Political party strength in Nebraska

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Nebraska (including its time as a territory):

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Secretary of State
• Attorney General
• State Auditor of Public Accounts
• State Treasurer

The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:

• State Legislature (technically non-partisan since 1937)
• State delegation to the U.S. Senate
• State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives (including non-voting delegate)

For years in which a presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.

Pre-statehood (1853–1866)

Year	Executive offices	Legislature	United States Congress
	Governor		Delegate
1853	William Walker (I) [a]	no legislature	Napoleon Bonaparte Giddings (D)
1854	Francis Burt (D)
1855	Mark W. Izard (D)	Territorial legislature	Bird Beers Chapman (D)
1856
1857			Fenner Ferguson (D)
1858	William Alexander Richardson (D)
1859	Samuel W. Black (D)		Experience Estabrook (D)
1860			Samuel Gordon Daily (R)
1861	Alvin Saunders (R)
1862
1863
1864
1865			Phineas Hitchcock (R)
1866

1867–1936

Year	Executive offices						State Legislature		United States Congress			Electoral votes
	Governor	Lieutenant Governor	Secretary of State	Attorney General	Auditor	Treasurer	Senate	House	Senator (Class I)	Senator (Class II)	House
1867	David Butler (R) [b]	no such office	Thomas P. Kennard House (R)	Champion S. Chase (R)	John Gillespie (R)	Augustus Kountze (R)	R maj.	R maj.	Thomas Tipton (R)	John Milton Thayer (R)	Turner M. Marquett (R)
											John Taffe (R)
1868												Grant/ Colfax (R)Y
1869				Seth Robinson (R)		James Sweet (R)
1870
1871			William H. James (R)	George H. Roberts (R)		Henry A. Koenig (R)				Phineas Hitchcock (R)
	William H. James (R) [c]
1872												Grant/ Wilson (R)Y
1873	Robert Wilkinson Furnas (R)		John J. Gosper (R)	Joseph R. Webster (R)	Jefferson B. Weston (R)						Lorenzo Crounse (R)
1874
1875	Silas Garber (R)		Bruno Tzschuck (R)	George H. Roberts (R)		J. C. McBride (R)			Algernon Paddock (R)
1876												Hayes/ Wheeler (R)Y
1877		Othman A. Abbott (R)								Alvin Saunders (R)	Frank Welch (R) [d]
1878
											Thomas Jefferson Majors (R)
1879	Albinus Nance (R)	Edmund C. Carns (R)	S. J. Alexander (R)	C. J. Dilworth (R)	F. W. Liedtke (R)	George M. Bartlett (R)					Edward K. Valentine (R)
1880												Garfield/ Arthur (R)N
1881					John Wallichs (R)				Charles Van Wyck (R)
1882
1883	James W. Dawes (R)	Alfred W. Agee (R)	Edward P. Roggen (R)	Isaac Powers, Jr. (R)		Phelps D. Sturdevant (D/A-Mo)	D/A-Mo maj. [e]	R maj.		Charles F. Manderson (R)	3R
1884												Blaine/ Logan (R)N
1885		Hibbard H. Shedd (R)		William Leese (R)	H. A. Babcock (R)	Charles H. Willard (R)	R maj.	R maj.
1886
1887	John Milton Thayer (R) [f]		Gilbert L. Laws (R) [g]						Algernon Paddock (R)		2R, 1D
1888												Harrison/ Morton (R)Y
1889		George de Rue Meiklejohn (R)			Thomas H. Benton (R)	John E. Hill (R)					3R
1890			Benjamin R. Cowdery (R) [h]
1891		Thomas Jefferson Majors (R)	John Clayton Allen (R)	George H. Hastings (R)			Pop maj.	Pop maj.			2Pop, 1D
