Voters in Omaha, Nebraska, have ousted three-term Republican Mayor Jean Stothert after she blanketed airwaves with anti-trans attacks during her recent bid for reelection.
Stothert was defeated on Tuesday by Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing Jr., who won with 56.3% of the vote to her 43.7%. He’s now poised to be the city’s first Democratic mayor in over a decade, as well as its first Black mayor ever. (Although the role is nonpartisan, the two candidates can still project party affiliations.)
Ewing’s win signals a repudiation of Stothert’s anti-trans messaging — which national Republicans touted repeatedly during the 2024 election and which fueled anti-trans bills targeting gender-affirming care in at least 19 states.
While Stothert reportedly governed as a moderate, she leaned heavily into transphobic rhetoric during the mayoral race, echoing national GOP talking points that framed trans people as predators in public bathrooms and as threats in sporting events.
“Ewing stands with radicals who want to allow boys in girls’ sports,” one Stothert television ad claimed.
In an interview with KETV this week, Ewing called the controversy a “made-up issue by Jean Stothert and the Republican Party.” Other policies the two candidates focused on included more standard local issues like street repairs, affordable housing and police staffing.
The contest represents another electoral bright spot for Democrats, who’ve added to their slew of regional wins since President Donald Trump’s presidential victory last November. In addition to flipping the mayoral seat in Omaha, Democrats have also won state Senate elections in Iowa and Pennsylvania, adding to their momentum going into the 2026 midterms.
“From coast to coast, from blue to purple to even red states, Democrats are overwhelmingly outperforming Republicans in nearly every election held this year,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in response to Ewing’s victory on Tuesday. “After tonight, vulnerable House Republicans like Don Bacon are on notice.”
While Omaha has been known as a “blue dot” in a red state for its liberal leanings, Republicans have held the city’s mayoral seat since 2013 and continue to hold the region’s congressional district. However, Omaha’s congressional district, which voted for Trump in 2016, backed Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020 and 2024.