Nebraska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

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2022
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
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General election
Election details
Filing deadline: Pending
Primary: Pending
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Central time zone); 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Mountain time zone)
Voting in Nebraska

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2026
Impact of term limits in 2026
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
Nebraska
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Auditor
Treasurer
Public Service Commission
State Board of Education (4 seats)
State Board of Regents (2 seats)

Nebraska is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2026.

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies


Governor

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

Lieutenant Governor

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.


Voting information

See also: Voting in Nebraska

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
2/25/20252/18/20252/11/20252/4/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanPendingPending
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallPendingPendingPendingPending
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.

2022

See also: Nebraska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Nebraska

Jim Pillen defeated Carol Blood, Scott Zimmerman, Robert Borer, and Dave Wright in the general election for Governor of Nebraska on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jim Pillen
Jim Pillen (R)
 
59.2
 
398,334
Image of Carol Blood
Carol Blood (D)
 
36.0
 
242,006
Image of Scott Zimmerman
Scott Zimmerman (L)
 
3.9
 
26,455
Image of Robert Borer
Robert Borer (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
Dave Wright (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.9
 
5,798

Total votes: 672,593
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska

Carol Blood defeated Roy Harris in the Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Carol Blood
Carol Blood
 
88.7
 
88,859
Roy Harris
 
11.3
 
11,267

Total votes: 100,126
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Nebraska

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jim Pillen
Jim Pillen
 
33.9
 
91,555
Image of Charles Herbster
Charles Herbster
 
29.9
 
80,771
Image of Brett Lindstrom
Brett Lindstrom
 
26.1
 
70,554
Image of Theresa Thibodeau
Theresa Thibodeau
 
6.1
 
16,432
Image of Breland Ridenour
Breland Ridenour Candidate Connection
 
1.7
 
4,685
Image of Michael Connely
Michael Connely Candidate Connection
 
1.1
 
2,838
Donna Nicole Carpenter
 
0.6
 
1,536
Image of Lela McNinch
Lela McNinch Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
1,192
Troy Wentz
 
0.3
 
708

Total votes: 270,271
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Nebraska

Scott Zimmerman advanced from the Libertarian primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Scott Zimmerman
Scott Zimmerman
 
100.0
 
1,595

Total votes: 1,595
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Nebraska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Nebraska

Incumbent Pete Ricketts defeated Bob Krist in the general election for Governor of Nebraska on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Pete Ricketts
Pete Ricketts (R)
 
59.0
 
411,812
Image of Bob Krist
Bob Krist (D)
 
41.0
 
286,169

Total votes: 697,981
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska

Bob Krist defeated Vanessa Ward and Tyler Davis in the Democratic primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bob Krist
Bob Krist
 
59.8
 
54,992
Vanessa Ward
 
28.8
 
26,478
Tyler Davis
 
11.4
 
10,472

Total votes: 91,942
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Nebraska

Incumbent Pete Ricketts defeated Krystal Gabel in the Republican primary for Governor of Nebraska on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Pete Ricketts
Pete Ricketts
 
81.4
 
138,292
Image of Krystal Gabel
Krystal Gabel
 
18.6
 
31,568

Total votes: 169,860
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Nebraska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPete Ricketts/Mike Foley 57.2% 308,751
     Democratic Chuck Hassebrook/Jane Raybould 39.3% 211,905
     Libertarian Mark G. Elworth Jr./Scott Zimmerman 3.5% 19,001
Total Votes 539,657
Election results via Nebraska Secretary of State



See also

Nebraska State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Nebraska State Executive Offices
Nebraska State Legislature
Nebraska Courts
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Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018