Matt Hansen | |
---|---|
Member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 26th district | |
In office January 7, 2015 –January 4, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Amanda McGill |
Succeeded by | George Dungan |
Personal details | |
Born | Morgantown,West Virginia | February 11,1988
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Lincoln,Nebraska |
Alma mater | University of Nebraska (B.A.) University of Nebraska (J.D.) |
Profession | Attorney |
Matthew V. "Matt" Hansen (born February 11,1988) is a politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. In 2014,he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature,representing a Lincoln district. Hansen is a member of the Democratic Party.
Hansen was born February 11,1988,in Morgantown,West Virginia. He was raised in Lincoln,and graduated from Lincoln Southwest High School in 2006. He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln,receiving a B.A. in psychology and political science in 2010;he then attended the University of Nebraska School of Law,from which he received a J.D. in 2013. [1] [2]
As of late 2013,Hansen taught sociology and math one-on-one to gifted students as a mentor for Lincoln Public Schools. He sat on the board of the University Place Community Organization and on Lincoln's Cable Advisory Board. [3]
In November 2013,Hansen announced that he would run in the 2014 election for a seat in the Nebraska state legislature,representing the 26th District in northeastern Lincoln. The incumbent,Democrat Amanda McGill,was precluded by Nebraska's term-limits law from running for a third consecutive term. [3] [4] [5]
Hansen was one of four Democrats seeking the position. Larry Weixelman was a University of Nebraska employee who also owned a market-analysis and software company that worked to promote tourism in Nebraska. Justin Valencia,an attorney,was an adjunct professor at Bellevue University. Bob Van Valkenburg,a 78-year-old described as a "perennial candidate",had been a registered Republican but had changed his registration to Democrat in recent years;he stated that he was running because of his dislike for one of the other candidates,and because being in the Legislature was on his "bucket list". [6] [7]
A single Republican was also in the race. Brent Smoyer,an attorney,worked as an aide for state legislator Scott Lautenbaugh. Smoyer had run for the Legislature from another Lincoln district in 2008,but had been eliminated after placing third in the three-way nonpartisan primary. In 2010,he had won a four-year term on the Lancaster County Board. [6] [8] [9]
As the primary drew near,Smoyer led the field in fundraising;three weeks before the May 13 election,he had raised $19,000 and had $13,000 cash on hand. Hansen led the Democratic candidates,with $11,300 raised and $1,150 on hand. Weixelman reported $5,500 raised and $325 on hand;Valencia and Van Valkenburg had not filed a campaign-finance report with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission,indicating that they had not raised or spent the $5,000 that would require such a report. [10]
When the nonpartisan primary was held,Smoyer secured a narrow plurality,with 1968 of the 6086 votes,representing 32.3% of the total. Hansen came in second,with 1823 votes,or 30.0%. Weixelman placed third with 1105 votes (18.2%);Van Valkenburg took 597 votes (9.8%);and Valencia received 593 votes (9.7%). [11]
As the top two vote-getters in the primary,Smoyer and Hansen moved on to the general election. The candidates differed on a number of salient issues. Hansen supported the proposed expansion of Medicaid in Nebraska under the terms of the 2010 Affordable Care Act,declaring,"Ensuring that all Nebraskans have access to quality health care should remain a top priority of the Legislature"; [12] Smoyer opposed it,expressing concern lest the federal government renege on its promise to reimburse states for the costs of the Medicaid expansion. [13] Hansen favored the abolition of capital punishment in Nebraska;Smoyer favored keeping the death penalty,though using it rarely. [14] Hansen was described as supporting a woman's right to an abortion;Smoyer,as "anti-abortion". [14] Hansen wanted to repeal Nebraska's policy of denying driver's licenses to persons who were residing illegally in the United States after being brought to the country as children,and who were granted an exemption from deportation under the Barack Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy;Smoyer believed that such licenses should continue to be denied. [14] Hansen believed that Nebraska's law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets should be kept;Smoyer favored its repeal. [14]
In the course of the entire legislative campaign,Hansen raised about $63,000 and spent about $59,000. His major contributors included the Nebraska State Education Association,with contributions totaling about $18,500,the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters,with a contribution of $4000,and the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys,contributing $3500. [14] [15] Smoyer raised about $94,000 and spent about $95,000. His major contributors included the Nebraska Realtors,which gave him $8500 (also contributing $2000 to the Hansen campaign),the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry,which contributed about $5600,and the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation,which contributed about $5600. [14] [16]
Hansen was endorsed by the Nebraska State Education Association and by the AFL–CIO;Smoyer and the Omaha Police Officers Association. [14] Smoyer also won the editorial endorsement of the Lincoln Journal Star ,which had endorsed him and Valencia in the primary election. [17]
When the general election was held,Hansen defeated Smoyer,with 5376 votes to Smoyer's 4442,for a 55%–45% margin. [18]
John Peter Ricketts is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the 40th governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023.
