Some Primary Election Results Now Official

By Gordon Hopkins
The results from last week’s primary election in Jefferson County have now been certified and are official. As of press time, results remain unofficial in several other counties, including Gage County.
While the general election is still months away, Jefferson County residents already know they will see a significant change in leadership.
Commissioner Race
With four Republican candidates and no Democrats or other party candidates, the race for Jefferson County Commissioner, District 2, was effectively decided at the primary. Challenger Danielle Schwab defeated incumbent Gale Pohlmann:

• Danielle Schwab: 284 votes
• Gale Pohlmann: 201
• Justin Bennett: 52
• Doug Brown: 42
  City Council
  While Fairbury City Council is not a partisan role, Ward Two was on the primary ballot as there were three candidates. The top two, incumbent Bradley Kuzelka and former Fairbury Administrator and Project Manager Mary Renn, will go on to the general election:
  Bradley Kuzelka: 67 votes
  Mary Renn: 36
  Karl Hoeting: 19
  While no other city council races were under consideration in the primary, two other wards will still see new city council members regardless of who wins. In Ward One, incumbent Kelly Davis did not run for re-election. Instead, Davis is running for mayor against sitting mayor Spencer Brown.
  Ward One candidates are Charley Endorf and Cat Lovegren.
  In Ward Four, incumbent Doug Brown opted to run for county commissioner this election cycle instead of city council. Ward Four candidates are Josh Q. Jacobi and Jaime McDaniel.
  
• Gage County
  As of press time, election results across the county line in Gage are not yet certified and, therefore, unofficial.
  Supervisor District Two: Republican incumbent Emily Haxby defeated challenger Jim Ensz. There was no Democrat candidate.
  Supervisor District Four: Republican and one-time Beatrice City Councilperson Rick Clabaugh defeated former Beatrice City Mayoral candidate Ashley Mason. Clabaugh will face off against the incumbent supervisor, Democrat Dave Swavely.
  Supervisor District Six: Democrat incumbent Don Schuller defeated Sue Davis and John Hill. Schuller will face Republican Rex Adams in the general election in November.
  
• Congressional Races
  Nebraska had five Republican congressional incumbents running in the 2024 primary election. The Nebraska Republican Party (NEGOP) refused to endorse any of them.
  NEGOP endorsed the primary challengers to former Nebraska Governor turned U.S. Senator, Pete Ricketts; Representative Don Bacon, District 2; and Representative Adrian Smith, District 3, which includes Jefferson and Gage counties as well as the bulk of rural Nebraska.
  Despite the lack of endorsements by the state’s GOP, all five incumbents handily defeated their challengers and were declared winners within an hour of polls closing.
  As for the other parties, Democrat Preston Love ran uncontested for the U.S. Senate. He will now face Senator Ricketts in the general election.
  In the race for the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats Tony Vargas and Carol Blood ran uncontested. Daniel Ebers defeated Davis Else.
  
• Voter ID
  According to Jefferson County Election Commissioner Kristina Riggle, the first election held since the state’s new voter ID law was passed went with very few hiccups.
  “Jefferson County did not experience any significant issues with the new Voter ID requirement,” said Riggle. “There were only a few reports of voters who forgot to bring their ID. Those voters were able to retrieve their ID and returned to vote. Overall, this was a very smooth primary election process due to the hard work of the poll workers, my election staff and the voters who turned out with their voter ID.”
  
• Turnout
  The total number of voters in Jefferson County who voted in the 2024 primary was 1,613 out of 4,742 registered voters.
  Riggle noted, “Voter turnout was 34 percent for the 2024 primary. This is down slightly compared to 2022, 2020 and 2018, which were 41 percent, 42 percent and 40 percent respectively.”
  Meanwhile, in Gage County, voter turnout was 33.88 percent, or 4,860 out of 14,343 registered voters.

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