TD Ameritrade.Ricketts pointed to customer-service-focused improvements in how quickly Nebraskans can access the Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program, or SNAP, which he has also pushed at the federal level.&nbsp;“Really that’s what we did is we took that business experience to run government more like a business and we improved the level of services we provided,” Ricketts told the Examiner.Ricketts has emphasized national defense and said the Senate needed a stricter immigration bill than the bipartisan border bill proposed by Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford.That bill, which the Border Patrol union called the strongest in a generation, died after Trump intervened. Trump and some of his supporters wanted to avoid giving Biden a win on the issue.Ricketts is no stranger to controversy. He has angered advocates for people in need and people with disabilities, who say he cares more about costs than people.He angered some local Latinos by sending members of the Nebraska State Patrol and the Nebraska National Guard to the U.S.-Mexican border to help Texas with enforcement challenges there.Some in the Nebraska Republican Party have questioned Ricketts’ loyalty to Trump, although he endorsed the former president once it became clear Trump would win the GOP nomination.However, rank-and-file Republicans did not criticize Ricketts’ state spending on immigration, typically handled by the federal government. Gov. Jim Pillen has continued border deployments.&nbsp;<h2>Love wants change at the top</h2>Love, a longtime civil rights activist, criticized the state’s results from one-party rule. He argues that more competition for people’s votes and voices would better serve Nebraska.He said people have to go beyond caring about which party wins more from a public stance than finding a compromise policy approach that better solves people’s problems.But Love said Trump presents unique challenges.“Trump has become a wedge in our country,” Love said. “So we no longer have the luxury of just having divisions. … And so when do we take a stand? Each of us. … It’s now.”As he told the Examiner’s podcast, Love studied economics while playing football for Coach Bob Devaney at the University of Nebraska and worked for IBM for over a decade.He owned a computer store in Atlanta, where he said he met and joined luminaries of the civil rights movement. He still takes people from Nebraska on trips there to experience the past.He has said he would protect a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health decisions and that he would protect voting rights by passing federal legislation named after the late civil rights leader John Lewis.He has said economic development needs to be broader and more inclusive, helping communities where private investment sometimes leaves people to fend for themselves or at the whims of nonprofits.He is open about his past struggles with addiction, saying it helps inform the sensitivities of his rehabilitation-and-treatment-focused approach to drugs he’d like to see adopted.<h2>Abortion and more</h2>Ricketts backed Initiative 434, a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion after the first trimester, with some exceptions. Love supported Initiative 439, an abortion-rights amendment that would add a right to abortion to the Nebraska Constitution until fetal viability, the timing of which would be defined by a treating health care practitioner.Both candidates stressed the need to fix Congress’ broken budget process, with Ricketts and Love saying the Senate needs to go back to regular appropriations and clearer committee work.Both said they support U.S. military aid to Israel and Ukraine, though Love stressed the importance of doing more to make sure that innocent Palestinian civilians are protected.Ricketts said it was important that the U.S. help its allies defend themselves without placing unreasonable limits on how. He said Israel needs full American backing against Hamas.“Hamas started a war, and wars are horrible,” Ricketts told the podcast. “This is why you don’t start wars.”They both also backed the need for a focus on improving crop insurance in the next farm bill, which Love said has taken too long for Congress to fix.Ricketts lost his first Senate race in 2006 to former U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., in what was then the most expensive Senate race in Nebraska history. Nelson beat him 64%-36%.Ricketts mostly self-financed that campaign and later described his decision as a mistake. He has raised more funds from supporters for his successful gubernatorial bids and his 2024 campaign.&nbsp;

Love makes history again while Ricketts lays groundwork for second run in 2026

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>

WASHINGTON — Voters are determining whether the next president enters office with a friendly Congress or a hostile one set on blocking their policies and nominees — and as the election roars into its last moments it’s still very unclear what the makeup of the House and Senate might be.

Most House races are not competitive. But House leaders are closely watching about two dozen toss-up contests to see whether Democrats or Republicans end up with the magic 218 lawmakers needed to control the speaker’s gavel, the agenda and the floor schedule.

The GOP’s razor-thin majority during the last two years created significant obstacles for leadership’s legislative goals and ended Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.

Neither political party is expected to gain a large House majority during the next Congress, set to begin in January. There’s even a possibility the majority party has less wiggle room than the 220-212 split that currently exists, along with three vacancies. Experts warn it may not be known on election night or for some time who’s won the House.

Senate leaders have been equally focused on hard-fought and close campaigns in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Any one of them could deliver control of the upper chamber.

Republicans are favored to turn over the West Virginia seat occupied by Joe Manchin III, potentially pushing them past the 50-member benchmark if they hold onto seats occupied by incumbents Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Rick Scott in Florida.

If Democrats keep 50 seats, that would mean whichever party holds the vice presidency controls the Senate, making even just one pickup in either direction a priority for both political parties.

The outcome in both the House and Senate will have sweeping implications for the country’s future, including whether the GOP overhauls Obamacare, how lawmakers address core aspects of Republicans’ 2017 tax law set to expire in the coming months and whether the country defaults on its debts for the first time in history.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings" target="_blank">rates</a>&nbsp;four Senate races as toss-ups, meaning there’s a relatively even chance for Democrats or Republicans to win.

While the campaigns have shifted around a bit during the last few months, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are all considered neck and neck heading into Election Day.

Arizona and Nevada are categorized as leaning toward Democrats and Montana is expected to lean toward a Republican pickup, potentially giving the GOP its 51st seat and a narrow majority.

It’s also possible there could be upsets in Republican-held states traditionally considered safer, like Florida, Nebraska and Texas.That could alter the math for both Democrats and Republicans, depending on how things shake out after all the votes are counted, recounts finalized and lawsuits settled in the days and weeks following Nov. 5.

Jessica Taylor, editor for U.S. Senate and Governors at the Cook Political Report, said in a statement released Friday the “battle for the Senate fundamentally ends where the cycle began — with an overwhelmingly favorable map that very likely portends a GOP majority.”

