About this race
With the current officeholder retiring, this seat will have a new winner. This is a genuine swing district. Brinker Harding, a Republican, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, but the exact amount is still being confirmed. Denise Powell, a Democrat, reports $41,211 from other pro-Israel groups.
Key issues in Nebraska
Major issues facing Nebraska, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.
- Property tax relief — Property taxes remain the dominant issue as lawmakers debate caps and school funding.
- Ballot measures — November voters face measures on online sports betting, school sports, and legislative term limits.
- Minimum wage fight — The attorney general is suing Omaha and Lincoln over ordinances restoring voter-approved wage rules.
- In-state tuition ended — A federal court ended in-state tuition for undocumented students under a 2006 state law.
Candidates & funding
Brinker Harding Republican Nominee
Where the money comes from
FEC campaign finance data through Jun 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.
| Denise Powell D | Brinker Harding R | |
|---|---|---|
| Raised | $2.7M | $2M |
| Individuals | $2.3M86% | $1.4M67% |
| PACs & parties | $310K12% | $256K13% |
| Self-funded | $65K2% | $4K0% |
| Other | $5K0% | $407K20% |
| AIPAC-linked* | — | — |
| Outside spending† | — | — |
* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.
† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.
“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.
Who are the biggest donors?
Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.
Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.
Denise Powell 1493 donors
- PAC$22K
- Self-funded$15K
- PAC$14K
- PAC$12K
- Individual$10K
- Individual$10K
- PAC$10K
- PAC$10K
- PAC$10K
- Leadership PAC$10K
- Leadership PAC$10K
- Individual$8K
- PAC$8K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
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- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
Showing the 50 biggest of 1493 donors. The other 1443 gave $1.7M combined.
Plus $487K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.
Brinker Harding 649 donors
- Individual$14K
- Individual$14K
- Individual$14K
- Individual$10K
- Individual$10K
- Individual$10K
- Individual$10K
- Individual$10K
- Individual$10K
- Leadership PAC$10K
- Leadership PAC$10K
- PAC$10K
- Leadership PAC$10K
- Leadership PAC$10K
- Corporate PAC$9K
- Individual$8K
- Individual$8K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
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- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
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- Individual$7K
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- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
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- Individual$7K
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- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
- Individual$7K
Showing the 50 biggest of 649 donors. The other 599 gave $1.1M combined.
Plus $80K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.
These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.
Related news
October 09, 2026
Cook Political Report moves 18 House races toward Democrats; sees most likely outcome as a 9-to-19-seat Democratic gain
Cook's House editor moved 18 race ratings toward Democrats on Oct. 9: nine Republican incumbents (Miller-Meeks and Nunn in Iowa; Mackenzie, Perry, and Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania; Huizenga in Michigan; Wittman in Virginia; Hill in Arkansas; Spartz in Indiana), five Democratic incumbents (Lee in Nevada; Suozzi and Gillen in New York; Gluesenkamp Perez in Washington; Davis in North Carolina), and four open seats (NE-02, IA-02, KY-06, ME-02). Cook now says Democrats need only 20 percent of the Toss Ups to reach a House majority.
Source: Newsmax (Cook Political Report ratings) →