Democrats Pick Up Surprising Election Victory

Democratic challenger John Ewing Jr. defeated incumbent Republican Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert in a surprising victory for Democrats Tuesday night.

Ewing will become the first black mayor of Nebraska’s largest city.

The Douglas County treasurer and former deputy chief of police for Omaha denied Stothert a fourth consecutive term.

Democrat John Ewing Jr. just fired the longest-serving GOP mayor in the country—flipping Omaha blue and making history as the city’s first Black mayor.

Omaha was the 6th-largest Republican-led city in the United States.

Was.

Midterms just got interesting. pic.twitter.com/UmtwnpqIwV

— Shea Jordan Smith (@shea_jordan) May 14, 2025

The Hill reports:

The city hasn’t had a Democratic mayor since 2013, when then-incumbent Jim Suttle lost his reelection bid for a second term to Stothert, Omaha’s first female mayor, who has enjoyed comfortable electoral victories since then. Her closest race was in 2017, when she won by just less than 6 points.

But Democrats were hopeful about winning the race and electing Ewing. The city of Omaha and the wider 2nd Congressional District it is part of have been considered a “blue dot” where Democrats have found success in recent elections.

Democrats have won the district’s single electoral vote in three of the past five presidential elections, and they’ve engaged in competitive races for the district’s House seat despite falling short in recent years.

Congratulations to John Ewing, Jr., Mayor-Elect of Omaha!

His election marks the beginning of a new era for the City of Omaha. We look forward to working with the new mayor and continuing to cover the events of Omaha and Douglas County during his term. pic.twitter.com/2Lqx7bH2rZ

— Omaha Scanner (@omaha_scanner) May 14, 2025

Democrat @Jrewing943 defeated Republican @Jean_Stothert in today’s Omaha mayoral runoff, 56-44%. Here’s the precinct winner map from tonight.

Stothert won in the more suburban areas of the city; Ewing won the rest. pic.twitter.com/Tm75L9CXOR

— cinyc (@cinyc9) May 14, 2025

Per Fox News:

The race between Stothert and Ewing primarily revolved around local issues like street repairs and garbage service, but in the final stretch the campaign touched on more national, hot-button issues such as President Donald Trump’s administration and transgender rights.

Although the mayor’s office is nonpartisan, the candidates made it clear to voters that Stothert is a Republican and Ewing is a Democrat.

One Stothert TV ad said “Ewing stands with radicals who want to allow boys in girls’ sports,” according to the Associated Press.

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Meanwhile, Ewing aired ads that connect Stothert to the Trump administration, showing the mayor on a split screen with Trump and saying “Let’s say no to the chaos and elect a mayor who will actually get things done.”

In the latest results from WOWT, Ewing was leading Stothert in the vote count by 48,693 to 37,758.

The Democratic Party said with Ewing’s win, “Democrats further extend a significant streak of overperformances and victories in elections in 2025.