{
 "topic": "senate",
 "site": "electiondata.dev",
 "place": {
  "id": "us-ne",
  "name": "Nebraska",
  "level": "us-state",
  "parent": "usa",
  "path": "us/ne",
  "slug": "ne",
  "state": "ne",
  "state_name": "Nebraska",
  "state_id": "us-ne"
 },
 "question": "How did Nebraska vote for the Senate?",
 "answer": {
  "verdict": "Deb Fischer (Republican) won by 6.7 points",
  "value": 6.7,
  "unit": " pts",
  "digits": 1,
  "label": "Senate, 2024: winner's margin",
  "lines": [
   "Deb Fischer (Republican) 53.2%, Dan Osborn (Independent) 46.5%",
   "938,336 votes for Senate candidates",
   "Also in 2024: 2024 special, Pete Ricketts (Republican) won by 25.2 points"
  ]
 },
 "as_of": "2024",
 "as_of_label": "2024",
 "charts": [
  {
   "id": "senate-margin",
   "title": "Every regular Senate election in Nebraska since 1976",
   "description": "17 regular elections; Democrats were ahead in 9 and Republicans in 8.",
   "indicator": "Democratic candidate's share of Senate votes minus the Republican's, points (regular elections; special elections are in the table)",
   "subtitle": "Democratic share minus Republican share, in points. Above the line: the Democrat got more votes.",
   "x": {
    "kind": "year"
   },
   "y": {
    "digits": 1,
    "unit": " pts",
    "format": "party-margin"
   },
   "layers": [
    {
     "type": "bars",
     "name": "Margin",
     "base": 0,
     "points": [
      [
       1976,
       5.819,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       1978,
       35.316,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       1982,
       38.045,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       1984,
       3.919,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       1988,
       15.043,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       1990,
       17.979,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       1994,
       9.777,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       1996,
       -14.812,
       "rep"
      ],
      [
       2000,
       2.183,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       2002,
       -68.125,
       "rep"
      ],
      [
       2006,
       27.766,
       "dem"
      ],
      [
       2008,
       -17.463,
       "rep"
      ],
      [
       2012,
       -15.548,
       "rep"
      ],
      [
       2014,
       -32.852,
       "rep"
      ],
      [
       2018,
       -19.064,
       "rep"
      ],
      [
       2020,
       -38.313,
       "rep"
      ],
      [
       2024,
       -53.192,
       "rep"
      ]
     ],
     "legend": [
      {
       "label": "Democrat ahead",
       "cls": "dem"
      },
      {
       "label": "Republican ahead",
       "cls": "rep"
      }
     ]
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "limits": [
  "Statewide totals say nothing about who voted or why.",
  "Candidates with a party's support under another name (Minnesota's DFL, New York's fusion lines) are counted with that party, as the MIT data's simplified party does; independents stay independents."
 ],
 "method": "Each candidate's votes are summed over every ballot line; blank, over- and under-votes are left out. The margin is the winner's share of the votes minus the runner-up's. A runoff, where held, is the result.",
 "sources": [
  {
   "name": "electiondata.dev senate-results, version 2026-10-25.247421eda6",
   "url": "https://electiondata.dev/",
   "license": "CC0 1.0"
  },
  {
   "name": "MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. Senate statewide 1976-2024",
   "url": "https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/PEJ5QU",
   "license": "CC0 1.0"
  }
 ],
 "check": {
  "races": [
   {
    "year": 1976,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 593310,
    "votes": {
     "Edward Zorinsky": 313805,
     "John Y. Mccollister": 279284
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 1978,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 493802,
    "votes": {
     "James J. Exon": 334096,
     "Donald Eugene Shasten": 159706
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 1982,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 545647,
    "votes": {
     "Edward Zorinsky": 363350,
     "Jim Keck": 155760,
     "Virginia Walsh": 26443
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 1984,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 639668,
    "votes": {
     "J. J. Exon": 332217,
     "Nancy Hoch": 307147
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 1988,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 667860,
    "votes": {
     "Bob Kerrey": 378717,
     "Dave Karnes": 278250,
     "Ernie Chambers": 10372
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 1990,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 593828,
    "votes": {
     "J. James Exon": 349779,
     "Hal Daub": 243013
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 1994,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 579205,
