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2026 Nebraska District 2 House Election

Don Bacon (R) — retiring

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.

Candidates & funding

Denise Powell Democrat Nominee

Campaign raised $1,050,000
Small-dollar / grassroots ~$700K
Other pro-Israel PACs $41,211no AIPAC-linked record
No AIPAC-linked FEC record. Other pro-Israel PACs: DMFI (via New Democrat Majority PAC passthrough). Source: FEC via TrackAIPAC.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$2,668,287 raised · $1,670,897 spent · $997,390 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Lower costs; protecting Medicaid, public schools, veterans, women's rights

Brinker Harding Republican Nominee

Campaign raised $850,000
Party committeeSmall-dollar / grassroots ~$650K
AIPAC-linkedamount under verification
FundVoter lists an AIPAC-linked FEC record for this candidate; the dollar amount is still under verification.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$2,034,386 raised · $963,618 spent · $1,070,769 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Restore America: hold D.C. accountable, make life affordable, secure the border, cut taxes

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Jun 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Denise Powell DBrinker 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
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$2.7M
Campaign spent$1.7M
Cash on hand$997K
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals86%
PACs / committees12%
Self-funding2%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • 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
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
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  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
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  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • 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.

See Denise Powell’s full FEC filings →

Brinker Harding 649 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$2.0M
Campaign spent$964K
Cash on hand$1.1M
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals67%
PACs / committees13%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • 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
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
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  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • 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.

See Brinker Harding’s full FEC filings →

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.

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