2025 Omaha Mayoral election

[Dusty]

I have always said...any candidate that wants to beat Stothert needs to be bold with their vision to win. McDonnell took a bold approach, but negativity rarely wins. He didn't have any real plan to elevate the city. He was a protest candidate and that's not good for the future of Omaha. Ewings downfall is he has not set himself apart on what he stands for. You only have so much time in these debates to sell your vision. Too much time was wasted on feel good statements like " I want to be a mayor that listens to all and make a difference"

[Garrett]

Primary map from Wikipedia

[Toto]

Well, at least the McDonnell ridiculousness is over with.

So true

[Toto]

That was unexpected. With all the publicity on McDonell I figured he would have advanced.

Seemed like the media was also surprised last night at 10pm.

[nebport5]

Now with McDonell out do we get more interesting project announcements within the month?

[Athomsfere]

Ewing was my 3rd pick this go around. I honestly have a hard time seeing his appeal. I voted Harris, despite thinking Stothert is our best choice.

[bbinks]

How many Stothert supporters didn't vote in the primary knowing she would advance. I'd also presume Ewing will garner the McDonnell and Harris supporters.

[bbinks]

On the restaurant tax. Ewing is not in support. To my knowledge, he's not offered an alternative. McDonnell didn't either.

[nativeomahan]

I hemmed and hawed about who to vote for this time around. I’ve never before voted for Stothert, despite coming gradually around to respecting her as a good mayor, who has a vision for Omaha’s future. I truly think that is what sets her apart from those who ran against her. I suspect that Ewing would also do a good job, but for now I’m leaning towards voting for her on May 13.

[nebugeater]

How many Stothert supporters didn't vote in the primary knowing she would advance. I'd also presume Ewing will garner the McDonnell and Harris supporters.

How many Stothert voters voted elsewhere in the primary to get what they felt was a more beatable candidate to group against her in the general, then will vote for her now? Dangerous strategy ,but I am sure there were some

[Stan]

I'll be fine if Stothert wins again, but I don't think any politician should make their career out of holding a single position and term limits should apply at all levels. Maybe that's also just me not understanding why we have a bunch of old politicians. Why wouldn't you just want to retire and enjoy your remaining years?

[HskrFanMike]

Primary map from Wikipedia

In comparison, the 2021 primary map:

[NEDodger]

How many Stothert supporters didn't vote in the primary knowing she would advance. I'd also presume Ewing will garner the McDonnell and Harris supporters.

Maybe on the McDonnell. I think the two best known aspects about McDonnell are:

1. Appealing to the fiscal conservatives by being against the streetcar
2. Being completely anti-abortion/pro-life


I don’t think either of these scream “I’m voting for a Democrat”

[HskrFanMike]

Maybe on the McDonnell. I think the two best known aspects about McDonnell are:

1. Appealing to the fiscal conservatives by being against the streetcar
2. Being completely anti-abortion/pro-life


I don’t think either of these scream “I’m voting for a Democrat”

Uh, the guy led the firefighter's union for years, and is now the president of the Omaha Federation of Labor.

That screams pretty loud that he's not your traditional Republican.

[NEDodger]

Maybe on the McDonnell. I think the two best known aspects about McDonnell are:

1. Appealing to the fiscal conservatives by being against the streetcar
2. Being completely anti-abortion/pro-life


I don’t think either of these scream “I’m voting for a Democrat”

Uh, the guy led the firefighter's union for years, and is now the president of the Omaha Federation of Labor.

That screams pretty loud that he's not your traditional Republican.

But they’re not the issues he’s most known for. I’m not saying all his votes are going to go to Stothert, but I don’t think all will be going to Ewing.

[Garrett]

Maybe on the McDonnell. I think the two best known aspects about McDonnell are:

1. Appealing to the fiscal conservatives by being against the streetcar
2. Being completely anti-abortion/pro-life


I don’t think either of these scream “I’m voting for a Democrat”

Uh, the guy led the firefighter's union for years, and is now the president of the Omaha Federation of Labor.

That screams pretty loud that he's not your traditional Republican.

Firefighter and Police Officers unions also tend to be pretty conservative these days. I’d be curious to see see precinct level votes as I think those would be more telling, but based on the numbers, I have a hard time seeing Stothert losing.

[HskrFanMike]

Maybe on the McDonnell. I think the two best known aspects about McDonnell are:

1. Appealing to the fiscal conservatives by being against the streetcar
2. Being completely anti-abortion/pro-life


I don’t think either of these scream “I’m voting for a Democrat”

Uh, the guy led the firefighter's union for years, and is now the president of the Omaha Federation of Labor.

That screams pretty loud that he's not your traditional Republican.

But they’re not the issues he’s most known for.

Are you serious?