Her projections show the GOP picking up two to five seats, giving the party a majority between 51 and 54 members.

A narrower majority, Taylor said, would allow “moderates like Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins to wield outsized influence in the next Congress.”

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said during an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?539651-1/sen-gary-peters-discusses-senate-races" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;with Washington Post Live in late October that he expects voters in Montana and Ohio will split their tickets.

He acknowledged getting voters to support Democratic Sens. Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio, while also voting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, will be much more challenging than in the past.

“Certainly, it’s not easy if there’s a lot of political gravity,” Peters said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that in any way.”

But, he said, both Tester and Brown have been consistently polling within the margin of error against their GOP challengers.

“It’s about who’s going to get their voters out and do the kind of ground campaign necessary to win,” Peters said. “We’re doing that in Montana. We’re doing that in Ohio as well.”

The Senate is more important to the next president than the House, since the upper chamber is responsible for vetting and confirming the next commander-in-chief’s selections for their Cabinet as well as judicial nominees.

A GOP Senate would be a gift for Trump but likely tough for Vice President Kamala Harris.

The opposite could also be true — a Democratic majority in the Senate could put the brakes on many of Trump’s plans for a second term, while it would aid Harris in setting up her administration and potentially confirming a Supreme Court justice or two.

The Senate is the more bipartisan of the two chambers, thanks to the legislative filibuster — the rule requiring at least 60 senators agree to advance legislation toward final passage.

Without bipartisan support, bills and some nominees will be stuck in limbo, regardless of which party runs the Senate or controls the White House.

Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, said a Harris administration and a Republican Senate would need to work out an agreement quickly “or risk going into some kind of protracted standoff over executive branch nominations.”

Both Trump and President Joe Biden had the luxury of same-party Senate control during their full terms and former President Barack Obama had a Democratic Senate during his first six years in office. Harris possibly having to work with the opposing party to establish her Cabinet would be especially challenging, Wallach said in an interview.

“I would expect Republicans to try to come up with some pretty concrete asks as a conference: To say, ‘If we’re going to put any of your nominees up for a vote, here’s what we want in return, and here’s what kind of nominees we will accept.’ And, you know, I expect that would play out as a fairly heated public confrontation,” he said.

Trump and a Republican Senate would likely agree on some nominees and policy goals, though there would be significant differences over issues like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-vows-levy-horrible-tariffs-imports-rejecting-fears-inflation-spike" target="_blank">tariffs</a>.

“I think there are a lot of Republican senators who want to see some real limits to that, who still think of themselves as basically in favor of free trade and making sure that American businesses don’t find themselves on the wrong end of a trade war,” Wallach said. “Especially in the Senate, I just don’t think they’re that eager to just march to Trump’s tune.”

A Trump administration, he said, could also disagree with GOP lawmakers on the specific details of how to address tax policy.

“I think it’s a very live possibility that there could be a much more confrontational kind of dynamic this time around, in part, because Trump and some of the people right around him have this idea that playing nicely in 2017 was a big mistake,” Wallach said.

Control of the 435-member House is more uncertain than the Senate, with 22 races&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings" target="_blank">rated as toss-ups</a>&nbsp;by the Cook Political Report.

Twelve of those are held by Republicans, while 10 are occupied by Democratic lawmakers. At the moment, 205 House seats are at least leaning toward a Democratic win, with 208 districts at least leaning toward Republicans.

The Cook Political Report’s final projections range from Republicans adding five seats to their majority to Democrats picking up 10 seats and taking over the majority again.

“The race for control of the U.S. House remains as close as it’s ever been,”

Erin Covey, editor for the House at CPR, said in a written statement.

“The battleground is confined to a few dozen seats, with neither party having a clear advantage in a majority of seats,” Covey added. “And with several competitive races in West Coast states that take longer to count their ballots, it’s highly possible we won’t know which party has control on election night.”

The House is essential to turning bills into law, though it doesn’t have any role in confirming presidential nominees. And unlike the Senate, there’s no legislative filibuster, which means the majority party can approve any bills it wants without buy-in from the minority party, as long as the leaders in the majority have the votes from their own members.

Republican control of at least one chamber of Congress and a Harris victory would force significant bipartisan compromise on must-pass legislation, like the dozen annual government funding bills and the defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act.

It could also lead to the types of bipartisan legislation that Biden made a hallmark of his term in office, including the bipartisan infrastructure law.

That type of divided government is unlikely to produce the sweeping changes to home ownership, prescription drug prices, price gouging and reproductive rights that Harris has highlighted throughout her campaign.

But it could lead Republicans and Democrats to resurrect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bipartisan-border-bill-loses-support-fails-procedural-vote-us-senate" target="_blank">the bipartisan immigration and border security bill</a>&nbsp;that Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema agreed to earlier this year.

Trump in the White House and Democrats holding onto at least one chamber in Congress could also force bipartisan compromise, though likely with a far different tone and approach than under a Harris-Republican Congress scenario.

Trump regaining the presidency along with GOP control of Congress would give the party at least two chances to use the complex budget reconciliation process to pass certain legislation.

The party would likely use one of those opportunities to address provisions in the 2017 Republican tax law that have expired or are about to.

The budget reconciliation process, which has considerable rules and restrictions, is how Republicans passed the tax bill during Trump’s first term in office.

It doesn’t require at least 60 senators to advance the bill. But it does include something known as a vote-a-rama, where the Senate holds dozens of votes on amendments to the bill. The process typically lasts throughout the night and gives the party not in power a chance to force their colleagues across the aisle to vote on tough issues.

Budget reconciliation is the process Republicans used to try to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law that’s often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump’s first term in office.

Speaker Mike Jonson, R-La., said in late October on Fox Business that some of his<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-johnson-criticizes-obamacare-promises-massive-reform-trump-win-rcna177853" target="_blank">&nbsp;prior comments</a>&nbsp;about overhauling the ACA were taken out of context and that he wants to make changes to the program, but not entirely end it.

“I said the ACA, unfortunately, is deeply ingrained in our health care system now,” he said. “Do we need further improvements? Absolutely. We need to expand quality of care, access to care and obviously lower the cost of health care.”

