Nebraska Democrats celebrated the news Friday that John Fredrickson and George Dungan won their legislative races — ensuring that the party’s “firewall” in the Nebraska Legislature remains intact despite the Republicans claiming over and over again they would defeat even incumbents.
John Fredrickson was declared the winner in Omaha’s Legislative District 20 while George Dungan was victorious in Lincoln’s District 26. Fredrickson will make history as the first gay male in the Legislature.
Said Dungan: “This campaign was a long road and one that was filled with a tremendous amount of support from the community. The legislature is no place for extremism. Our body was shaped to be unique and to work across political lines. I am elected to represent everyone in our district, not just the people who voted for me. I will always strive to improve the lives of hard working folks in Northeast Lincoln and across the state. I bring my enthusiasm and dedication to this major responsibility of representing District 26 and I’m excited to get to work.”
Said Fredrickson: “Running for office truly takes a village, and I am grateful to everyone who has shown up and supported our campaign. I am honored to be trusted by the voters of District 20 to represent them in the Legislature. We have significant challenges to tackle as a state, and I look forward to serving Nebraskans over the next four years. Ensuring affordable and accessible mental health resources, strong public education, and ensuring the Good Life is a place for everyone will continue to be my top priorities.”
The wins mean that Nebraska Democrats will still hold 17 seats in the Legislature — meaning there will be enough Democrats to fend off challenges to radical Republican initiatives when lawmakers convene in January. It takes at least 17 votes in the 49-member Legislature to defeat a filibuster.
“Just like at the national level, Republicans thumped their chests all cycle claiming they would take out even Democratic incumbents when in the end we proudly held the line,” said NDP chair Jane Kleeb. “Republicans want to ram-rod through their radical agenda, like ending reproductive freedom and using tax dollars to fund private schools. Democrats and moderate Republicans can stand together to instead govern effectively for the people rather than do the bidding of Ricketts and Herbster.”
It was the Democrats and moderate Republicans that kept Gov. Pete Ricketts from calling a special session earlier this year to deny Nebraska women the right to seek an abortion.
Omaha Democratic incumbent senators Machaela Cavanaugh (LD6), Megan Hunt (LD8) and Wendy DeBoer (LD10) won their elections. Other incoming state senators include Jane Raybould in Lincoln’s LD28 and Danielle Conrad in Lincoln’s LD46.
Press Note: Please update your head shots of winning 2022 Legislative candidates:
