Republicans are dismantling districts across the country to offset their disastrous agenda — sending Cavanaugh out of the Unicameral could hand the GOP the votes to gerrymander NE-02 into a Safe Republican seat and wipe out Nebraska’s Blue Dot
Omaha, NE – Today, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the redistricting plan that Virginia voters approved at the ballot box. Just yesterday, following the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act, Tennessee Republicans dismantled the state’s only majority-minority congressional district. The pattern is unmistakable: from Louisiana to Tennessee to Virginia, Republicans are rewriting the rules to entrench their own power — and Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District is squarely in their crosshairs and on the front lines to defend democracy. They are eager for John Cavanaugh to leave the legislature so Governor Pillen can fill his vacancy with a MAGA Republican, giving them the votes to gerrymander NE-02 beyond recognition and end the Blue Dot.
“We have fought so hard for fair representation, our Blue Dot, and to retain that electoral power,” said Denise Powell. “We cannot afford a candidate whose campaign hands Republicans the votes to gerrymander us into oblivion. The stakes are too high — not just for the next presidential election, but for every Nebraska family who depends on having a representative who actually has to listen to them. Democrats in Louisiana and Tennessee are watching their districts disappear in real time. Voters in Virginia just watched the Supreme Court throw out the maps they approved at the ballot box. Sending John Cavanaugh out of the Unicameral and into a congressional seat he can’t protect is exactly how we lose NE-02 — not just in November, but for the foreseeable future. Nebraskans deserve better, and on May 12, they have the chance to choose better.”
The last time Nebraska redrew its congressional maps, the process was fraught, with several iterations of maps that carved the district up to disenfranchise Black and Latino voters. Ultimately, the Legislature narrowly finalized a map that completely changed the geography and electorate of the district while making it 2 points more Republican.
The math has not changed since: if a sitting Democratic state senator – John Cavanaugh, for example – leaves the Legislature just as a redistricting fight is about to begin, Republicans gain the votes to do here exactly what they just did in Louisiana and Tennessee.
That is the risk John Cavanaugh’s congressional campaign creates. By vacating his seat in the Legislature, Cavanaugh would hand Republicans the opening they have been waiting for to gerrymander NE-02 beyond recognition — turning the most-watched swing district in the country into a Safe Republican seat for years to come.
Powell is the only candidate in the race who can fight for NE-02 without putting the maps at risk. With more than 60 endorsements from local and national elected leaders and organizations, record fundraising that has outpaced every other candidate in the race — Republican or Democrat — and polling showing a commanding seven-point advantage after voters hear both candidates’ message, Powell heads into the May 12 primary as the clear frontrunner and the candidate Nebraska’s Blue Dot can count on.
Redistricting Background
The last time Nebraska redrew its congressional maps, Republicans tried to carve up NE-02 the same exact way, proposing maps that cut the district in half along Highway 6. The compromise map, which are the boundaries we are left with today, removed suburban parts of the Omaha metro area in Sarpy County that had been part of NE-02 for decades and added rural Saunders County – although Republicans did make sure that Rep. Don Bacon’s current and future home, which was under construction at the time of redistricting, were both included in the map. That map, which moved the district to the right by 2 points, was only narrowly passed by Nebraska Legislators.
About Denise
Denise Powell is a mom, former executive, small business owner, public school champion and healthcare advocate who knows that a strong work ethic and a love of family and community is the Nebraska way of life. She also knows the Good Life is getting harder to come by. It’s why after Trump’s election she left a successful career in corporate America to focus on fighting for what makes Nebraska such a special place to live and raise a family. Over the past decade, she has supported hundreds of Nebraskans running for local office, protected our public schools and the families they serve, and helped stop extremists from passing abortion bans in the state.
Every day, we see more of our friends and neighbors struggling to make ends meet while Donald Trump and MAGA extremists are focused on trade wars that are increasing our cost of living and passing massive tax breaks for billionaires like Elon Musk. Strong families, strong businesses, strong communities – they ALL require work and investment, but everything we’ve fought for here at home is under threat. From dismantling Medicaid and making it harder for seniors to get the benefits they’ve earned, to dismantling education, from the University of Nebraska to our public schools, to attacking our veterans and ripping away women’s rights — Denise is running to fight for the people of Nebraska. We don’t need lip service from politicians, we need action.
For more information, visit deniseforcongress.org. For a high-resolution picture of Denise, click here.
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