Johnson said during the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGW9IVOaP4" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;that he was “convinced” Republicans would gain unified control of government following the election and that he had compiled a “two-hour slide show presentation” detailing what the GOP would do with that power.

“We will secure the border on day one with a President Trump executive order and then legislation to follow, and we will turn immediately to the economy,” Johnson said. “Energy policy will be the center of that as well.”

Deeply conservative House bills might not garner the support needed to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster.

Unified Republican control of Congress and the White House would challenge the GOP to address the nation’s debt limit mostly on its own during the first half of next year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-sends-biden-debt-limit-legislation-ahead-monday-default-deadline" target="_blank">the current law</a>&nbsp;expires.

A default on the nation’s debt is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-hit-debt-limit-much-sooner-expected-thrusting-congress-showdown" target="_blank">vastly different from a partial government shutdown</a>, which takes place when Congress doesn’t pass an appropriations package on time.

Failing to either raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, before what’s known as extraordinary measures runs out, would likely cause a global financial crisis.

The GOP has been extremely vocal about cutting government spending, but that is separate from addressing the nation’s debt limit, which gives the Treasury Department the borrowing authority to ensure all of the country’s bills are paid in full and on time.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720316487639.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>WASHINGTON — Voters are determining whether the next president enters office with a friendly Congress or a hostile one set on blocking their policies and nominees — and as the election roars into its last moments it’s still very unclear what the makeup of the House and Senate might be.Most House races are not competitive. But House leaders are closely watching about two dozen toss-up contests to see whether Democrats or Republicans end up with the magic 218 lawmakers needed to control the speaker’s gavel, the agenda and the floor schedule.The GOP’s razor-thin majority during the last two years created significant obstacles for leadership’s legislative goals and ended Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.Neither political party is expected to gain a large House majority during the next Congress, set to begin in January. There’s even a possibility the majority party has less wiggle room than the 220-212 split that currently exists, along with three vacancies. Experts warn it may not be known on election night or for some time who’s won the House.Senate leaders have been equally focused on hard-fought and close campaigns in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Any one of them could deliver control of the upper chamber.Republicans are favored to turn over the West Virginia seat occupied by Joe Manchin III, potentially pushing them past the 50-member benchmark if they hold onto seats occupied by incumbents Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Rick Scott in Florida.If Democrats keep 50 seats, that would mean whichever party holds the vice presidency controls the Senate, making even just one pickup in either direction a priority for both political parties.The outcome in both the House and Senate will have sweeping implications for the country’s future, including whether the GOP overhauls Obamacare, how lawmakers address core aspects of Republicans’ 2017 tax law set to expire in the coming months and whether the country defaults on its debts for the first time in history.<h2>Four tense toss-ups in the Senate</h2>The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings" target="_blank">rates</a>&nbsp;four Senate races as toss-ups, meaning there’s a relatively even chance for Democrats or Republicans to win.While the campaigns have shifted around a bit during the last few months, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are all considered neck and neck heading into Election Day.Arizona and Nevada are categorized as leaning toward Democrats and Montana is expected to lean toward a Republican pickup, potentially giving the GOP its 51st seat and a narrow majority.It’s also possible there could be upsets in Republican-held states traditionally considered safer, like Florida, Nebraska and Texas.That could alter the math for both Democrats and Republicans, depending on how things shake out after all the votes are counted, recounts finalized and lawsuits settled in the days and weeks following Nov. 5.Jessica Taylor, editor for U.S. Senate and Governors at the Cook Political Report, said in a statement released Friday the “battle for the Senate fundamentally ends where the cycle began — with an overwhelmingly favorable map that very likely portends a GOP majority.”Her projections show the GOP picking up two to five seats, giving the party a majority between 51 and 54 members.A narrower majority, Taylor said, would allow “moderates like Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins to wield outsized influence in the next Congress.”<h2>Will some voters split their tickets?</h2>Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said during an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?539651-1/sen-gary-peters-discusses-senate-races" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;with Washington Post Live in late October that he expects voters in Montana and Ohio will split their tickets.He acknowledged getting voters to support Democratic Sens. Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio, while also voting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, will be much more challenging than in the past.“Certainly, it’s not easy if there’s a lot of political gravity,” Peters said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that in any way.”But, he said, both Tester and Brown have been consistently polling within the margin of error against their GOP challengers.“It’s about who’s going to get their voters out and do the kind of ground campaign necessary to win,” Peters said. “We’re doing that in Montana. We’re doing that in Ohio as well.”The Senate is more important to the next president than the House, since the upper chamber is responsible for vetting and confirming the next commander-in-chief’s selections for their Cabinet as well as judicial nominees.A GOP Senate would be a gift for Trump but likely tough for Vice President Kamala Harris.The opposite could also be true — a Democratic majority in the Senate could put the brakes on many of Trump’s plans for a second term, while it would aid Harris in setting up her administration and potentially confirming a Supreme Court justice or two.The Senate is the more bipartisan of the two chambers, thanks to the legislative filibuster — the rule requiring at least 60 senators agree to advance legislation toward final passage.Without bipartisan support, bills and some nominees will be stuck in limbo, regardless of which party runs the Senate or controls the White House.<h2>Possible standoff</h2>Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, said a Harris administration and a Republican Senate would need to work out an agreement quickly “or risk going into some kind of protracted standoff over executive branch nominations.”Both Trump and President Joe Biden had the luxury of same-party Senate control during their full terms and former President Barack Obama had a Democratic Senate during his first six years in office. Harris possibly having to work with the opposing party to establish her Cabinet would be especially challenging, Wallach said in an interview.