[NEDodger]

Maybe on the McDonnell. I think the two best known aspects about McDonnell are:

1. Appealing to the fiscal conservatives by being against the streetcar
2. Being completely anti-abortion/pro-life


I don’t think either of these scream “I’m voting for a Democrat”

Uh, the guy led the firefighter's union for years, and is now the president of the Omaha Federation of Labor.

That screams pretty loud that he's not your traditional Republican.

But they’re not the issues he’s most known for.

Are you serious?

Yeah. Look at his commercials - what did he bleat about the most? Being fiscally conservative and tax cuts. What was he in the news for the most last year? Being so anti-abortion that he gave the middle finger to the state Democratic Party.

I guarantee 75% of this city forgot that he led the fire union.

[Garrett]

OK, whipped up a couple of maps with the 10:45 data from last night. Looks like McDonnell's strongest spots was indeed South Central Omaha, but Stothert absolutely dominated West O, and still had strong numbers in central Omaha. She's looking fine to me

[bbinks]

If McDonnell would have become the next mayor, you'd see a new definition of pension spiking. I think the streetcar should have been voted on, but that certainly didn't make McDonnell the person I thought was best. On KFAB, Ewing said McDonnell called him to concede. Stothert got a text. Animosity was his primary reason to run, IMO. Remember, she fired him.

[almighty_tuna]

With Ewing now in the general election I hope he pushes some stretch goals for the city and a specific vision rather than some of the touchy feely he did earlier. If nothing else to show he can aggressively push for continued core growth and keep the pressure on Jean to deliver. Downtown/Midtown will look and behave a LOT differently by the next mayoral election and continued success means setting that framework now.

[Dusty]

With Ewing now in the general election I hope he pushes some stretch goals for the city and a specific vision rather than some of the touchy feely he did earlier. If nothing else to show he can aggressively push for continued core growth and keep the pressure on Jean to deliver. Downtown/Midtown will look and behave a LOT differently by the next mayoral election and continued success means setting that framework now.

This is what I mentioned earlier. Too much feel good statements and not enough concise plans. If he wants to beat her, he needs to play the one up card. Or anything you can do I can do better mindset. Don't waste time on any mistakes she made. Constantly praise her on being successful, but indicate she can't keep up with the momentum she created. This is where you bust out your vision that will elevate the city. You want to give the illusion she will not be able to grow the city to the next level and your plan will.

Unfortunately, I don't feel Ewing has the personality to pull off this over-confident approach. It will be Stothert verses Who?

[Busguy2010]

How many Stothert supporters didn't vote in the primary knowing she would advance. I'd also presume Ewing will garner the McDonnell and Harris supporters.

Maybe on the McDonnell. I think the two best known aspects about McDonnell are:

1. Appealing to the fiscal conservatives by being against the streetcar
2. Being completely anti-abortion/pro-life


I don’t think either of these scream “I’m voting for a Democrat”

I didn't bother to vote in the primary because I have little to no doubt she's going to continue to be our mayor.

[Garrett]

With Ewing now in the general election I hope he pushes some stretch goals for the city and a specific vision rather than some of the touchy feely he did earlier. If nothing else to show he can aggressively push for continued core growth and keep the pressure on Jean to deliver. Downtown/Midtown will look and behave a LOT differently by the next mayoral election and continued success means setting that framework now.

This is what I mentioned earlier. Too much feel good statements and not enough concise plans. If he wants to beat her, he needs to play the one up card. Or anything you can do I can do better mindset. Don't waste time on any mistakes she made. Constantly praise her on being successful, but indicate she can't keep up with the momentum she created. This is where you bust out your vision that will elevate the city. You want to give the illusion she will not be able to grow the city to the next level and your plan will.

Unfortunately, I don't feel Ewing has the personality to pull off this over-confident approach. It will be Stothert verses Who?

Constantly praising your opponent is not exactly a winning political strategy. "This person is really good at their job! But why not give me a shot?"

[Dusty]

This is what I mentioned earlier. Too much feel good statements and not enough concise plans. If he wants to beat her, he needs to play the one up card. Or anything you can do I can do better mindset. Don't waste time on any mistakes she made. Constantly praise her on being successful, but indicate she can't keep up with the momentum she created. This is where you bust out your vision that will elevate the city. You want to give the illusion she will not be able to grow the city to the next level and your plan will.

Unfortunately, I don't feel Ewing has the personality to pull off this over-confident approach. It will be Stothert verses Who?

Constantly praising your opponent is not exactly a winning political strategy. "This person is really good at their job! But why not give me a shot?"

HA! Not exactly what I meant. I will admit poor choice of words with constantly. But it comes from a strategy of Praise and Raise. You give a compliment or acknowledge the success of something. Then you "raise" the bar by saying you can do it better with your exact plan. You acknowledge they did something and then steal their thunder.