1892	James E. Boyd (D) [f]											Harrison/ Reid (R)N
1893	Lorenzo Crounse (R)				Eugene Moore (R)	Joseph S. Bartley (R)	D/Pop maj.	D/Pop maj. [i]	William V. Allen (Pop)		3R, 2Pop, 1D
1894
1895	Silas A. Holcomb (D/Pop)	Robert E. Moore (D/Pop)	Joel A. Piper (R)	Arthur S. Churchill (R)			R maj.	R maj.		John M. Thurston (R)	5R, 1Pop
1896												4 – Bryan/ Sewall (D/Sv) N 4 – Bryan/ Watson (Pop)N
1897		James E. Harris (D/Pop)	William F. Porter (D/Pop)	Constantine Joseph Smyth (D/Pop)	John F. Cornell (D/Pop)	John B. Meserve (D/Pop)	D/Pop/SvR maj.	D/Pop/SvR maj. [j]			4Pop, 2R
1898
1899	William A. Poynter (D/Pop)	Edward A. Gilbert (R)					R maj.	R maj.	Monroe Hayward (R) [d]		3Pop, 2R, 1D
1900									William V. Allen (Pop) [k]			McKinley/ Roosevelt (R)Y
1901	Charles H. Dietrich (R) [l]	Ezra P. Savage (R)	George W. Marsh (R)	Frank N. Prout (R)	Charles Weston (R)	William Stuefer (R)				Joseph Millard (R)	2D, 2Pop, 2R
	Ezra P. Savage (R) [m]	vacant							Charles H. Dietrich (R)
1902
1903	John H. Mickey (R)	Edmund G. McGilton (R)				Peter Mortensen (R)					5R, 1D
1904												Roosevelt/ Fairbanks (R)Y
1905			A. Galusha (R)	Norris Brown (R)	Edward N. Searle Jr. (R)				Elmer Burkett (R)		6R
1906
1907	George L. Sheldon (R)	Melville R. Hopewell (R) [d]	George C. Junkin (R)	William T. Thompson (R) [n]		L. G. Brian (R)				Norris Brown (R)	5R, 1D
1908												Bryan/ Kern (D)N
1909	Ashton C. Shallenberger (D)				Silas Reynolds Barton (R)		D maj.	D maj.			3D, 3R
1910				Arthur F. Mullen (D) [h]
1911	Chester Hardy Aldrich (R)		Addison Wait (R)	Grant G. Martin (R)		Walter A. George (R)			Gilbert Hitchcock (D)
1912		vacant										Wilson/ Marshall (D)Y
1913	John H. Morehead (D)	Samuel Roy McKelvie (R)			W. B. Howard (R)		R maj.	D maj.		George W. Norris (R)
1914
1915		James Pearson (D)	Charles W. Pool (D)	Willis E. Reed (D)	William H. Smith (D)	George E. Hall (D)	D maj.	D maj.
1916
1917	Keith Neville (D)	Edgar Howard (D)
1918
1919	Samuel Roy McKelvie (R)	Pelham A. Barrows (R)	Darius M. Amsberry (R)	Clarence A. Davis (R)	George W. Marsh (R)	Daniel B. Cropsey (R)	R maj.	R maj.			6R
1920												Harding/ Coolidge (R)Y
1921
1922
1923	Charles W. Bryan (D)	Fred Gustus Johnson (R)	Charles W. Pool (D)	Ora S. Spillman (R)		Charles D. Robinson (R)			Robert B. Howell (R) [d]		3D, 3R
1924												Coolidge/ Dawes (R)Y
1925	Adam McMullen (R)	George A. Williams (R)
1926
1927			Frank Marsh Sr. (R)		L. B. Johnson (R)	W. M. Stebbins (R)					4D, 2R
1928												Hoover/ Curtis (R)Y
1929	Arthur J. Weaver (R)			Christian A. Sorensen (R)							4R, 2D
1930
1931	Charles W. Bryan (D)	Theodore W. Metcalfe (R)			George W. Marsh (R)	Truman W. Bass (R)					4D, 2R
1932												Roosevelt/ Garner (D)Y
1933		Walter H. Jurgensen (D)	Harry R. Swanson (D)	Paul F. Good (D)	William B. Price (D) [o]	George E. Hall (D) [p]	D maj.	D maj.			5D
									William H. Thompson (D) [k]
1934
									Richard C. Hunter (D)
1935	Robert Leroy Cochran (D)			William H. Wright (D)					Edward R. Burke (D)		4D, 1R
					Fred C. Ayres (D) [h]
1936										George W. Norris (I) [q]
						H. J. Murray (D) [h]

