Aaron Sanderford
LINCOLN — U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., filed to run for re-election Wednesday, a day after drawing a Democratic challenger in 2024, State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue.
Flood won the 1st District seat in a 2022 special election held after former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry resigned following three felony campaign finance-related convictions. (Fortenberry has since had his convictions reversed because his trial was held in California and not where the statements prosecutors said misled the FBI took place.)
Flood won a first full term in November 2022. In both races, he defeated then-State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks.
He has spent much of his time in Congress discussing taxes and spending and cryptocurrency. Like much of the GOP caucus, Flood has focused more recently on border security.
Flood’s Democratic critics, including Blood, have criticized him for straying from what they described as his more middle-ground approach when he served as speaker in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature.
Flood has said in previous interviews that he was always conservative. He proposed and helped enact Nebraska’s 20-week abortion ban and co-authored a proposed fuller ban.
“In Congress, I’ve kept my promises to Nebraskans by standing against government overreach, cutting $2.1 trillion from the federal budget, and voting for a comprehensive border security package,” Flood said in a statement from his campaign.
He said he would continue speaking up for the “common sense priorities of Nebraska’s First District.” Thus far, he has drawn no GOP challengers.
Blood, who represents eastern Sarpy County, is set to formally announce her bid on Saturday in Lincoln, the largest city in the 1st District, which also includes Norfolk, Flood’s hometown.
She has criticized the House of Representatives’ dysfunction under GOP control and pledged to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from tweaks that might cut benefits.
As of the last federal campaign finance reporting period, Flood listed $235,000 in campaign cash on hand. Last year, Blood listed $2,700 in cash on hand left from her gubernatorial bid.
She raised $636,000 in her Democratic bid for governor in 2022. She lost that race to Republican Jim Pillen.