2017 Omaha mayoral election

2017 Omaha mayoral election

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Turnout	30.9%
Candidate Jean Stothert Heath Mello Popular vote 52,509 46,761 Percentage 52.78% 47.01%
General election Primary election Results by precinct: Stothert:   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Mello:   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Tie:   30–40%   No votes
Mayor before election Jean Stothert Republican Elected mayor Jean Stothert Republican

Stothert celebrating her victory

The 2017 Omaha mayoral election was held on May 9, 2017. Incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert won re-election to a second term in office.

The position of mayor in Omaha is officially a non-partisan position. A blanket primary was held on April 4, 2017. The top two finishers in the primary, Jean Stothert and Heath Mello, moved on to the general election.

Alongside the mayor, the Omaha City Council was up for re-election. It is also officially non-partisan. However, it remained controlled by a Democratic majority, as only district 7 has a general election between a Democrat and a Republican. Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 remained Democratic whereas districts 5 and 6 remained Republican. The incumbent Republican in district 7 was re-elected as well.

Anti-abortion Democratic Criticism

Mello was opposed by NARAL Pro-Choice America ^[1] due to earlier introduction of anti-abortion legislation, and support of legislation introduced by others. Pro-choice advocates also assailed Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez ^[2] for their support of Mello. ^{[3] [4]} The Huffington Post reported that Mello sponsored the final version of a 20-week abortion ban approved by the governor in 2010. He also cast anti-abortion votes, including supporting a requirement for physicians to be physically present during an abortion, which limited access to telemedicine abortion care. Additionally, he supported a law banning insurance plans in the state from covering abortions. He was endorsed in 2010 by anti-abortion group Nebraska Right to Life. ^[1]

Primary election

Candidates

• Jean Stothert, incumbent Mayor
• Heath Mello, former State Senator
• Taylor Royal
• Christopher N. Geary
• Ean Mikale

2017 Omaha mayoral primary election results ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jean Stothert	25,501	43.71%
	Nonpartisan	Heath Mello	24,155	41.40%
	Nonpartisan	Taylor Royal	6,289	10.78%
	Nonpartisan	Ean Mikale	1,781	3.05%
	Nonpartisan	Christopher N. Geary	547	0.94%
	Write-in		67	0.11%
Total votes			58,340	100.00%

General election

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of April 24, 2017
Candidate (party)	Total receipts	Total disbursements	Cash on hand
Jean Stothert (R)	$499,659	$1,535,900	$241,352
Health Mello (D)	$899,213	$1,131,433	$240,898
Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission [6] [7]

Results

2017 Omaha mayoral general election results ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Jean Stothert (inc.)	52,509	52.78%
	Nonpartisan	Heath Mello	46,761	47.01%
	Write-in		209	0.21%
Total votes			99,479	100.00%

Results by city council district

Results by City Council district ^[9]

District	Jean Stothert Republican		Heath Mello Democratic		Total
	#	%	#	%
1	7,386	46.86%	8,375	53.13%	15,751
2	2,388	28.59%	4,433	71.40%	8,352
3	5,209	38.63%	8,275	61.36%	13,484
4	4,122	49.17%	4,261	50.82%	8,383
5	10,312	65.23%	5,495	34.76%	15,807
6	12,609	65.31%	6,696	34.68%	19,305
7	9,387	61.36%	5,911	38.63%	15,298

References

1. "Omaha Mayoral Candidate Under Fire For Anti-Choice Past Vows To Protect Reproductive Rights". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2017. Heath Mello has introduced and supported anti-abortion legislation during his time at the Nebraska Unicameral, and Planned Parenthood Voters of Nebraska strongly opposed him when he took such actions,
2. D.D. Guttenplan. "Why Was Heath Mello Thrown Under the Bus?". The Nation. Retrieved June 21, 2017. Nor did it stop Perez from issuing a statement announcing that he "fundamentally disagree[s] with Heath Mello's personal beliefs about women's reproductive health,"^{[ permanent dead link ]}
3. "DNC Unity Tour Hits Speed Bump Over Candidate's Abortion Record". NBC News. Retrieved June 21, 2017. progressives began withdrawing support for Omaha, Nebraska mayoral candidate Heath Mello after discovering that, as a Nebraska state senator eight years ago, he supported an abortion-related ultrasound bill.
4. SCOTT DETROW. "Bernie Sanders Defends Campaigning For Anti-Abortion Rights Democrat". National Public Radio. Retrieved June 21, 2017. Mello has co-sponsored several bills in Nebraska's unicameral legislature that would restrict abortion rights, including a 2009 measure requiring doctors to inform women seeking abortions about the availability of an ultrasound.
5. Douglas County Election Commission (April 14, 2017). "Official Results, Douglas County, Nebraska, 2017 Primary Election" . Retrieved February 17, 2025.
6. "Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission". Federal Election Commission . April 27, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
7. staff, Ballotpedia (April 26, 2021). "Municipal elections in Omaha, Nebraska (2017):Campaign finance". Ballotpedia . Retrieved February 1, 2025.
8. Douglas County Election Commission (April 14, 2017). "Official Results, Douglas County, Nebraska, 2017 General Election" . Retrieved February 17, 2025.
9. "2017 mayoral voting results map". Omaha World-herald. May 10, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2022.