If Ewing wants a chance to win, he will have to narrow down to a few topics to focus on. On his website he list 43 reasons to vote for him. They are all generic and broad descriptions. Pick 3-4 of them to have an exact vison that he can sell to the public. He did mention jobs and affordable housing are the most important to him.

[Garrett]

Stothert has announced this would be her last term as mayor if she wins.

https://omaha.com/news/local/government ... -top-story

[nativeomahan]

I suspect she will end up with about 53-55% of the general election vote. I would be shocked if she loses. Business backs her. The GOP backs her. I think a decent number of independents and Democrats back her as well. She has stayed away from any devisive socially conservative issues, which effectively neutralizes much potential Democratic and independent opposition.

[Louie]

She has stayed away from any divisive socially conservative issues, which effectively neutralizes much potential Democratic and independent opposition.

Honestly, this is a great call-out.

[Garrett]

It's always stuck with me that one of the first things Stothert did after being elected in 2013 was attend the Heartland Pride Festival.

[Greg S]

It's always stuck with me that one of the first things Stothert did after being elected in 2013 was attend the Heartland Pride Festival.

And has stuck with it. I know she was at the one in 2024.

[Athomsfere]

How many Stothert supporters didn't vote in the primary knowing she would advance. I'd also presume Ewing will garner the McDonnell and Harris supporters.

McDonnel to Ewing? How do you figure? McDonnel is a cancer, and other than flipping to Democratic, he is far from anything a normal centrist to slightly left dem would want of a democrat.

I'd imagine his people swing to Stothert. Harris to Ewing is likely. Although I voted Harris and am most likely going to vote Stothert because she is the most pro-transit of the two on record at least.

[HskrFanMike]

Yeah, it's insane to think that Mike McDonnell would support anybody other than Jean Stothert.

https://www.ketv.com/article/mayor-inve ... ng/7641728
https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-m ... r/62981798
https://www.omahadailyrecord.com/conten ... challenger
https://www.ketv.com/article/mayor-elec ... on/7639666

In all seriousness, anybody who cast a vote for someone other than Jean Stothert in the primary isn't likely to vote for her in the general election. Those primary votes were to move on and find someone else to support. Stothert's general election votes will come from people who voted for her in the primary plus people who skipped the primary because they assumed she'd automatically move onto the general election, so casting a primary vote wasn't necessary.

[Greg S]

Yeah, it's insane to think that Mike McDonnell would support anybody other than Jean Stothert.

https://www.ketv.com/article/mayor-inve ... ng/7641728
https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-m ... r/62981798
https://www.omahadailyrecord.com/conten ... challenger
https://www.ketv.com/article/mayor-elec ... on/7639666

In all seriousness, anybody who cast a vote for someone other than Jean Stothert in the primary isn't likely to vote for her in the general election. Those primary votes were to move on and find someone else to support. Stothert's general election votes will come from people who voted for her in the primary plus people who skipped the primary because they assumed she'd automatically move onto the general election, so casting a primary vote wasn't necessary.

McDonnell won't support Stothert in the general election. That doesn't mean his supporters will blindly follow his lead.

[HskrFanMike]

McDonnell won't support Stothert in the general election. That doesn't mean his supporters will blindly follow his lead.

No, but considering that McDonnell primarily campaigned against the current state of police staffing and the streetcar, I suspect the McDonnell voters to go 80% or more towards Ewing. If anything, they might stay home rather than vote for the incumbent their candidate was vehemently campaigning against.

[Greg S]

McDonnell won't support Stothert in the general election. That doesn't mean his supporters will blindly follow his lead.

No, but considering that McDonnell primarily campaigned against the current state of police staffing and the streetcar, I suspect the McDonnell voters to go 80% or more towards Ewing. If anything, they might stay home rather than vote for the incumbent their candidate was vehemently campaigning against.

Yeah the streetcar was his attempt to win since there are many that are against it. I do think the Republicans he attracted will go back to Stothert.

[HskrFanMike]

If the streetcar was the reason someone supported McDonnell... that vote won't be going to Stothert in the general election.

See this photo of McDonnell at the St. Patrick's Day parade...
https://scontent-msp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=6804FE39

[Louie]

We saw it the first time you posted it

[HskrFanMike]

It now shows simply as "image" in the noon post... so just making sure the context is known.

[Brad]

It now shows simply as "image" in the noon post... so just making sure the context is known.

The photo is working for me. That said, there are some photos that that other members of this forum post, that my work computer blocks and I see "image", but I can see them just fine on my phone or at home. Also depending on your anti virus filters, some images may get blocked and show "image" too.

[Garrett]

I'm still skeptical that Ewing will pick up a huge number of McDonnell supporters, particularly if they're single issue "stop the streetcar" types as that hasn't been something he's ran on. 80% conversion would be absolutely massive. I think the best Ewing could hope for would be a 50/50 split.