1937–present

Year	Executive offices						State Legislature [r]	United States Congress			Electoral votes
	Governor	Lieutenant Governor	Secretary of State	Attorney General	Auditor	Treasurer		Senator (Class I)	Senator (Class II)	House
1937	Robert Leroy Cochran (D)	Walter H. Jurgensen (D)	Harry R. Swanson (D)	Richard C. Hunter (D)	William H. Price (D)	Walter H. Jensen (D)	43NP (22R, 21D)	Edward R. Burke (D)	George W. Norris (I)	4D, 1R
1938
		Nate M. Parsons (D)
1939		William E. Johnson (R)		Walter R. Johnson (R)	Ray C. Johnson (R)	Truman W. Bass (R) [s]	43NP (24R, 19D)			3R, 2D
						John Havekost (D) [h]
1940											Willkie/ McNary (R)N
1941	Dwight Griswold (R)		Frank Marsh Sr. (R) [t]			L. B. Johnson (R)	43NP (26R, 17D)	Hugh A. Butler (R) [d]
1942
1943		Roy W. Johnson (R)				Carl G. Swanson (R) [u]	43NP (26R, 13D; 4 not reported)		Kenneth S. Wherry (R) [d]	4R
1944							43NP (25R, 13D; 5 not reported)				Dewey/ Bricker (R)N
1945							43NP (28R, 7D; 8 not reported)
1946						Edward Gillette (R) [v]
1947	Val Peterson (R)	Robert B. Crosby (R)					43NP (20R, 9D; 14 not reported)
1948											Dewey/ Warren (R)N
1949		Charles J. Warner (R) [d]		James Hodson Anderson (R) [w]			43NP (22R, 5D; 16 not reported)			3R, 1D
1950				Clarence S. Beck (R) [v]			43NP (23R, 5D; 15 not reported)
1951			James S. Pittenger (R) [h]			Frank B. Heintze (R)	43NP (25R, 5D, 1I; 12 not reported)			4R
1952									Fred A. Seaton (R) [k]		Eisenhower/ Nixon (R)Y
									Dwight Griswold (R) [d]
1953	Robert B. Crosby (R)		Frank Marsh (R)				43NP (26R, 5D, 1I; 11 not reported)
1954							43NP (26R, 4D, 1I; 12 not reported)
								Samuel W. Reynolds (R) [k]	Eva Bowring (R) [k]
								Roman Hruska (R)	Hazel Abel (R)
1955	Victor E. Anderson (R)					Ralph W. Hill (R) [x]	43NP (23R, 8D, 2I; 10 not reported)		Carl Curtis (R)
1956		vacant
1957		Dwight W. Burney (R)					43NP (25R, 13D, 1I; 4 not reported)
1958						Bertha I. Hill (R) [h]
1959	Ralph G. Brooks (D) [d]					Richard R. Larsen (D)	43NP (31R, 9D, 3I)			2D, 2R
1960											Nixon/ Lodge (R)N
	Dwight W. Burney (R) [m]
1961	Frank B. Morrison (D)			Clarence A. H. Meyer (R)		Clarence L. E. Swanson (R) [y]	43NP (26R, 11D, 3I; 3 not reported)			4R
1962							43NP (27R, 10D, 3I; 3 not reported)
1963							43NP (29R, 12D, 2I)			3R
1964						P. Merle Humphries (R) [h]	43NP (28R, 13D, 2I)				Johnson/ Humphrey (D)Y
1965		Philip C. Sorensen (D)				Fred Sorensen (D)	49NP [z] (31R, 12D, 2I; 4 not reported)			2R, 1D
1966
1967	Norbert Tiemann (R)	John E. Everroad (R)				Wayne R. Swanson (R)	49NP (33R, 12D, 2I; 2 not reported)			3R
1968											Nixon/ Agnew (R)Y
1969							49NP (36R, 11D; 2 not reported)
1970
1971	J. James Exon (D)	Frank Marsh (R)	Allen J. Beermann (R)		Ray A. C. Johnson (R)		49NP (36R, 12D, 1I)