Debra Lynelle Fischer is an American politician and former educator serving as the senior United States senator from Nebraska,a seat she has held since 2013. A member of the Republican Party,Fischer is the third woman to represent Nebraska in the U.S. Senate and the first to be reelected.
John Bradley Ashford was an American politician who served in the Nebraska Legislature and the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district.
Russ Karpisek is a politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. He served in the Nebraska Legislature from 2007 to 2015.
Jeremiah J. Nordquist is a politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. Nordquist represented an Omaha district in the Nebraska Legislature from 2009 to 2015. He served in the Unicameral as a member of the Democratic Party,but is now a registered Non-Partisan.
Ken Haar is a politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. A resident of Malcolm,Haar held a seat in the Nebraska Legislature from 2009 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Robert J. Krist is an American politician who served as the Nebraska State Senator from the 10th district from 2009 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party until 2017,his district includes Bennington and part of Omaha. Krist joined the Democratic Party in 2018;he was its nominee for Governor of Nebraska in the 2018 election.
The 2014 Nebraska gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday,November 4,2014,to elect the 40th Governor of Nebraska. Republican Candidate and former COO of TD Ameritrade Pete Ricketts defeated Democratic candidate and former Regent of the University of Nebraska Chuck Hassebrook,receiving 57.2% of the vote to Hassebrook's 39.2% This was the first open seat election,and the first time a Democrat won a county for governor since 1998.
David Alan Domina is an American lawyer and politician from Nebraska. A member of the Democratic Party,he was involved in a number of high-profile legal cases,including the impeachment of Nebraska Attorney General Paul L. Douglas in 1986,and that of University of Nebraska regent David Hergert in 2006. Beginning in 2012,he represented opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline in contesting a legislative measure relating to the use of eminent domain for the pipeline.
Laura Lynne Ebke is a politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. A resident of the city of Crete in the southeastern part of the state,she served a single term in the Nebraska Legislature,from 2015 to 2019.
Tommy Garrett is a politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. In 2013,he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the unicameral Nebraska Legislature,representing a district in Sarpy County,in the Omaha metropolitan area. Garrett is a member of the Republican Party. In Nebraska,the legislature is non-partisan.
Robert "Bob" Hilkemann is a politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. In 2014,he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature,representing an Omaha district.
Mervin Merle Riepe is an American politician from the state of Nebraska. In 2014,he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature,representing a district in the Omaha metropolitan area. In 2018,he lost re-election to Democrat Steve Lathrop,but in 2022 after Lathrop decided not to seek re-election,Riepe was again elected to the Nebraska Legislature.
John S. McCollister is an American politician who served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature from 2015 to 2023,representing an Omaha district. McCollister is a moderate member of the Republican Party.
Patty Pansing Brooks is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 28th district. Elected in November 2014,she assumed office on January 7,2015.
Roy Baker is a politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. In 2014,he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature,representing a district in the southeastern part of the state. Baker is a member of the Republican Party.
Michael K. Groene is a politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. In 2014,he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature,representing a district in the southwestern part of the state,including the city of North Platte. Groene is a member of the Republican Party. He resigned in 2022 after admitting to taking sexually inappropriate photographs of a legislative aide.
The 2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the governor of Nebraska,concurrently with the election of Nebraska's Class I U.S. Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states,elections to the United States House of Representatives,and various Nebraska and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Pete Ricketts won re-election to a second term.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Nebraska on November 6,2018. All of Nebraska's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat,and all of Nebraska's three seats in the United States House of Representatives.
The 2022 Nebraska State Legislature elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Nebraska voters elected state senators in the 24 even-numbered seats of the 49 legislative districts in the Nebraska Unicameral as well as in a special election for the 31st District. State senators serve four-year terms in the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.