Nemaha County
May 12, 2026 · Unofficial results as of 9:53 PM
Auburn Mayoral Race
Stephanie Holmes won the Auburn mayoral primary race Tuesday night with 432 votes, leading a four-way field in the most closely watched local contest on the Nemaha County primary ballot. Chris Erickson finished second with 286 votes, Allen E. Lindon received 59, and Gary Nerison picked up 22. The 816-ballot contest included 3 overvotes. Holmes and Erickson will face off in November.
Recall of Theresa Westfall fails
Voters rejected a recall effort targeting Theresa Westfall, with 66 casting ballots against removal compared to 42 in favor — a 61-to-39 percent margin among the 110 who voted on the question.
County Attorney: Hawkins over Ligouri
In the Republican County Attorney primary, Seth W. Hawkins led Angelo M. Ligouri 733 to 388, a comfortable margin with four write-in votes also recorded.
County Commissioner District 3: tight race at the top
The Republican County Commissioner District 3 primary was the night's closest local contest. Kim Buchmeier led with 235 votes, followed by Michael J. Weiss at 201 — a gap of just 34 votes. Marvin D. Bohling received 50 votes and Philip Gerdes 21, with 2 overvotes noted among the 522 total ballots in the race.
Overall, 1,631 of Nemaha County's 4,473 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday — a turnout of 36.46%.
Statewide Republican races
Higher up the ballot, Gov. Jim Pillen led the Republican gubernatorial primary in the county with 701 votes over Gary L. Rogge (163) and John Walz (103). U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts dominated his Senate primary with 880 votes — nearly ten times runner-up Debb Axtell Schultz's 92. In the 3rd Congressional District, Adrian Smith collected 792 votes to David P. Huebner's 316.
Scott Petersen led the Secretary of State primary 606 to 402 over Bob Evnen. Joey Spellerberg ran essentially uncontested for State Treasurer with 894 votes. Mike Hilgers topped the Attorney General field with 914 votes, and Mike Foley led State Auditor with 941.
Democratic primaries
Among the 306 Democratic ballots cast, Cindy Burbank led the Senate primary with 232 votes to William J. Forbes' 59. Lynne Walz topped the gubernatorial field with 245 votes over Larry Marvin's 50. Sarah J. Slattery led the Secretary of State race 246 to 37 over Lee M. Cimfel, and Daniel Ebers took the State Treasurer primary with 266 votes.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Registered voters | 4,473 |
| Ballots cast | 1,631 |
| Republican | 1,157 |
| Democratic | 306 |
| Nonpartisan | 149 |
| Libertarian | 15 |
| Legal Marijuana NOW | 4 |
| Blank | 42 |
| Voter turnout | 36.46% |
Johnson County
May 12, 2026 · Unofficial results as of 9:18 p.m.
Beck Defeat Keebler in Clerk Primary and Doeden Leads Commissioners
In the most competitive local contest, Nicole Beck defeated Terry Keebler in the Republican County Clerk primary, 445 votes to 146.
The Republican County Commissioner District 3 race drew a three-way field, with Channing A. Doeden leading with 119 votes. Mike Buss finished second with 78, and Wayne A. Syder trailed with 29.
Statewide Republican Races
Pete Ricketts dominated the Johnson County vote in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, capturing 432 of 584 votes cast in the race — roughly 73 percent. Debb Axtell Schultz finished a distant second with 64, followed by Todd Knobel with 53, Mac Stevens with 18 and Eric Mortimore with 15.
Gov. Jim Pillen led the Republican gubernatorial field with 364 votes. John Walz finished second with 69, ahead of Sheila J. Korth-Focken with 62 and Gary L. Rogge with 54.
Adrian Smith led the 3rd Congressional District Republican primary with 440 votes to David P. Huebner's 140.
In down-ballot statewide races, Bob Evnen and Scott Petersen ran nearly even in the Secretary of State contest, drawing 273 and 270 votes respectively. Joey Spellerberg ran unopposed for State Treasurer, collecting 457 votes. Mike Hilgers received 473 votes in the uncontested Attorney General race, and Mike Foley drew 493 in the State Auditor contest.
Statewide Democratic Races
Cindy Burbank led the Democratic U.S. Senate field in Johnson County with 139 votes, compared to 34 for William J. Forbes.
Lynne Walz topped the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 149 votes to Larry Marvin's 25. Sarah J. Slattery led the Secretary of State race with 147 votes to Lee M. Cimfel's 21. Becky Kelly Stille ran unopposed in the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary, receiving 159 votes.
Daniel Ebers collected 157 votes uncontested in the State Treasurer race, and Jocelyn Brasher drew 158 votes in the uncontested Attorney General primary.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Registered voters | 2,773 |
| Ballots cast | 817 |
| Republican | 601 |
| Democratic | 172 |
| Nonpartisan | 43 |
| Libertarian | 0 |
| Legal Marijuana NOW | 1 |
| Blank | 45 |
| Voter turnout | 29.46% |
