Presidential election in Nebraska, 2020
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2020 presidential election |
Democratic primary: May 12, 2020 |
Republican primary: May 12, 2020 |
Electoral College: Five votes |
President Donald Trump (R) was the statewide winner of the presidential election in Nebraska on November 3, 2020. He also won one electoral vote each from the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts. Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) won the 2nd Congressional District. Biden won the presidential election with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232 electoral votes.
The Democratic and Republican parties held primary elections in Nebraska on May 12, 2020. Biden won the Democratic primary and Trump won the Republican primary.
Nebraska was one of three states (alongside New Mexico and West Virginia) to have five votes in the Electoral College, making it tied for 36th-most. Nebraska was carried by the Republican presidential candidate in every election between 1968 and 2016; the last Democrat to carry the state was Lyndon B. Johnson (D). Between 1900 and 2016, Nebraska backed the Republican presidential candidate in 76.67% of elections and the Democratic candidate in 23.33%.
In the 2016 election, Trump (R) carried Nebraska with 58.7% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's (D) 33.7%.
This page includes the following sections:
- Candidates and election results
- Government response to coronavirus pandemic in Nebraska
- Democratic primary
- Republican primary
- Candidate filing requirements
- Historical election trends
- Presidential election by state
Candidates and election results
General election
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
|
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
58.5
|
556,846 | 4 | |
|
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
39.4
|
374,583 | 1 | |
|
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
2.1
|
20,283 | 0 | |
| Total votes: 951,712 |
Primary election
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
Pledged delegates |
|
|
| Joe Biden |
76.8
|
126,444 | 29 |
|
| Bernie Sanders |
14.1
|
23,214 | 0 |
|
| Elizabeth Warren |
6.3
|
10,401 | 0 |
|
| Tulsi Gabbard |
2.7
|
4,523 | 0 |
| Total votes: 164,582 • Total pledged delegates: 29 |
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
Pledged delegates |
|
|
| Donald Trump |
91.4
|
243,721 | 36 |
|
| Bill Weld |
8.6
|
22,934 | 0 |
| Total votes: 266,655 • Total pledged delegates: 36 |
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
Pledged delegates |
|
|
| Jo Jorgensen |
28.1
|
539 | 0 |
|
| Jacob Hornberger |
25.2
|
483 | 0 |
|
| Adam Kokesh |
14.3
|
274 | 0 |
|
| Lincoln Chafee |
14.1
|
270 | 0 |
|
| Daniel Behrman |
9.4
|
180 | 0 |
|
| Max Abramson |
8.9
|
170 | 0 |
| Total votes: 1,916 • Total pledged delegates: 0 |
Summary of changes to election dates and procedures
Nebraska modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Mail-in ballots were sent to all registered voters in the general election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Frequently asked questions
The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions. Ballotpedia is in the process of compiling and answering frequently asked questions related to the 2020 elections. Questions related to this election will be available soon.
Additional resources
- Documenting Nebraska's path to recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021
- Government responses to and political effects of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 (Nebraska)
- School responses in Nebraska to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year
- Debate in Nebraska over responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
- Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
Democratic primary
- See also: Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) was formally nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee at the 2020 Democratic National Convention on August 18, 2020.[1] The convention was originally scheduled to take place July 13-16, 2020.[2] Organizers postponed the event in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the national convention, individual state caucuses and primaries were held to allocate convention delegates. These delegates vote at the convention to select the nominee. In 2020, a Democratic presidential candidate needed support from 1,991 delegates to secure the nomination.
With the plurality of pledged delegates, Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee on April 8, 2020, after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his presidential campaign.[3] Biden crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination on June 5, 2020.[4]
Biden announced U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D) as his running mate on August 11, 2020. Harris is the first Black woman to appear on a major party's ticket in the United States.[5]
Republican primary
- See also: Republican presidential nomination, 2020
The Republican Party selected President Donald Trump as its presidential nominee at the 2020 Republican National Convention, which was held from August 24-27, 2020.[6]
Prior to the national convention, individual state caucuses and primaries were held to allocate convention delegates. These delegates vote at the convention to select the nominee. Trump crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination—1,276 delegates—on March 17, 2020.
George H.W. Bush (R) was the last incumbent to face a serious primary challenge, defeating political commentator Pat Buchanan in 1992. He was also the last president to lose his re-election campaign. Franklin Pierce (D) was the first and only elected president to lose his party's nomination in 1856.[7]
Sixteen U.S. presidents—approximately one-third—have won two consecutive elections.
Candidate filing requirements
The tables below detail filing requirements for presidential candidates in Nebraska in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Nebraska, click here.
