2025 Omaha Mayoral election

[HskrFanMike]

Observation at my polling place in west Omaha. Went about the same time for the general as the primary, and it was much quieter than it was for the primary. What was more noticeable was the lack of Stothert/Melton signage at the entrance. We'll see in the next 3-4 hours, but I'm getting a vibe that Stothert's ad has soured many of her supporters. Low turnout would typically favor Stothert, but in this case, I'm not so sure about that.

[Garrett]

First results. If Nuke’s chart that says the early vote should be Stothert’s strongest reflects the general, she’s cooked.

[Mr.Nuke]

First results. If Nuke’s chart that says the early vote should be Stothert’s strongest, she’s cooked.

Yeah we'll know more at 8:45 but it is not looking good for her right now.

[HskrFanMike]

The next release will tell us a lot more. The early vote for the general skewed Democratic, which would favor Ewing.

https://bsky.app/profile/davesund.bsky. ... zheoiokc2k

Realized I hadn’t given this breakdown yet, so here’s your early vote in Omaha by party:

Dem 21,648 45.8%
Rep 17,621 37.3%
NP 7,789 16.5%
Total 47,311

These ballots will be the first reported at 8 PM CDT when the polls close tomorrow.

[Mr.Nuke]

The next release will tell us a lot more. The early vote for the general skewed Democratic, which would favor Ewing.

https://bsky.app/profile/davesund.bsky. ... zheoiokc2k

Realized I hadn’t given this breakdown yet, so here’s your early vote in Omaha by party:

Dem 21,648 45.8%
Rep 17,621 37.3%
NP 7,789 16.5%
Total 47,311

These ballots will be the first reported at 8 PM CDT when the polls close tomorrow.

Yeah the early release in the primary was the mayor's best. That should be the comparison right now. She was +7% in that release and is losing in the equivalent release.

[Mr.Nuke]

8:45 results have Ewing up almost 4,900. This could probably be called based on the primary. This is probably over.
https://www.votedouglascounty-ne.gov/me ... sults2.pdf

[Garrett]

Points to Mike for calling this at the primary.

[HskrFanMike]

Ewing widened his lead by 0.2%...not huge, but the numbers are going in the wrong direction for Mean Jean.

[nativeomahan]

Jean will not be coming back to City Hall.
She reverted to Mean Jean with her recent TV ads, which rekindled lots of bad memories that I thought she had finally put to rest. Shame on her for doing so. It cost her my vote, and I’m sure the vote of many others.
I hope and expect John Ewing will be a good, forward thinking mayor. He inherits a city pretty well run and headed in a good direction. I hope he can keep the momentum going.

[Mr.Nuke]

[NEDodger]

Unfortunate, given all of the positives development-wise that have been occurring. Ewing doesn’t strike me as the visionary type to match that. It’ll be Jim Suttle 2.0.

If he does hang on to win, my expectation will be that there are no more roads issues in Omaha within 12 months and we have 100 more cops hired immediately.

[skinzfan23]

I agree Ewing doesn’t seem to be visionary and that’s what Omaha needs as it really turned the corner in the past decade and it would be great to continue that momentum. Obviously there is a planning board and city council for things but I hope that we can keep growing and urbanizing at the pace we have been and not obsessing about building and fixing streets.

[Garrett]

I will say, Ewing did technically say a lot of the right things during the Omaha By Design forum. He didn’t have a lot of specifics like Stothert did, but he has the next 4 years to build a record.

[F0R_L1F3]

Those advertisements must've played a role. Congratulations though. I really hope that the momentum continued for Omaha though because it was on a roll. Hopefully to another few years of progress for the city.

[Mr.Nuke]

Those advertisements must've played a role. Congratulations though. I really hope that the momentum continued for Omaha though because it was on a roll. Hopefully to another few years of progress for the city.

What advertisements?

[OmahaFan]

Voted for Jean Stothert and disappointed she didn’t win but I will let Ewing have a chance to lay out his vision for Omaha and see how he handles challenges as they come up. I hope he continues the streetcar project and keeps the investments coming into downtown Omaha.

My fear though is that if Omaha is struck by a natural disaster under President Donald Trump he might withhold funding to Omaha to rebuild and might even withhold federal grants due to the political leanings of our Mayor.

As for the Trans ads that Jean ran I found them quite distasteful and they had no reason to be ran during a Mayoral race. I think that also cost her the election.

[BRoss]

I'm somewhat sad to see Stothert go as she has presided over a lot of great development accomplishments, especially the streetcar and what's come from it.

But that despicable ad made me vote against her. I simply cannot support someone who stands behind hate. It was a huge unforced error on her part and may have cost her the race right in the final hours. I was fully expecting her to win this before that happened.

[Linkin5]

Good to see a candidate lose that resorts to culture war BS.

[Mr.Nuke]

As for the Trans ads that Jean ran I found them quite distasteful and they had no reason to be ran during a Mayoral race. I think that also cost her the election.

I mean I found them incredibly distasteful too (and I had considered voting for her but had already decided not before said ads....), but.... She kind of did have a reason.... Desperation... It was a result of her campaign panicking knowing they were behind to try and drum up the Maga voters, and to that end I don't think the ads at the end cost her the election, it was more of a reflection of recognizing the situation. I had a feeling based on the primary results, but the ads at the end of the campaign confirmed it, that this was the likely outcome.

[Renovator2559]

If I would have heard something substantive from Ewing, then I would have no issue with him. However, he came across to me like a human incarnation of RoboCop. I wanted to hear a detailed vision for the city, I heard vague ideas from Ewing. If he indeed is the winner, he will have to demonstrate that he indeed is serious about following through. Not just like the typical mayors of other cities that say what you want to hear but end up doing the opposite.

