2021 Omaha mayoral election

The 2021 Omaha mayoral election was held in 2021. Incumbent Republican mayor Jean Stothert was re-elected to a third term in office.[1] Stothert is the first person elected to a third consecutive term as mayor of Omaha in the modern era.[2]

2021 Omaha mayoral election

← 2017 May 11, 2021 (2021-05-11) 2025 →
 
Candidate Jean Stothert RJ Neary
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 62,646 33,822
Percentage 64.37% 34.75%


Mayor before election

Jean Stothert
Republican

Elected mayor

Jean Stothert
Republican

The position of mayor in Omaha is officially a non-partisan position. A blanket primary was held on April 6, 2021.[3] The top two finishers in the primary moved on to the general election which was held on May 11, 2021.

Alongside the mayor, the Omaha City Council was up for re-election. It is also officially non-partisan. However, it remained controlled by a Democratic majority, as only district 7 has a general election between a Democrat and a Republican. Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 remained Democratic whereas districts 5 and 6 remained Republican. The incumbent Republican in district 7 was re-elected as well.

Primary election

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Candidates

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Declared

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Failed to qualify

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Declined

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Debates and forums

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2021 Omaha mayoral primary debate
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Stothert Neary Harris Snipes Gudgel Hayes
1 March 31, 2021 Big Mama's
Black Men United
N/A Facebook P P P P A A

Endorsements

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Kimara Snipes (D)
Federal officials
Local officials
Individuals
Jean Stothert (R)
Individuals
RJ Neary (D)[12]
Federal officials
State officials
Local officials
Organizations
  • Omaha Federation of Labor[19]
  • Omaha Labor Council[20]
Jasmine Harris (D)
Local officials
  • Dawaune Hayes[7]
Mark Gudgel (D)
Individuals

Results

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Primary results by precinct
  Stothert
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Harris
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  Snipes
  •   30–40%
  No votes
  •   
Omaha mayoral primary results, April 6, 2021[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jean Stothert (incumbent) 47,966 56.58
Democratic RJ Neary 13,162 15.52
Democratic Jasmine Harris 11,993 14.15
Democratic Kimara Snipes 7,469 8.81
Democratic Mark Gudgel 4,087 4.82
Write-in 106 0.13
Total votes 84,783 100.00

General election

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Candidates

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Debate and forums

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2021 Omaha mayoral general debates and forums
No. Date Host Moderator Link Participants
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Non-invitee   I  Invitee W  Withdrawn
Stothert Neary
1 April 22, 2021 WOWT Brian Mastre Facebook P P
2 April 26, 2021 KMTV Jon Kipper Facebook P P
3 May 2, 2021 KETV Rob McCartney KETV P P
4 May 4, 2021 Omaha by Design N/A Facebook P P
5 May 6, 2021 KFAB N/A Facebook P P

Endorsements

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Jean Stothert (R)
U.S. Governors
Local officials
  • Donald Kleine, Douglas County Attorney, and former sheriff[24]
Organization
Individual
RJ Neary (D)[12]
U.S. Senators
U.S. Representatives
State Senator
County commission
Country Treasurer
  • John Ewing, Douglas County Treasurer[30]
Local officials
Organizations
Individuals

Fundraising

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Campaign finance reports as of April 26, 2021
Candidate (party) Total receipts Total disbursements Cash on hand
Jean Stothert (R) $1,129,681 $1,535,900 $406,219
RJ Neary (D) $675,381 $728,668 $53,287
Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission[34][35]

Results

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Omaha mayoral election results, May 11, 2021[36]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jean Stothert (incumbent) 62,646 64.37
Democratic RJ Neary 33,822 34.75
Write-in 859 0.88
Total votes 97,327 100.00
Republican hold

Results by city council district

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District Jean Stothert
Republican
RJ Neary
Democratic
Write-ins Total
# % # % # %
1 8,538 56.36% 6,424 42.41% 186 1.23% 15,148
2 3,101 40.51% 4,433 57.92% 120 1.57% 7,654
3 6,345 48.72% 6,425 49.34% 253 1.94% 13,023
4 4,563 64.13% 2,485 34.93% 67 0.94% 7,115
5 12,195 75.23% 3,959 24.42% 56 0.35% 16,210
6 15,389 74.96% 5,058 24.64% 83 0.40% 20,530
7 12,515 70.92% 5,038 28.55% 94 0.53% 17,647