“I would expect Republicans to try to come up with some pretty concrete asks as a conference: To say, ‘If we’re going to put any of your nominees up for a vote, here’s what we want in return, and here’s what kind of nominees we will accept.’ And, you know, I expect that would play out as a fairly heated public confrontation,” he said.Trump and a Republican Senate would likely agree on some nominees and policy goals, though there would be significant differences over issues like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-vows-levy-horrible-tariffs-imports-rejecting-fears-inflation-spike" target="_blank">tariffs</a>.“I think there are a lot of Republican senators who want to see some real limits to that, who still think of themselves as basically in favor of free trade and making sure that American businesses don’t find themselves on the wrong end of a trade war,” Wallach said. “Especially in the Senate, I just don’t think they’re that eager to just march to Trump’s tune.”A Trump administration, he said, could also disagree with GOP lawmakers on the specific details of how to address tax policy.“I think it’s a very live possibility that there could be a much more confrontational kind of dynamic this time around, in part, because Trump and some of the people right around him have this idea that playing nicely in 2017 was a big mistake,” Wallach said.<h2>House ‘as close as it’s ever been’</h2>Control of the 435-member House is more uncertain than the Senate, with 22 races&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings" target="_blank">rated as toss-ups</a>&nbsp;by the Cook Political Report.Twelve of those are held by Republicans, while 10 are occupied by Democratic lawmakers. At the moment, 205 House seats are at least leaning toward a Democratic win, with 208 districts at least leaning toward Republicans.The Cook Political Report’s final projections range from Republicans adding five seats to their majority to Democrats picking up 10 seats and taking over the majority again.“The race for control of the U.S. House remains as close as it’s ever been,”Erin Covey, editor for the House at CPR, said in a written statement.“The battleground is confined to a few dozen seats, with neither party having a clear advantage in a majority of seats,” Covey added. “And with several competitive races in West Coast states that take longer to count their ballots, it’s highly possible we won’t know which party has control on election night.”The House is essential to turning bills into law, though it doesn’t have any role in confirming presidential nominees. And unlike the Senate, there’s no legislative filibuster, which means the majority party can approve any bills it wants without buy-in from the minority party, as long as the leaders in the majority have the votes from their own members.Republican control of at least one chamber of Congress and a Harris victory would force significant bipartisan compromise on must-pass legislation, like the dozen annual government funding bills and the defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act.It could also lead to the types of bipartisan legislation that Biden made a hallmark of his term in office, including the bipartisan infrastructure law.That type of divided government is unlikely to produce the sweeping changes to home ownership, prescription drug prices, price gouging and reproductive rights that Harris has highlighted throughout her campaign.But it could lead Republicans and Democrats to resurrect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bipartisan-border-bill-loses-support-fails-procedural-vote-us-senate" target="_blank">the bipartisan immigration and border security bill</a>&nbsp;that Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema agreed to earlier this year.Trump in the White House and Democrats holding onto at least one chamber in Congress could also force bipartisan compromise, though likely with a far different tone and approach than under a Harris-Republican Congress scenario.<h2>GOP trifecta?</h2>Trump regaining the presidency along with GOP control of Congress would give the party at least two chances to use the complex budget reconciliation process to pass certain legislation.The party would likely use one of those opportunities to address provisions in the 2017 Republican tax law that have expired or are about to.The budget reconciliation process, which has considerable rules and restrictions, is how Republicans passed the tax bill during Trump’s first term in office.It doesn’t require at least 60 senators to advance the bill. But it does include something known as a vote-a-rama, where the Senate holds dozens of votes on amendments to the bill. The process typically lasts throughout the night and gives the party not in power a chance to force their colleagues across the aisle to vote on tough issues.Budget reconciliation is the process Republicans used to try to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law that’s often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump’s first term in office.Speaker Mike Jonson, R-La., said in late October on Fox Business that some of his<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-johnson-criticizes-obamacare-promises-massive-reform-trump-win-rcna177853" target="_blank">&nbsp;prior comments</a>&nbsp;about overhauling the ACA were taken out of context and that he wants to make changes to the program, but not entirely end it.“I said the ACA, unfortunately, is deeply ingrained in our health care system now,” he said. “Do we need further improvements? Absolutely. We need to expand quality of care, access to care and obviously lower the cost of health care.”Johnson said during the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGW9IVOaP4" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;that he was “convinced” Republicans would gain unified control of government following the election and that he had compiled a “two-hour slide show presentation” detailing what the GOP would do with that power.“We will secure the border on day one with a President Trump executive order and then legislation to follow, and we will turn immediately to the economy,” Johnson said. “Energy policy will be the center of that as well.”Deeply conservative House bills might not garner the support needed to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster.Unified Republican control of Congress and the White House would challenge the GOP to address the nation’s debt limit mostly on its own during the first half of next year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-sends-biden-debt-limit-legislation-ahead-monday-default-deadline" target="_blank">the current law</a>&nbsp;expires.A default on the nation’s debt is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-hit-debt-limit-much-sooner-expected-thrusting-congress-showdown" target="_blank">vastly different from a partial government shutdown</a>, which takes place when Congress doesn’t pass an appropriations package on time.Failing to either raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, before what’s known as extraordinary measures runs out, would likely cause a global financial crisis.The GOP has been extremely vocal about cutting government spending, but that is separate from addressing the nation’s debt limit, which gives the Treasury Department the borrowing authority to ensure all of the country’s bills are paid in full and on time.

