# Nebraska legislative races shaping up as most expensive ever  
**Published:** 2026-05-11T21:09:35.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/nebraska-legislative-races-to-watch-for-2026-primary-as-fundraising-exceeds-4-1-million/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/nebraska-legislative-races-shaping-up-as-most-expensive-ever

Nebraska's 2026 legislative primary elections are shaping up to be [among the most expensive in state history](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/nebraska-legislative-races-to-watch-for-2026-primary-as-fundraising-exceeds-4-1-million/), with [Omaha-area races](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/) expected to determine control of the officially nonpartisan unicameral legislature.

Between Jan. 1, 2025, and April 27, a total of 61 candidates running across 25 legislative seats had raised more than $4.1 million and spent $2.25 million. Fundraising patterns typically show a large influx of funds in the final reporting period before the May 12 primary, suggesting those totals will grow substantially. The reported figures do not include spending by outside political action committees.

The spending disparity is striking. In 17 of the 25 races, candidates combined have already exceeded six figures in funds raised for a part-time position that pays $12,000 annually. Nine races have already seen at least $100,000 combined in spending.

The most expensive race is in west Omaha and the Elkhorn area, where incumbent State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn faces a rematch against nonpartisan progressive Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek of Omaha. The pair raised nearly $386,000 and spent almost $310,000 by late April.

Other high-spending contests are in [Legislative District 14](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/voter-guides/contests/2026-primary-nebraska-legislature-district-14/) near Papillion and La Vista, where nearly $290,000 has been raised, and [Legislative District 18](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/voter-guides/contests/2026-primary-nebraska-legislature-district-18/) in northwest Omaha, with about $148,000 raised. Outside PAC spending in those races has reached thousands of dollars, in some cases pitting Republicans against each other in GOP-held districts.

The 49-member Legislature currently has 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats and one nonpartisan progressive who often aligns with Democrats. The Omaha-area races are viewed as pivotal because they could shift the partisan balance of the chamber, making legislative control a possible outcome of the primary election.

The 2026 races are tracking with 2024, which was a record year for legislative campaign finance. At this point in 2024, candidates had raised $4.06 million. In 2022, when these same seats were up, candidates had raised only $2.67 million by late April.

Several Omaha-area races beyond the expensive trio warrant close attention for their potential impact on the legislature's ideological makeup and priorities.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/nebraska-legislative-races-to-watch-for-2026-primary-as-fundraising-exceeds-4-1-million/)
- [Nebraska Legislature official website](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/nebraska-legislative-races-to-watch-for-2026-primary-as-fundraising-exceeds-4-1-million/.