1972
1973							49NP (33R, 15D, 1I)
1974
1975		Gerald T. Whelan (D)		Paul L. Douglas (R) [w]		Frank Marsh (R) [w]
1976											Ford/ Dole (R)N
1977							49NP (30R, 17D, 2I)	Edward Zorinsky (D) [d]		2R, 1D
1978							49NP (28R, 19D, 2I)
1979	Charles Thone (R)	Roland A. Luedtke (R)					49NP (25R, 22D, 2I)		J. James Exon (D)
1980											Reagan/ Bush (R)Y
1981						Kay A. Orr (R) [v]	49NP (30R, 17D, 2I)			3R
1982							49NP (31R, 16D, 2I)
1983	Bob Kerrey (D)	Donald McGinley (D)					49NP (30R, 17D, 2I)
1984							49NP (29R, 19D, 1I)
1985				Robert M. Spire (R) [v]			49NP (26R, 22D, 1I)
1986							49NP (25R, 23D, 1I)
1987	Kay A. Orr (R)	William E. Nichol (R)				Frank Marsh (R)	49NP (26R, 22D, 1I)
								David Karnes (R) [aa]
1988							49NP (27R, 21D, 1I)				Bush/ Quayle (R)Y
1989							49NP (28R, 20D, 1I)	Bob Kerrey (D)		2R, 1D
1990							49NP (29R, 19D, 1I)
1991	Ben Nelson (D)	Maxine Moul (D) [ab]		Don Stenberg (R)	John Breslow (D)	Dawn Rockey (D)	49NP (27R, 21D, 1I)
1992							49NP (26R, 22D, 1I)				Bush/ Quayle (R)N
1993
		Kim M. Robak (D) [v]
1994							49NP (25R, 23D, 1I)
1995			Scott Moore (R) [ac]		John Breslow (R) [ad]	Dave Heineman (R) [ae]	49NP (26R, 22D, 1I)			3R
1996											Dole/ Kemp (R)N
1997							49NP (27R, 21D, 1I)		Chuck Hagel (R)
1998							49NP (26R, 21D, 2I)
1999	Mike Johanns (R) [af]	David Maurstad (R) [ag]			Kate Witek (R)		49NP (28R, 19D, 2I)
2000							49NP (29R, 18D, 2I)				Bush and Cheney (R)Y
2001			John A. Gale (R) [v]				49NP (31R, 16D, 2I)	Ben Nelson (D)
		Dave Heineman (R) [v]				Lorelee Hunt Byrd (R) [v] [ah]
2002
2003				Jon Bruning (R)			49NP (34R, 13D, 2I)
2004						Ron Ross (R) [aa]
2005	Dave Heineman (R) [ai]	Rick Sheehy (R) [v] [w]					49NP (32R, 15D, 2I)
2006					Kate Witek (D) [aj]
2007					Mike Foley (R)	Shane Osborn (R)	49NP (30R, 17D, 2I)
2008											4 – McCain/ Palin (R)N 1 – Obama/ Biden (D)Y [ak]
2009							49NP (31R, 18D)		Mike Johanns (R)
2010							49NP (30R, 19D)
2011						Don Stenberg (R)	49NP (32R, 17D)
2012											Romney/ Ryan (R)N
2013		Lavon Heidemann (R) [h] [w]					49NP (29R, 19D, 1I)	Deb Fischer (R)
2014
		John E. Nelson (R) [k]
2015	Pete Ricketts (R)	Mike Foley (R)		Doug Peterson (R)	Charlie Janssen (R)		49NP (34R, 14D, 1I)		Ben Sasse (R)	2R, 1D
2016							49NP (35R, 13D, 1I)				Trump/ Pence (R)Y
2017							49NP (31R, 16D, 1L, 1I)			3R
2018
2019			Bob Evnen (R)			John Murante (R) [al]	49NP (30R, 18D, 1I)
2020											4 – Trump/ Pence (R)N 1 – Biden/ Harris (D)Y [am]
2021							49NP (32R, 17D)
2022
2023	Jim Pillen (R)	Joe Kelly (R)		Mike Hilgers (R)	Mike Foley (R)				Pete Ricketts (R) [h]
						Tom Briese (R) [h]	49NP (32R, 16D, 1I)
2024											4 – Trump/ Vance (R)Y 1 – Harris/ Walz (D)N [an]
							49NP (33R, 15D, 1I)
2025

Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress and other politicians or officials

Alaskan Independence (AKIP) Know Nothing (KN) American Labor (AL) Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J) National Republican (NR) Anti-Administration (AA) Anti-Masonic (Anti-M) Conservative (Con) Covenant (Cov)

Democratic (D) Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Democratic–NPL (D-NPL) Dixiecrat (Dix), States' Rights (SR) Democratic-Republican (DR) Farmer–Labor (FL) Federalist (F) Pro-Administration (PA)

Free Soil (FS) Fusion (Fus) Greenback (GB) Independence (IPM) Independent Democrat (ID) Independent Republican (IR) Jacksonian (J) Liberal (Lib)

Libertarian (L) National Union (NU) Nonpartisan League (NPL) Nullifier (N) Opposition Northern (O) Opposition Southern (O) Populist (Pop) Progressive (Prog)

Prohibition (Proh) Readjuster (Rea) Republican (R) Silver (Sv) Silver Republican (SvR) Socialist (Soc) Union (U) Unconditional Union (UU)

Vermont Progressive (VP) Whig (W) Independent (I) Nonpartisan (NP)

1. Provisional
2. Impeached and removed from office for misappropriation of state funds; the impeachment was expunged six years later.
3. As state secretary of state, acted as governor for unexpired term.
4. Died in office.
5. The Coalition elected an Anti-Monopolist as Senate President Pro Tempore. ^[1]
6. James E. Boyd won the 1890 election and was sworn in on January 8, 1891. However, due to a question of his U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the office, he did not take office until February 8, 1892.
7. Resigned on November 20, 1889 to take an elected seat in the United States House of Representatives.
8. Appointed to fill vacancy.
9. A Republican was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore, but the chamber was organized by the coalition of Democrats and Populists. ^[2]
10. A Silver Republican was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore, and the Silver Republicans were in coalition with the Democrats and Populists in organizing both chambers. ^[3]
11. Appointed to fill vacancy; did not seek election.
12. Resigned on May 1, 1901 to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
13. As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term.
14. Resigned in 1910 to take office as Solicitor of the United States Treasury.
15. Died in office on August 19, 1935.
16. Died in office on December 21, 1936.
17. Changed party affiliation from Republican to Independent in 1936.
18. Due to a constitutional amendment passed in 1934, effective with the 1936 election, the Nebraska Legislature became a non-partisan unicameral body with 43 elected members.
19. Died in office on August 21, 1939.
20. Died in office on February 9, 1951.
21. Resigned on December 31, 1945.
22. Appointed to fill vacancy; subsequently elected.
23. Resigned.
24. Died in office on July 13, 1958.
25. Died in office on April 5, 1964.
26. Due to the mandate of "one man, one vote" in Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims in redistricting, the Legislature expanded to 49 members.
27. Appointed to fill vacancy; lost election to a full term.
28. Resigned on October 4, 1993 to take office as director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
29. Resigned on December 15, 2000 to take a position with Union Pacific Railroad.
30. Changed party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in November 1994 after winning reelection as a Democrat.
31. Resigned on October 1, 2001 to take office as Lieutenant Governor.
32. Resigned on January 20, 2005 to take office as United States Secretary of Agriculture.
33. Resigned on October 1, 2001 to take office as director of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VIII.
34. Resigned on January 6, 2004.
35. As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term and was later elected in his own right.
36. Changed party affiliation from Republican to Democratic in August 2006.
37. McCain and Palin received the state's two at-large votes and one vote each in the First and Third Congressional Districts while Obama and Biden received one vote in the Second District.
38. Resigned on September 18, 2023 to lead the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems.
39. Trump and Pence received the state's two at-large votes and one vote each in the First and Third Congressional Districts while Biden and Harris received one vote in the Second District.
40. Trump and Vance received the state's two at-large votes and one vote each in the First and Third Congressional Districts while Harris and Walz received one vote in the Second District.

References

1. "Senate journal of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska. 1883". HathiTrust. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
2. "Senate journal of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska. 1893". HathiTrust. p. ii, viii–x. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
3. "Senate journal of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska. 1897". HathiTrust. p. vi, viii. Retrieved 2021-06-23.

See also

• Politics in Nebraska