Will control of Congress shift? The results hinge on a handful of states and races

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/04/spending-in-nebraska-legislative-races-exceeds-7-4-million-surpasses-2022-levels/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;Nearly every Nebraska legislative race in this election cycle has surpassed six figures in spending ahead of Tuesday’s election, already climbing above 2022 records.

Together,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-examiner-launches-2024-general-election-voter-guide/">legislative candidates</a>&nbsp;had raised $9.2 million and spent $7.4 million as of the Oct. 21&nbsp;<a href="https://nadc.nebraska.gov/view-campaign-filings-personal-financial-disclosures-potential-conflicts-lobbying-reports-and-more" target="_blank">campaign finance reporting deadline</a>. The latest deadline leaves about two weeks of fundraising and spending before Election Day to report when final reports are due Jan. 14. In the final 10 days of the election, another $505,000 had already been raised.

Spending in 22 of the 25 races exceeded six figures by Oct. 21, and all but one race exceeded six figures in fundraising. The single fundraising exception is South Omaha’s&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-5/">Legislative District 5</a>&nbsp;between Margo Juarez and Gilbert Ayala. They raised $93,000 combined, most by Juarez.

A rematch between State Sen. Ray Aguilar and former State Sen. Dan Quick, both of Grand Island, exceeds $600,000 in spending, more than any race in 2022. Two Lincoln races — both involving senators appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen who are seeking election — sit at just under $550,000 spent.

The annual salary for a state senator is $12,000.

Candidates who spent the most in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/06/most-nebraska-legislative-races-in-2022-exceed-100000-in-spending/">2022 legislative races</a>&nbsp;won their elections in all but two cases. The most expensive race that year was about $577,000.

Aguilar and Quick, in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-35/">Legislative District 35</a>, also faced off in 2020 when Aguilar, term-limited from the Legislature 12 years prior, mounted a successful challenge to Quick.

Fundraising for the duo has exceeded $715,000, and spending sits at $603,000. Quick had a spending advantage of about $60,000, while Aguilar had a fundraising advantage of $30,000.

The next costliest races come in Lincoln between State Sen. Beau Ballard and Seth Derner (<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-21/">Legislative District 21</a>) and between State Sen. Carolyn Bosn and Nicki Behmer Popp (<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-25/">Legislative District 25</a>).

Ballard and Derner are neck-and-neck in spending, separated by the narrowest amount of all candidates, at $2,000 — Ballard at $275,000; Derner at $273,000. Ballard also had a fundraising edge of about $59,000.

Bosn has spent $341,000, about $135,000 above Behmer Popp’s $206,000. Bosn had raised $373,000, with $32,000 on hand; Behmer Popp had raised $219,000, with $14,000 on hand.

The other race exceeding $500,000 was in Bellevue between Felix Ungerman and Victor Rountree, both seeking to succeed term-limited Democratic State Sen. Carol Blood (<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-3/">Legislative District 3</a>), spending a combined $508,000. Ungerman holds an edge of about $20,000 in spending and about $50,000 in fundraising.

Sarpy County is also home to&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-49/">Legislative District 49</a>, represented by State Sen. Jen Day, who is facing a challenge from Bob Andersen. They sit just under $400,000 in spending, with Day more than double Andersen’s fundraising and spending.

Day has raised $389,000 and spent $272,000, with $135,000 on hand. Andersen has raised $183,000 and spent $124,000, with $59,000 on hand.

The least expensive race is between Ayala and Juarez, at $47,000. They are competing to succeed term-limited State Sen. Mike McDonnell, a Democrat who turned Republican last spring.

These races could decide the partisan balance in the officially nonpartisan Legislature, currently at 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats and one progressive independent.

Aguilar, Andersen, Ayala, Ballard, Bosn and Ungerman are Republicans. Day, Derner, Juarez, Quick, and Rountree are Democrats. Behmer Popp is a registered nonpartisan.

Republicans are guaranteed at least one pick-up representative in Fremont, either Roxie Kracl or Dave “Woody” Wordekemper, as&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-15/">Legislative District 15</a>&nbsp;State Sen. Lynne Walz, a Democrat, is term-limited.

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., has continued to take a sizable lead in contributing to legislative races, spending at least $252,500 across 15 legislative races so far this year. His wife, Susanne Shore, a Democrat, has donated $56,000 in eight campaigns, sometimes in direct odds with her husband.

Shore is financially backing Rountree ($14,000), Juarez ($3,000), Derner ($5,000), Day ($2,000) and Behmer Popp ($10,000). She did not give to Quick.

Ricketts has financially backed Aguilar ($30,000), Andersen ($20,000) and Ungerman ($2,500). He did not give to Ayala, Ballard or Bosn, but he did give $25,000 each to four other candidates.

The couple took sides in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-39/">Legislative District 39</a>, in Elkhorn, between nonpartisan Allison Heimes (Shore gave $11,000) and Republican Tony Sorrentino (Ricketts gave $25,000). The seat is currently held by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, a Republican.

Sorrentino and Heimes are separated by about $3,500 in fundraising and $37,000 in spending, with Sorrentino having the most of both, at $264,000 raised and $254,000 spent. Heimes had $33,000 more cash on hand than Sorrentino as of Oct. 21.

The most competitive Republican-Republican race is in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-19/">Legislative District 19</a>&nbsp;between Ricketts-appointed State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk and Jeanne Reigle of Madison, an agricultural producer who joined Pillen at one of his recent ag-related news conferences.

Dover has raised $281,000 and spent $277,000; Reigle has raised $200,000 and spent $175,000. Ricketts gave Dover $25,000, while Pillen has not donated to either candidate.

Elsewhere, the largest disparities in spending are in Lincoln’s&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-27/">Legislative District 27</a>&nbsp;and the western Nebraska&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-47/">Legislative District 47</a>.

In Lincoln, Jason Prokop, a Democrat, has spent $331,000 while Dawn Liphardt, the executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party who is also running for the seat, has spent $64,000. The seat is held by term-limited State Sen. Anna Wishart, a Democrat.

In western Nebraska, Paul Strommen has spent $78,000 while Larry Bolinger has spent $374.92, the total of his funds raised this cycle. The seat is held by term-limited State Sen. Steve Erdman.

Two candidates running unopposed on the ballot also raised and spent sizable amounts.

State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-29/">Legislative District 29</a>, raised $438,000 and spent $187,000 since his last election. Meanwhile, State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha, in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-11/">Legislative District 11</a>, raised $163,000 and spent $127,000.

Longtime former State Sen. Ernie Chambers, who held the District 11 seat for 46 years, filed to run for the office and came a handful of votes behind McKinney in May. Chambers later dropped out of the race before filing as a write-in candidate.

