The Winner

If you live in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) will keep representing you after winning a third full term. The Associated Press called the race for Flood at 4:11 p.m. Central time on Wednesday, Nov. 4, the day after the election. ​

Flood has 127,061 votes (50%) to 118,157 (46.5%) for Democrat Chris Backemeyer, a margin of about 3.5 points, with an estimated 97% of votes counted, according to Associated Press election results. Libertarian Nik Sandman has 1.8% and America First Party candidate Dan Hartong has 1.7%, and Flood returns to a House where Republicans will be in the minority.

The Race

Backemeyer, a former State Department diplomat who helped negotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, beat Eric Moyer 57.6% to 42.4% in the May 12 Democratic primary, while Flood ran unopposed for the Republican nomination, according to Ballotpedia’s race page. Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rated the race Likely Republican.

The result was far tighter than in 2024, when Flood beat Democrat Carol Blood 60.1% to 39.9% under the same district lines, according to Ballotpedia’s 2024 race results.

The district covers 12 counties in eastern Nebraska, including Lincoln, the Omaha suburbs of Bellevue and Papillion, and the cities of Fremont, Norfolk and Columbus, according to Nebraska Public Media. About 662,400 people live there, and residents are 80.1% white, 11.7% Hispanic, 3.2% Black and 2.7% Asian.

The median household income is $79,300, and the median age is 36. Of adults, 36.4% hold at least a bachelor’s degree, unemployment is 2.9% and 9.9% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Flood’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3. He chairs the House Financial Services subcommittee on housing and insurance, according to his AllCiv committee profile, a gavel that will pass to Democrats when they take control of the House.

At a news conference the morning after the election, Flood blamed the close margin on voters’ frustration with high costs and said he would work to earn the support of those who backed Backemeyer, the Nebraska Examiner reported. In February, the House passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a package that included Flood’s bills to make HUD the main regulator of manufactured housing standards and to speed environmental reviews for federally backed housing.

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