    "votes": {
     "J. Robert Kerrey": 317297,
     "Jan Stoney": 260668
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 1996,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 661837,
    "votes": {
     "Chuck Hagel": 379933,
     "Ben Nelson": 281904
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2000,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 692350,
    "votes": {
     "Ben Nelson": 353093,
     "Don Stenberg": 337977
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2002,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 480217,
    "votes": {
     "Chuck Hagel": 397438,
     "Charlie A. Matulka": 70290,
     "John J. Graziano": 7423,
     "Phil Chase": 5066
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2006,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 592316,
    "votes": {
     "E. Benjamin Nelson": 378388,
     "Pete Ricketts": 213928
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2008,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 792511,
    "votes": {
     "Mike Johanns": 455854,
     "Scott Kleeb": 317456,
     "Kelly Renee Rosberg": 11438,
     "Steven R. Larrick": 7763
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2012,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 788572,
    "votes": {
     "Deb Fischer": 455593,
     "Bob Kerrey": 332979
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2014,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 540337,
    "votes": {
     "Ben Sasse": 347636,
     "Dave Domina": 170127,
     "Jim Jenkins": 15868,
     "Todd F. Watson": 6260
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2018,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 698883,
    "votes": {
     "Deb Fischer": 403151,
     "Jane Raybould": 269917,
     "Jim Schultz": 25349
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2020,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 930012,
    "votes": {
     "Ben Sasse": 583507,
     "Chris Janicek": 227191,
     "Gene Siadek": 55115
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2024,
    "special": false,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 938336,
    "votes": {
     "Deb Fischer": 499124,
     "Dan Osborn": 436493
    }
   },
   {
    "year": 2024,
    "special": true,
    "runoff": false,
    "total": 935005,
    "votes": {
     "Pete Ricketts": 585103,
     "Preston Love Jr.": 349902
    }
   }
  ],
  "dataset": "senate-results",
  "version": "2026-10-25.247421eda6"
 },
 "table": {
  "title": "Every Senate race since 1976",
  "columns": [
   "Race",
   "Winner",
   "Runner-up",
   "Margin",
   "Votes"
  ],
  "num": [
   3,
   4
  ],
  "rows": [
   [
    "2024 special",
    "Pete Ricketts (R) 62.6%",
    "Preston Love Jr. (D) 37.4%",
    "25.2 pts",
    "935,005"
   ],
   [
    "2024",
    "Deb Fischer (R) 53.2%",
    "Dan Osborn (I) 46.5%",
    "6.7 pts",
    "938,336"
   ],
   [
    "2020",
    "Ben Sasse (R) 62.7%",
    "Chris Janicek (D) 24.4%",
    "38.3 pts",
    "930,012"
   ],
   [
    "2018",
    "Deb Fischer (R) 57.7%",
    "Jane Raybould (D) 38.6%",
    "19.1 pts",
    "698,883"
   ],
   [
    "2014",
    "Ben Sasse (R) 64.3%",
    "Dave Domina (D) 31.5%",
    "32.9 pts",
    "540,337"
   ],
   [
    "2012",
    "Deb Fischer (R) 57.8%",
    "Bob Kerrey (D) 42.2%",
    "15.5 pts",
    "788,572"
   ],
   [
    "2008",
    "Mike Johanns (R) 57.5%",
    "Scott Kleeb (D) 40.1%",
    "17.5 pts",
    "792,511"
   ],
   [
    "2006",
    "E. Benjamin Nelson (D) 63.9%",
    "Pete Ricketts (R) 36.1%",
    "27.8 pts",
    "592,316"
   ],
   [
    "2002",
    "Chuck Hagel (R) 82.8%",
    "Charlie A. Matulka (D) 14.6%",
    "68.1 pts",
    "480,217"
   ],
   [
    "2000",
    "Ben Nelson (D) 51.0%",
    "Don Stenberg (R) 48.8%",
    "2.2 pts",
    "692,350"
   ],
   [
    "1996",
    "Chuck Hagel (R) 57.4%",
    "Ben Nelson (D) 42.6%",
    "14.8 pts",
    "661,837"
   ],
   [
    "1994",
    "J. Robert Kerrey (D) 54.8%",
    "Jan Stoney (R) 45.0%",
    "9.8 pts",
    "579,205"
   ],
   [
    "1990",
    "J. James Exon (D) 58.9%",
    "Hal Daub (R) 40.9%",
    "18.0 pts",
    "593,828"
   ],
   [
    "1988",
    "Bob Kerrey (D) 56.7%",
    "Dave Karnes (R) 41.7%",
    "15.0 pts",
    "667,860"
   ],
   [
    "1984",
    "J. J. Exon (D) 51.9%",
    "Nancy Hoch (R) 48.0%",
    "3.9 pts",
    "639,668"
   ],
   [
    "1982",
    "Edward Zorinsky (D) 66.6%",
    "Jim Keck (R) 28.5%",
    "38.0 pts",
    "545,647"
   ],
   [
    "1978",
    "James J. Exon (D) 67.7%",
    "Donald Eugene Shasten (R) 32.3%",
    "35.3 pts",
    "493,802"
   ],
   [
    "1976",
    "Edward Zorinsky (D) 52.9%",
    "John Y. Mccollister (R) 47.1%",
    "5.8 pts",
    "593,310"
   ]
  ]
 },
 "api": {
  "now": "/data/places/us-ne/senate.json",
  "source": "https://api.electiondata.dev/v1/senate-results/download/senate-results.csv",
  "source_label": "Every Senate race, every state, from electiondata.dev (live, no key)"
 },
 "generated_at": "2026-10-26T20:05:12+00:00"
}