See below for a campaign finance breakdown for all legislative candidates. Or, view the visualization&nbsp;<a href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20116779/" target="_blank">online here</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730739839309.jpeg" alt="The candidates and ballot measures that will appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, general election ballot. (Photos courtesy of the candidates/campaigns. Nebraska Capitol photo by Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>The candidates and ballot measures that will appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, general election ballot. (Photos courtesy of the candidates/campaigns. Nebraska Capitol photo by Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/04/spending-in-nebraska-legislative-races-exceeds-7-4-million-surpasses-2022-levels/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;Nearly every Nebraska legislative race in this election cycle has surpassed six figures in spending ahead of Tuesday’s election, already climbing above 2022 records.Together,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-examiner-launches-2024-general-election-voter-guide/">legislative candidates</a>&nbsp;had raised $9.2 million and spent $7.4 million as of the Oct. 21&nbsp;<a href="https://nadc.nebraska.gov/view-campaign-filings-personal-financial-disclosures-potential-conflicts-lobbying-reports-and-more" target="_blank">campaign finance reporting deadline</a>. The latest deadline leaves about two weeks of fundraising and spending before Election Day to report when final reports are due Jan. 14. In the final 10 days of the election, another $505,000 had already been raised.Spending in 22 of the 25 races exceeded six figures by Oct. 21, and all but one race exceeded six figures in fundraising. The single fundraising exception is South Omaha’s&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-5/">Legislative District 5</a>&nbsp;between Margo Juarez and Gilbert Ayala. They raised $93,000 combined, most by Juarez.A rematch between State Sen. Ray Aguilar and former State Sen. Dan Quick, both of Grand Island, exceeds $600,000 in spending, more than any race in 2022. Two Lincoln races — both involving senators appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen who are seeking election — sit at just under $550,000 spent.The annual salary for a state senator is $12,000.Candidates who spent the most in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/06/most-nebraska-legislative-races-in-2022-exceed-100000-in-spending/">2022 legislative races</a>&nbsp;won their elections in all but two cases. The most expensive race that year was about $577,000.<h2>Grand Island rematch, Lincoln appointees</h2>Aguilar and Quick, in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-35/">Legislative District 35</a>, also faced off in 2020 when Aguilar, term-limited from the Legislature 12 years prior, mounted a successful challenge to Quick.Fundraising for the duo has exceeded $715,000, and spending sits at $603,000. Quick had a spending advantage of about $60,000, while Aguilar had a fundraising advantage of $30,000.The next costliest races come in Lincoln between State Sen. Beau Ballard and Seth Derner (<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-21/">Legislative District 21</a>) and between State Sen. Carolyn Bosn and Nicki Behmer Popp (<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-25/">Legislative District 25</a>).Ballard and Derner are neck-and-neck in spending, separated by the narrowest amount of all candidates, at $2,000 — Ballard at $275,000; Derner at $273,000. Ballard also had a fundraising edge of about $59,000.Bosn has spent $341,000, about $135,000 above Behmer Popp’s $206,000. Bosn had raised $373,000, with $32,000 on hand; Behmer Popp had raised $219,000, with $14,000 on hand.<h2>Sarpy County</h2>The other race exceeding $500,000 was in Bellevue between Felix Ungerman and Victor Rountree, both seeking to succeed term-limited Democratic State Sen. Carol Blood (<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-3/">Legislative District 3</a>), spending a combined $508,000. Ungerman holds an edge of about $20,000 in spending and about $50,000 in fundraising.Sarpy County is also home to&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-49/">Legislative District 49</a>, represented by State Sen. Jen Day, who is facing a challenge from Bob Andersen. They sit just under $400,000 in spending, with Day more than double Andersen’s fundraising and spending.Day has raised $389,000 and spent $272,000, with $135,000 on hand. Andersen has raised $183,000 and spent $124,000, with $59,000 on hand.The least expensive race is between Ayala and Juarez, at $47,000. They are competing to succeed term-limited State Sen. Mike McDonnell, a Democrat who turned Republican last spring.These races could decide the partisan balance in the officially nonpartisan Legislature, currently at 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats and one progressive independent.Aguilar, Andersen, Ayala, Ballard, Bosn and Ungerman are Republicans. Day, Derner, Juarez, Quick, and Rountree are Democrats. Behmer Popp is a registered nonpartisan.Republicans are guaranteed at least one pick-up representative in Fremont, either Roxie Kracl or Dave “Woody” Wordekemper, as&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-15/">Legislative District 15</a>&nbsp;State Sen. Lynne Walz, a Democrat, is term-limited.<h2>Pete Ricketts, Susanne Shore</h2>U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., has continued to take a sizable lead in contributing to legislative races, spending at least $252,500 across 15 legislative races so far this year. His wife, Susanne Shore, a Democrat, has donated $56,000 in eight campaigns, sometimes in direct odds with her husband.Shore is financially backing Rountree ($14,000), Juarez ($3,000), Derner ($5,000), Day ($2,000) and Behmer Popp ($10,000). She did not give to Quick.Ricketts has financially backed Aguilar ($30,000), Andersen ($20,000) and Ungerman ($2,500). He did not give to Ayala, Ballard or Bosn, but he did give $25,000 each to four other candidates.The couple took sides in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-39/">Legislative District 39</a>, in Elkhorn, between nonpartisan Allison Heimes (Shore gave $11,000) and Republican Tony Sorrentino (Ricketts gave $25,000). The seat is currently held by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, a Republican.Sorrentino and Heimes are separated by about $3,500 in fundraising and $37,000 in spending, with Sorrentino having the most of both, at $264,000 raised and $254,000 spent. Heimes had $33,000 more cash on hand than Sorrentino as of Oct. 21.<h2>Other insights</h2>The most competitive Republican-Republican race is in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-19/">Legislative District 19</a>&nbsp;between Ricketts-appointed State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk and Jeanne Reigle of Madison, an agricultural producer who joined Pillen at one of his recent ag-related news conferences.Dover has raised $281,000 and spent $277,000; Reigle has raised $200,000 and spent $175,000. Ricketts gave Dover $25,000, while Pillen has not donated to either candidate.Elsewhere, the largest disparities in spending are in Lincoln’s&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-27/">Legislative District 27</a>&nbsp;and the western Nebraska&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-47/">Legislative District 47</a>.In Lincoln, Jason Prokop, a Democrat, has spent $331,000 while Dawn Liphardt, the executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party who is also running for the seat, has spent $64,000. The seat is held by term-limited State Sen. Anna Wishart, a Democrat.In western Nebraska, Paul Strommen has spent $78,000 while Larry Bolinger has spent $374.92, the total of his funds raised this cycle. The seat is held by term-limited State Sen. Steve Erdman.Two candidates running unopposed on the ballot also raised and spent sizable amounts.State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-29/">Legislative District 29</a>, raised $438,000 and spent $187,000 since his last election. Meanwhile, State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha, in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/race-details/nebraska-legislature-district-11/">Legislative District 11</a>, raised $163,000 and spent $127,000.Longtime former State Sen. Ernie Chambers, who held the District 11 seat for 46 years, filed to run for the office and came a handful of votes behind McKinney in May. Chambers later dropped out of the race before filing as a write-in candidate.See below for a campaign finance breakdown for all legislative candidates. Or, view the visualization&nbsp;<a href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/20116779/" target="_blank">online here</a>.