Presidential primary candidates
| Filing requirements for presidential primary candidates in Nebraska, 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| Nebraska | Major parties[8] | 300 | 100 signatures from registered party members in each congressional district | N/A | N/A | 3/12/2020 | Source |
Independent presidential candidates
| Filing requirements for independent candidates in Nebraska, 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| Nebraska | 2,500 | Fixed by statute | N/A | N/A | 8/1/2020 | Source |
Historical election results
2016
General election
| U.S. presidential election, Nebraska, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 33.7% | 284,494 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
58.7% | 495,961 | 4 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 4.6% | 38,946 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1% | 8,775 | 0 | |
| - | Other/Write-in | 1.9% | 16,051 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 844,227 | 4 | |||
| Election results via: Federal Election Commission | |||||
Primary election
| Nebraska Democratic Caucus, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Bernie Sanders |
57.1% | 19,120 | 15 | |
| Hillary Clinton | 42.9% | 14,340 | 10 | |
| Totals | 33,460 | 25 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Nebraska Caucus 2016 | ||||
| Nebraska Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
61.5% | 122,327 | 36 | |
| Ted Cruz | 18.4% | 36,703 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 11.4% | 22,709 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 3.6% | 7,233 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 5% | 10,016 | 0 | |
| Totals | 198,988 | 36 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Nebraska Secretary of State | ||||
2012
| U.S. presidential election, Nebraska, 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent | 38% | 302,081 | 0 | |
| Republican | Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan |
59.8% | 475,064 | 5 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Jim Gray | 1.4% | 11,109 | 0 | |
| By Petition | Randall A. Terry/Marjorie Smith | 0.3% | 2,408 | 0 | |
| Write-in | Write-in candidates | 0.5% | 3,717 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 794,379 | 5 | |||
| Election results via: Nebraska Secretary of State | |||||
2008
| U.S. presidential election, Nebraska, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama/Joe Biden | 41.6% | 333,319 | 1 | |
| Republican | John McCain/Sarah Palin |
56.5% | 452,979 | 4 | |
| By Petition | Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez | 0.7% | 5,406 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root | 0.3% | 2,740 | 0 | |
| Green | Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente | 0.1% | 1,028 | 0 | |
| Nebraska | Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle | 0.4% | 2,972 | 0 | |
| Write-in | Write-in candidates | 0.4% | 2,837 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 801,281 | 5 | |||
| Election results via: Nebraska Secretary of State | |||||
Presidential statewide margins of victory of 5 percentage points or fewer, 1948-2016
The following map shows the number of times, in presidential elections held between 1948 and 2016, that the margin of victory was 5 percentage points or fewer in each state.
- Wisconsin was the state with the most frequently narrow margins during this time period, appearing on the list in 10 presidential elections.
- Five states appeared eight times: Florida, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
- The state with the narrowest margin of victory was Florida in 2000 at 537 votes or one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Historical election trends
- See also: Presidential voting history by state
Nebraska presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 6 Democratic wins
- 27 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
- See also: Presidential election accuracy
Below is an analysis of Nebraska's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.
Presidential election voting record in Nebraska, 1900-2016
Between 1900 and 2016:
- Nebraska participated in 30 presidential elections.
- Nebraska voted for the winning presidential candidate 66.67 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[9]
- Nebraska voted Democratic 23.33 percent of the time and Republican 76.67 percent of the time.
Presidential election voting record in Nebraska, 2000-2016
- Accuracy: 60 percent[10]
- 2000 state winner: George W. Bush (R)*
- 2004 state winner: George W. Bush (R)*
- 2008 state winner: John McCain (R)
- 2012 state winner: Mitt Romney (R)
- 2016 state winner: Donald Trump (R)*
*An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election. This data reflects Nebraska's statewide vote.
Split electoral votes
In 2008, John McCain won the statewide vote as well as Nebraska's first and third congressional districts, earning him four of the state's five electoral votes. Barack Obama won Nebraska's second congressional district 50 to 49 percent over McCain and received its one electoral vote. Nebraska's second congressional district includes all of Douglas County, which Obama carried 51.7 to 47.1 percent. The city of Omaha is located in Douglas County.
State profile
- See also: Nebraska and Nebraska elections, 2019
Partisan data
The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019
Presidential voting pattern
- Nebraska voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2018 elections, both U.S. Senators from Nebraska were Republicans.
- All three of Nebraska's U.S. Representatives were Republicans.
State executives
- Democrats held one and Republicans held 10 of Nebraska's 21 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
- Nebraska's governor was Republican Pete Ricketts.
State legislature
- Republicans controlled the Nebraska State Senate with a 30-18 majority, although senators are technically nonpartisan.
Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2024
Seven years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-seven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
|
|
| Demographic data for Nebraska | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 1,893,765 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 76,824 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 88.1% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 4.7% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 10% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.7% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 29.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $52,997 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 14.6% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Nebraska. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential election by state
- See also: Presidential election by state, 2020
Click on a state below to navigate to information about the presidential election in that jurisdiction.
See also
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
- Republican presidential nomination, 2020
- Presidential election by state, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "2020 DNC in Milwaukee pushed back to week of August 17 in response to coronavirus pandemic," April 2, 2020
- ↑ The New York Times, "Milwaukee Picked as Site of 2020 Democratic National Convention," March 11, 2019
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Bernie Sanders Ends 2020 Bid, Making Biden Presumptive Dem Nominee," April 8, 2020
- ↑ AP, "Biden formally clinches Democratic presidential nomination," June 5, 2020
- ↑ CNBC, "Joe Biden picks Sen. Kamala Harris to be his vice presidential running mate, making her the first black woman on a major ticket," August 11, 2020
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Here’s when the 2020 Republican National Convention will be in Charlotte," October 1, 2018
- ↑ NPR, "When Has A President Been Denied His Party's Nomination?" July 22, 2009
- ↑ Note: State statutes provide that the secretary of state can place candidates on the ballot who are "generally advocated or recognized as candidates in national news media."
- ↑ This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
- ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
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