Nemaha County
Nemaha County, Nebraska · Unofficial Results
May 12, 2026 · Unofficial results as of 9:53 PM
Auburn Mayoral Race
Stephanie Holmes won the Auburn mayoral 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.
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.
Nemaha County · Primary May 12, 2026 · Unofficial
| 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
Johnson County: Mike Buss, Wayne Snyder and Channing Doeden are Johnson County District 3 Commissioner candidates. The primary winner will be opposed by Democrat Kale Heusman in November. Incumbent Les Agena will leave the county board in January 2027.
Terry Keebler and Nicole Beck are candidates for Johnson County clerk. The primary winner will be unopposed in the general election. Kathleen Nieveen is not seeking another term.