Spending in Nebraska legislative races exceeds $7.4 million, surpasses 2022 levels

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/03/fischer-shoring-up-gop-base-against-osborn-in-nebraska-u-s-senate-race/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

BELLEVUE, Nebraska — Even as outside polling shows a competitive race for U.S. Senate in ruby-red Nebraska, Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer remains adamant that her challenge from nonpartisan industrial mechanic Dan Osborn is a media-driven fabrication.

Fischer said reporters “wanted to see a race,” so they created one. Nebraskans, she said, know her record of getting results on national defense issues, funding roads, bridges and broadband and fighting profligate spending.

“He may put up these maps that he loves to show and ads and things that he’s been all over the state, and I supposedly have been nowhere,” she said of Osborn. “He’s being … disingenuous. I am always out in the state … listening to Nebraskans.”

Fischer’s frustrated tone belies her annoyance at needing help from local and national Republican groups to fend off the Omaha union leader. Osborn has had help from some national Democrats, Libertarians and local Legal Marijuana NOW Party members in his upstart campaign.

On the last weekend before Election Day on Tuesday, Fischer brought in reinforcements including Arkansas’ Sen. Tom Cotton, her seat neighbor on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Army veteran contended during a Saturday visit that Fischer had seen a tough race coming all along.

Some Republicans have questioned whether Fischer’s campaign grew complacent, despite the GOP’s 2-to-1 advantage over Democrats and a significant bloc of nonpartisan voters.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which typically focuses spending in swing states, has taken the unusual step of investing millions to help Fischer in right-leaning Nebraska.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730730638101.jpeg" alt="U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., faces nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska’s Senate race this fall. (Candidate photos courtesy of their campaigns. Capitol photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., faces nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska’s Senate race this fall. (Candidate photos courtesy of their campaigns. Capitol photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/03/fischer-shoring-up-gop-base-against-osborn-in-nebraska-u-s-senate-race/">Nebraska Examiner</a>BELLEVUE, Nebraska — Even as outside polling shows a competitive race for U.S. Senate in ruby-red Nebraska, Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer remains adamant that her challenge from nonpartisan industrial mechanic Dan Osborn is a media-driven fabrication.Fischer said reporters “wanted to see a race,” so they created one. Nebraskans, she said, know her record of getting results on national defense issues, funding roads, bridges and broadband and fighting profligate spending.“He may put up these maps that he loves to show and ads and things that he’s been all over the state, and I supposedly have been nowhere,” she said of Osborn. “He’s being … disingenuous. I am always out in the state … listening to Nebraskans.”Fischer’s frustrated tone belies her annoyance at needing help from local and national Republican groups to fend off the Omaha union leader. Osborn has had help from some national Democrats, Libertarians and local Legal Marijuana NOW Party members in his upstart campaign.<h2>Fischer brings reinforcements</h2>On the last weekend before Election Day on Tuesday, Fischer brought in reinforcements including Arkansas’ Sen. Tom Cotton, her seat neighbor on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Army veteran contended during a Saturday visit that Fischer had seen a tough race coming all along.Some Republicans have questioned whether Fischer’s campaign grew complacent, despite the GOP’s 2-to-1 advantage over Democrats and a significant bloc of nonpartisan voters.The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which typically focuses spending in swing states, has taken the unusual step of investing millions to help Fischer in right-leaning Nebraska.&nbsp;On Sunday, Fischer rejoined a statewide barnstorming tour with Nebraska’s all-GOP congressional delegation aimed at shoring up Republican support for Fischer and 2nd District GOP U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, who typically faces close races in the Omaha area.At a stop Sunday in Omaha, U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb, a longtime friend of Fischer’s, described Osborn as a “fraud that’s being perpetrated on Nebraskans” and said the state’s voters needed to put him out of a job Tuesday.He was referencing Osborn’s decision to pay himself from campaign funds during the race.Osborn, at rallies of his own Sunday in Omaha and Lincoln, pledged to serve only two terms in the Senate if elected, calling term limits “an anti-corruption measure.” He reminded voters that Fischer had pledged the same and was running for a third term anyway.Fischer told the Examiner that she learned the importance of seniority in the Senate after serving and that the state has benefited from her experience.Fischer said there was nothing she would have done differently about her race. She largely ignored Osborn for months, sitting on a campaign war chest while he built unexpected momentum and raised funds. Fischer’s allies said she missed a chance to define her challenger early in ads.“I’d like to know who they are,” Fischer said of her campaign’s Republican critics.&nbsp;Cotton defended her Saturday, saying, “Deb was working hard, taking no votes for granted, cautioning people about the playbook that (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer was running.”<h2>Osborn’s rise</h2>Osborn, an Omaha union leader who has drawn blue-collar crowds from Scottsbluff to Omaha, surprised many with his sharp TV ads and willingness to anger leaders in the Nebraska Democratic Party to reinforce his relative independence.He courted the endorsement of Nebraska Democrats for months before saying immediately after the primary that he didn’t want any party’s backing. Some of his supporters also joined third parties and worked to prevent them from nominating other candidates for the ballot.&nbsp;Some of his supporters indicated this was an organized strategy. If third parties ran candidates on the general election ballot, that could split the vote more, instead of having a contest between Fischer and Osborn alone.&nbsp;Osborn has built his brand with support from organized labor and progressive donors who suggest that a nonpartisan label could make popular progressive policies more viable in red states.Fischer has called Osborn’s campaign “a political science experiment,” a jab that Osborn has embraced. He has told supporters at many of his town hall stops that many of the best ideas in American governance started that way.