[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Harris announces mayoral bid to challenge Stothert in 2021". KMTV. October 20, 2020.
  2. ^ Bandur, Michelle (May 13, 2021). "'It definitely was historic,' Mayor Jean Stothert celebrates unprecedented third consecutive term in office". KETV. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Local teacher running for Omaha mayor". KETV. September 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Mastre, Brian (October 20, 2020). "Jasmine Harris declares candidacy for Omaha mayor". wowt.com.
  5. ^ Sanderford, Aaron (December 9, 2020). "Local developer RJ Neary steps into Omaha mayor's race to challenge Stothert". Omaha.com.
  6. ^ "Kimara Snipes for Mayor". www.kimarasnipes.com.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b "This Election Could Transform Policing in Omaha". The Appeal Political Report. March 30, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  8. ^ "Cavanaugh says no to bid for Omaha Mayor". KETV. February 10, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d Lundgren, Harper (February 2021). "Kimara Snipes formally announces candidacy for Omaha mayor". www.wowt.com.
  10. ^ a b Mastre, Brian (March 2, 2021). "Omaha Police Union endorses Mayor Stothert". www.wowt.com.
  11. ^ Henry Codes (April 16, 2021). "Warren Buffett endorses Jean Stothert for third term as Omaha mayor". Omaha World-Herald.
  12. ^ a b "Rj Neary for Mayor - Endorsements". Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Ristau, Reece (February 22, 2021). "Former Rep. Cavanaugh, previous mayors endorse RJ Neary in Omaha mayor's race". www.omaha.com.
  14. ^ a b Neary, Rj. "John Cavanaugh is have backed Rj Neary". Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  15. ^ Neary, Rj. "Burke Harr Endorses..." Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Ryan, Matt (December 10, 2020). "Democratic candidate R.J. Neary kicked off his campaign along with former Omaha mayor Mike Fahey who introduced him via zoom". KMTV.
  17. ^ a b sambel, john (February 23, 2021). "Jim Suttle is have backed Rj Neary for mayor". Reddit.
  18. ^ a b Neary, Rj. "Garry Gernandt endorses rj Neary for mayor". Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Jordan, Joe. "City's police union backs Stothert, Federation of Labor sides with Neary". News Channel Nebraska.
  20. ^ a b Dvorak, Gina. "Omaha labor council endorses mayoral candidate RJ Neary". wowt.
  21. ^ "This Week In Omaha - Episode 17"
  22. ^ "2021 Primary Election Official Results" (PDF). Douglas County Election Commission. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  23. ^ "Primary Night". Facebook. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "Mayor Stothert receives endorsements from FOP, Douglas County Attorney, and former sheriff". ketv.com. April 2021.
  25. ^ "Editorial stothert is an effective leader who deserves reelection". Omaha.com. April 25, 2021.
  26. ^ "Warren Buffett endorses Jean Stothert for third term as Omaha mayor". Omaha.com. April 16, 2021.
  27. ^ Neay, Rj. "Burke Harr Endorses..." Rj Neary for mayor. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  28. ^ Neary, RJ. "Steve Lathrop endorsed Neary for mayor". www.nearyforomaha.com/. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  29. ^ "Noteworthy endorsements". ballotpedia.org.
  30. ^ "Here is a list of our endorsements". www.nearyforomaha.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d e f Democratic Party, Nebraska. "Neary for Omaha Virtual Campaign Kick Off!". nebraskademocrats.org/.
  32. ^ Democratic Party, Nebraska. "2021 Candidates". nebraskademocrats.org/.
  33. ^ Kleeb, Jane. "Congrats! We move forward together as a Democratic family". Twitter.
  34. ^ "Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission". Federal Election Commission. April 26, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  35. ^ staff, Ballotpedia (April 26, 2021). "Mayoral election in Omaha, Nebraska (2021):Campaign finance". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  36. ^ "2021 General Election Official Results" (PDF). Douglas County Election Commission. May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  37. ^ "Douglas County Election Commission | May 11, 2021, City of Omaha General Election | Official Results". Douglas County Election Commission. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
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Official websites for mayoral candidates