Overview and Live Results: Nebraska and West Virginia Primaries

Nebraska and West Virginia hold their primaries Tuesday.  On this page, we summarize and include live results for some of the more closely followed races. Use the links immediately below to see all results.

There's also an election for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Live Results>>

Nebraska

There are primaries for Governor as well as U.S. House. Those will be conducted using redistricted boundaries. Nebraska is the only state that has a unicameral (single chamber) Legislature. 24 of 49 seats are up for election this year.

Polls close at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. For those voting Tuesday, you can look up your polling place here.

Nebraska Top 3

Overview and live results for three of Tuesday's most anticipated primaries. 

Governor (Republican)

Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts is completing his second term; he is ineligible to run due to term limits. A large field of nine candidates is seeking to succeed him. In this deep red state, the primary winner will be a heavy general election favorite.

While there are nine on the ballot, this is really a three-way race between businessman Charles Herbster, State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, and University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen. Herbster is largely self-funding his campaign, while Pillen has raised the most from external donors.

Herbster has been endorsed by Donald Trump, while Pillen is backed by the current governor and his allies. Lindstrom, a generation younger than his two main opponents, has built support among moderates and Democrats, some of whom have switched their registration recently in order to have a say in who the state's next governor will be.

In the only recent poll not conducted for one of the campaigns, the three candidates each received between 24% and 28%, within the survey's margin of error. 

U.S. House District 1 (Republican)

This safe GOP district is currently vacant, as former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry resigned at the end of March after being convicted on three felony charges. State Sen. Mike Flood is expected to win.

Fortenberry remains on the ballot, however, as his departure came too late for it to be removed. The state party was concerned enough about this to put out a statement reminding people not to vote for him.

Assuming he prevails, Flood's likely November opponent is State Sen. Patty Brooks. Either way, these two will first face off in a June 28 special election to complete Fortenberry's term. 

U.S. House District 2 (Democratic)

This Omaha-area district is the state's only competitive congressional district. In 2020, it was one of just 16 crossover districts nationally. That year, GOP Rep. Don Bacon won reelection by 5% at the same time that Joe Biden won the district by about 6% over Donald Trump. Redistricting did not alter the district in a significant way. Bacon is expected to be renominated.

On the Democratic side, State Sen. Tony Vargas and mental health practitioner Alisha Shelton, who sought the party's 2020 U.S. Senate nomination, are on the ballot.

West Virginia

There are U.S. House primaries, using redistricted boundaries that are directly responsible for the one interesting primary here. Half of the 34 State Senate seats and the entire State House are also on the ballot this year.

Polls close at 7:30 PM Eastern Time, For those voting Tuesday, you can look up your polling place here.

U.S. House District 2 (Republican)

This election will result in the first primary-ousted incumbent of 2022. With the state losing a seat in redistricting, Reps. David McKinley and Alex Mooney are fighting for the nomination in the redrawn 2nd district.  Approximately 2/3 of the population of the new WV-2 comes from the existing WV-1 (McKinley's district), with the remainder from the existing WV-2, which Mooney represents. McKinley is serving his 6th term, while Mooney is in his 4th.

Despite the constituent and seniority advantage for McKinley, it is Mooney who appears to have the edge heading into Tuesday. In an independent poll released last Friday, Mooney led by 48% to 33%.

Mooney has been endorsed by Donald Trump, particularly valuable in a state where the former president won 69% of the vote in 2020. McKinley has the backing of Gov. Jim Justice (R) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D).

Newark, New Jersey Mayor

Newark is the 62nd largest city in the United States,^{1 1}City rankings are based on July 1, 2020 Census Bureau population estimates. They are for the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area. with a population of just over 311,000.  The mayor is Ras Baraka, who is seeking a third term. He was reelected with 77% of the vote in 2018.

Baraka's only challenger in this officially nonpartisan (NPA in the results table) election is Sheila Montague, a teacher. Montague has run several times, without success, for a seat on the Newark Public Schools Board of Education.

Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

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