State Sen. Jen Day, who won a close race for the Nebraska Legislature against an incumbent in 2020, is seeking reelection this year against two challengers in her Sarpy County district.
Legislative races are officially nonpartisan, but the District 49 race has Day, a registered Democrat, running against Republicans Bob Andersen and Caleb Muhs in a district that leans Republican in voter registrations.
The top two vote-getters in the May 14 primary will advance to the general election.
Day's opponents say her voting record is too progressive. But she says she has worked in the Legislature on policies that are nonpartisan in nature, such as an expansion of homestead tax exemptions for partially disabled veterans and helping families dealing with food insecurity.Â
"The district deserves somebody who can work with everyone," Day said.Â
Day said she never doubted that she would seek reelection after beating Republican Andrew LaGrone, an appointed senator seeking a full term, by just 266 votes.
District 49's boundaries shifted through redistricting in 2021. Registered Republican voters now outnumber Democrats nearly 2-1 in the northwest Sarpy County district, although Day said that the number of nonpartisan voters increased. Combined, she noted, Democratic and nonpartisan voters outnumber Republicans.
If reelected, Day said her top priority would be passing her homestead exemption bill, which she hopes will be included in tax legislation discussed in a possible special session. If that doesn't happen, however, she said she believes she has enough support from other lawmakers to pass the measure next year.
Day said another focus of a second term would be improving access to maternal health care. She previously introduced an interim study on maternal health care deserts across the state but said she wants to take the next step in proposing policy solutions to fix the issue.
But her challengers say that Day now has a voting record to defend on other issues. Muhs said some voters have mentioned to him that they are displeased with her votes on divisive social issues.
Muhs said he wants to serve in the Legislature to help push for further property tax relief. Muhs said he hears from voters every day who feel like they're being pushed out of Nebraska because of their high property tax bills.
Muhs said he does not favor tax shifts that increase other taxes while cutting property taxes, something that was proposed during this year's regular session. Instead, he said, Nebraska should focus on cutting government spending. He suggested that the state should require that bond elections happen only in November, when more voters are participating.
Andersen also said he would focus on property tax relief if elected to the Legislature. He said he would favor capping the amount property taxes could be raised each year.Â
"We have to stop punishing people for owning a home," he said.Â
Andersen's other priorities would include making quality education accessible across the state, and restricting access to locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports teams on the basis of biological sex. He said allowing transgender people to participate in sports aligned with gender identity is "stealing opportunities from young women" and criticized Day for opposing bills that have been proposed to restrict access, saying that shows her to be "an extreme liberal."
Andersen said he decided to run for the Legislature last year to ensure that conservative values are represented. He has a background of 21 years of service with the U.S. Air Force, where he still works as a defense contractor.Â
Andersen's campaign strategy so far has largely consisted of sending mailers and knocking on doors, where he claimed his conservative viewpoints align with the vast majority of constituents he's spoken with. He said he's had long conversations with people who disagree with him, and said while he would represent everyone if elected, his votes would reflect the majority of residents.Â
Muhs said his campaign strategy so far has also consisted of knocking on doors, saying he has visited roughly 5,400 homes in his district. In a district of roughly 38,000 residents, he said he likely won't knock on every door before the primary, but he hopes to get close.Â
Day's strategy has been a mix of "anything and everything," she said, including canvassing, sending out handwritten postcards, and connecting with voters at public events like park cleanups.Â
According to their latest campaign finance reports, Day has outraised her opponents by a wide margin, bringing in a combined $143,000 in contributions between 2023 and this year, with $100,000 still on hand. Day said she's planning bigger expenses, such as billboard advertisements, in May.Â
In contrast, Muhs has raised just over $34,000 so far, and Andersen has raised roughly $58,000. Andersen has received contributions from notable conservative donors, including $20,000 from Thomas Peed and his company Sandhills Global, and $2,500 from former gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster.Â
The political balance of the Nebraska State Board of Education could change after voters choose four new board members in this year's election. The May primary election will narrow the field.
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