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The 2016 Nebraska Legislature election was held on November 8, 2016, to determine which party would control the Nebraska Legislature for the following two years in the 105th Nebraska legislature. The 25 odd-numbered seats out of 49 seats in the Nebraska Legislature were up for election and the primary was held on May 10, 2016. Prior to the election, 35 seats were held by Republicans, 13 seats were held by Democrats and 1 seat was held by an Independent. The general election saw Democrats gaining 3 seats, this however meant that Republicans maintained their majority in the State Legislature.[1][2]

Retirements

Democrats

  1. District 5: Heath Mello was term-limited.
  2. District 13: Tanya Cook was term-limited.
  3. District 21: Ken Haar was term-limited.
  4. District 41: Kate Sullivan was term-limited.

Republicans

  1. District 17: Dave Bloomfield was term-limited.
  2. District 25: Kathy Campbell was term-limited.
  3. District 27: Colby Coash was term-limited.
  4. District 35: Mike Gloor was term-limited.
  5. District 37: Galen Hadley was term-limited.
  6. District 39: Beau McCoy was term-limited.
  7. District 47: Ken Schilz was term-limited.

Defeated incumbents

In primary

Republicans

  1. District 7: Nicole Fox lost the primary to Democrats Tony Vargas and John Synowiecki.

In general

Republicans

  1. District 3: Tommy Garrett lost re-election to Democrat Carol Blood.
  2. District 15: David Schnoor lost re-election to Democrat Lynne Walz.
  3. District 23: Jerry Johnson lost re-election to fellow Republican Bruce Bostelman.
  4. District 33: Les Seiler lost re-election to fellow Republican Steve Halloran.
  5. District 43: Al Davis lost re-election to fellow Republican Tom Brewer.

Closest races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. District 35, 0.66% (gain)
  2. District 13, 2.32%
  3. District 15, 2.78% (gain)
  4. District 3, 3.12% (gain)
  5. District 31, 4.14%
  6. District 43, 4.52%
  7. District 37, 6.52%
  8. District 39, 9.74%

Results[b]

District 1

District 1 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Watermeier (incumbent) 13,916 100.0%
Total votes 13,916 100.0%
Republican hold

District 3

District 3 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carol Blood 7,959 51.56%
Republican Tommy Garrett (incumbent) 7,476 48.44%
Total votes 15,435 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

District 5

District 5 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike McDonnell 7,120 70.16%
Republican Gilbert Ayala 3,028 29.84%
Total votes 10,148 100.0%
Democratic hold

District 7

District 7 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tony Vargas 5,244 61.75%
Democratic John Synowiecki 3,248 38.25%
Total votes 8,492 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

District 9

District 9 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sara Howard (incumbent) 10,552 79.19%
Nonpartisan Larry Roland 2,773 20.81%
Total votes 13,325 100.0%
Democratic hold

District 11

District 11 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Ernie Chambers (incumbent) 7,763 81.81%
Nonpartisan John Sciara 1,726 18.19%
Total votes 9,489 100.0%
Independent hold

District 13

District 13 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Justin Wayne 6,920 51.16%
Nonpartisan Jill Brown 6,605 48.84%
Total votes 13,525 100.0%
Democratic hold

District 15

District 15 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lynne Walz 7,601 51.39%
Republican David Schnoor (incumbent) 7,189 48.61%
Total votes 14,790 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

District 17

District 17 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joni Albrecht 6,825 60.53%
Nonpartisan Ardel Bengtson 4,451 39.47%
Total votes 11,276 100.0%
Republican hold

District 19

District 19 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Scheer (incumbent) 12,908 100.0%
Total votes 12,908 100.0%
Republican hold

District 21

District 21 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mike Hilgers 8,588 56.67%
Nonpartisan Larry Scherer 6,567 43.33%
Total votes 15,155 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

District 23

District 23 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Bostelman 8,693 55.57%
Republican Jerry Johnson (incumbent) 6,950 44.43%
Total votes 15,643 100.0%
Republican hold

District 25

District 25 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Suzanne Geist 12,899 55.70%
Democratic Jim Gordon 10,258 44.30%
Total votes 23,157 100.0%
Republican hold

District 27

District 27 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Anna Wishart 9,930 74.93%
Nonpartisan Dick Clark 3,657 25.07%
Total votes 14,587 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

District 29

District 29 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kate Bolz (incumbent) 14,281 82.95%
Nonpartisan Melody Vaccaro 2,936 17.05%
Total votes 17,217 100.0%
Democratic hold

District 31

District 31 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rick Kolowski (incumbent) 9,762 52.07%
Nonpartisan Ian Swanson 8,985 47.93%
Total votes 18,747 100.0%
Democratic hold

District 33

District 33 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Steve Halloran 9,164 60.22%
Republican Les Seiler (incumbent) 6,053 39.78%
Total votes 15,217 100.0%
Republican hold

District 35

District 35 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dan Quick 5,743 50.33%
Nonpartisan Gregg Neuhaus 5,668 49.67%
Total votes 11,411 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

District 37

District 37 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Lowe 8,600 53.26%
Nonpartisan Bob Lammers 7,547 46.74%
Total votes 16,147 100.0%
Republican hold

District 39

District 39 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lou Ann Linehan 11,729 54.87%
Nonpartisan Bill Armbrust 9,646 45.13%
Total votes 21,375 100.0%
Republican hold

District 41

District 41 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Briese 14,080 100.0%
Total votes 14,080 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

District 43

District 43 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Brewer 9,169 52.26%
Republican Al Davis (incumbent) 8,376 47.74%
Total votes 17,545 100.0%
Republican hold

District 45

District 45 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sue Crawford (incumbent) 8,774 56.58%
Nonpartisan Michael Cook 6,734 43.42%
Total votes 15,508 100.0%
Democratic hold

District 47

District 47 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Steve Erdman 10,739 67.25%
Nonpartisan Karl Elmshaeuser 5,230 32.75%
Total votes 15,969 100.0%
Republican hold

District 49

District 49 election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Murante (incumbent) 15,137 100.0%
Total votes 15,137 100.0%
Republican hold

Notes

  1. ^ Switched from Republican to Libertarian in 2016.
  2. ^ All Nebraska state legislative elections are technically non-partisan; therefore, parties listed here are from candidates’ websites and official party endorsement lists. Candidates all appear on the ballot without party labels..

References

  1. ^ “Nebraska State Senate elections, 2016”. ballotpedia.org. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  2. ^ “General 2016 Canvass Book” (PDF). sos.nebraska.gov. Retrieved December 6, 2025.