&nbsp;“I’m&nbsp;just&nbsp;a&nbsp;worker&nbsp;for&nbsp;workers,” Osborn said. “There’s&nbsp;a&nbsp;lot&nbsp;of&nbsp;messaging&nbsp;out&nbsp;there,&nbsp;but&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;end&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;day,&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;why&nbsp;I’m&nbsp;here.”<h2>Mistakes by Osborn supporters</h2>Fischer has capitalized on late mistakes by some outside groups and people considering helping Osborn now that they’ve helped him make it a contest, including a super PAC that typically backs Democrats and Schumer. &nbsp;Fischer’s campaign pointed to a text from the left-leaning super PAC saying he would align with Democrats in the Senate if he is elected. Osborn has said he won’t caucus with either party if elected, a stance he reiterated in a recent sit-down with the Nebraska Examiner.&nbsp;He has said this will give him leverage enough in a divided Senate to get the committee assignments Nebraska needs. Fischer has called that naive and said he would not be treated well by either party. She also contends he would caucus with the left.&nbsp;“Her opponent, though, is a little bit different kind of guy than I’ve seen,” Cotton said of Osborn. “I’d say it’s a curious kind of independent who is using the Democrats’ fundraising machine to raise millions of dollars from out of state.”<h2>Money flows in</h2>Osborn has benefited from roughly $20 million in outside spending on his behalf, either supporting his bid or bashing Fischer, campaign finance forms show. GOP-aligned outside groups have come in with about $9 million for Fischer.The two campaigns have each raised nearly $8 million, as well, record hauls for Fischer and for a first-time challenger not named Pete Ricketts, Nebraska’s junior senator who put millions of his own money into his first Senate race in the mid-2000s.Osborn’s campaign in October reported raising $3.3 million, a record quarter for any modern Nebraska Senate race. Fischer raised nearly $1 million in the same period. Osborn’s campaign said he had raised another $3.1 million since the start of the fourth quarter.&nbsp;Much of that came as a slew of national and internal polls from both campaigns started showing a closer-than-expected race, and a handful showed Osborn with a slight lead. They showed Osborn receiving significant support from some Republicans.&nbsp;<h2>Fischer campaign responds</h2>Fischer’s team cut an ad recently with former President Donald Trump. Her campaign started airing and sharing the ad digitally in conservative circles to help consolidate her support from the GOP base, which moved numbers her way.Most local political observers still expect Fischer to win, perhaps by a wider margin than national polling shows. But some leave open the possibility of a close finish or even an upset, and that has motivated Democrats and nonpartisan voters who want to break the GOP hold on the state’s delegation.Fischer is running ads on Osborn’s statements backing a legal path to citizenship for immigrant workers if they have lived in the U.S. for decades. The ads say he supports giving Social Security benefits to people who are in the country illegally, pointing to a recent interview he gave.Osborn says the ads are twisting his words. He said he is talking about Nebraskans’ friends and neighbors who pay into Social Security through their paychecks and get no benefit. They’ve helped shore up the system for other workers and should have a legal path to citizenship, he said.“It’s the fact that our immigration system is broken,” Osborn said. “People that have been living here, working here, that are not criminals, they’ve raised families in communities. It’s fixing the immigration system so they can get legal status.”<h2>Osborn talks issues</h2>Osborn, a Navy veteran, said Fischer ran for the Senate saying she was going to fix the immigration system and then was part of the group that tanked a bipartisan immigration bill because Trump urged them to do so.&nbsp;“We’ve got to start somewhere,” Osborn said. “If it fell short, it fell short. But at least the American people will know that Congress is doing something. This is one of the most ineffective Congresses in history.”He says he would support policies that make it easier for people to join unions and to advocate for better pay and benefits. He says he won’t take special interest dollars and won’t let donors influence his decisions.He touts his union support from the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, which held a major rally for him in Lincoln that turned heads when Republican State Sen. Mike McDonnell, another Omaha labor leader, joined him on stage and applauded his bid.<h2>Fischer pushes back on rancher attack ad</h2>Fischer has some union support as well, particularly from public safety unions representing state and local police officers and troopers and firefighters and paramedics. She also amplifies her backing from farm and ranching groups.Fischer took issue with Osborn’s push to call her a “fake rancher.” Her family owns a ranch near Valentine, Nebraska, where she was a school board member.Her campaign rallied last week in Herman, Nebraska, with the Nebraska Farm Bureau, the Nebraska Cattlemen and a number of her farm and ranch supporters who argued that she has listened to their needs and is a voice they want on the farm bill.Both candidates sat down this spring with the Examiner’s political podcast, Picking Corn, and talked about a number of issues, including the need to support allies like Israel and Ukraine with American weapons.&nbsp;Both said they want to protect American service members. Fischer talked again this weekend about how she worked with Bacon to secure funding for a new runway at Offutt Air Force Base, as well as flood repairs and flood-fighting levees.Both Fischer and Osborn said they want the next farm bill to include improved versions of crop insurance.&nbsp;Osborn has talked about the need to raise the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax, so millionaires and billionaires would pay more into the program. Fischer has said she would cut the federal tax on Social Security benefits.Douglas County Commissioner Jim Cavanaugh, a Democrat, said Osborn was the right candidate “to preserve and improve Social Security” and criticized Fischer for previously discussing the potential of raising the Social Security retirement age for younger workers.Fischer has said that retirees rely on the program and that it needs to be protected.Bacon and Fischer’s other defenders repeated a hook from her stump speech, that Fischer is a work horse and not a show horse.Osborn has said her campaign is kicking a dead horse and needs to be put out to pasture.&nbsp;