These are tough things to hear, as I recently got back to Omaha.

Are we really certain that these are the final votes? Didn't they say that mail-in votes are to still be counted on Friday?

[OmahaFan]

Stothert has already conceded the race

[nativeomahan]

Ewing has a solid 55% of the vote. Close to a mandate.

[almighty_tuna]

I'm somewhat sad to see Stothert go as she has presided over a lot of great development accomplishments, especially the streetcar and what's come from it.

But that despicable ad made me vote against her. I simply cannot support someone who stands behind hate. It was a huge unforced error on her part and may have cost her the race right in the final hours. I was fully expecting her to win this before that happened.

x2 here. The Stothert campaign's hate-vertising lost her two votes in the Tuna household.

The city saw a lot of growth and progress during her tenure. I hope Ewing can keep the momentum going strong.

[OmahaFan]

Ewing has a solid 55% of the vote. Close to a mandate.

Well he will have a friendly city council to work with. Democrats have the majority.

[jessep28]

I'm an Omaha expat, but the social media rant this winter about not living in St. Louis wasn't exactly good for her image either.

[skinzfan23]

I went back and listened to the KETV mayoral forum and I am very concerned by Ewings lack of knowledge about how things work with development, red light cameras, urban core and much more. I will say that his answers were good in the sense he isn’t bashing anything but he also is very vague and couldn’t provide specifics about a single thing he was asked other than the police force and increasing employment and enforcement(which is a good thing). I hope that he learns quickly because now is not a time that Omaha can have a mayor that isn’t progressive and forward thinking to continue momentum in the urban core that we on here all realize is so very important to the city.

[Renovator2559]

I saw that too Skinzfan, that interview troubled me, as a new mayor often introduces a lag time and Omaha does not need a lag time at this time. And Ewing will need to make his vision clear as his current iteration is broad and vague.

His strategy appears to be on recruiting police officers fast by posting in movie theaters as he said he did in the past.
Though mayor Stothert said, they are pretty stringent in hiring officers. I just hope the quality of hiring officers doesn't go down just for the sake of hiring.

What also concerns me is that there may still be a strong anti-streetcar sentiment among our city. So this anti-streetcar sentiment may pose challenges in future expansions.

Meanwhile KC is on all cylinders implementing their streetcar expansions fast.

[Busguy2010]

Well, I didn't vote for him.

I had hoped people would have voted for stability. She knew what she was doing and all the progress this city has made since 2013 pretty much has her name on it. The city is pretty unrecognizable in a ton of ways in that time period.

At the same time, im fair, im willing to give him a chance.

I'm a little disappointed. It kinda seems like voters werent really after someone better, just someone different.

See how it goes.

[HskrFanMike]

Points to Mike for calling this at the primary.

Well, I was way wrong on the primary, but I suspect the somewhat anonymous negative campaign moved much of the Anti-Stothert vote from McDonnell to Ewing. And that anti-Stothert sentiment was pretty obvious in the primary, and I just didn't see how the McDonnell vote could shift towards Stothert in any meaningful way with McDonnell's two primary campaign issues (streetcar and public safety) going to the incumbent.

So it looked like a tough matchup, and then Stothert went negative a couple of weeks ago, which seemed to confirm she was trailing. Then the anti-LGBT ad went up, and frankly, that cemented her fate. She's tried to portray herself as a moderate Republican, and that's gotten her support from moderate Democrats in past elections...but that ad destroyed her campaign.

I get why Stothert and Pete Ricketts tried it; it's a tested Republican strategy that works in red areas. It's red meat to the GOP base, and many of those people were not fans of Stothert because of ... the streetcar. But Omaha is a blue dot, and the only reason why GOP candidates like Don Bacon and Stothert win is because they show themselves as moderates. Bacon is smart in pushing back against Trump, because it's the way he can win in a Democratic-leading district.

That ad may have moved a few GOP votes to swallow their pride and vote for her, but I suspect she lost way more blue voters over the last week. It probably turned a 6-8% loss to a double digit loss IMHO. You saw it on this forum as Stothert supporters flipped to Ewing.

And Stothert knew it. Once the 8:45 returns came in, she knew her political career was over. She conceded and the only people left at her party by 10 pm were reporters (who had to wait for the live shot) and the cleaning crew. The posters and banners were already gone. She knew she's been losing for some time. (Insert joke about already heading to St. Louis.)

[Erik]

I had been voting for Stothert as a moderate, but she lost me with her trans hate and some other rants.

I will never vote for someone who is like that

[HskrFanMike]

What also concerns me is that there may still be a strong anti-streetcar sentiment among our city. So this anti-streetcar sentiment may pose challenges in future expansions.

Meanwhile KC is on all cylinders implementing their streetcar expansions fast.

That doomed Stothert with her base, and frankly, I don't think she put much effort into selling the benefits of the streetcar. She would go to friendly audiences and talk about some of the benefits, but never really challenged critics. She just used her autocratic style to basically say that it's happening and there's nothing you can do about it.

If you are a streetcar fan, I think John Ewing will be more effective in selling it to critics. He's already talked about it expanding it out of the business district, which is a start.

[Linkin5]

I think the streetcar will be a lot like the new park, a ton of naysayers that will be won over once they experience it and see the development it spurs.

[Cermak]

Her campaign was poorly run, she’s done a great job but went too negative on the campaign trail. Now she’s out. Her downtown redevelopment record was among the best Omahas ever seen.

[Renovator2559]

If you are a streetcar fan, I think John Ewing will be more effective in selling it to critics. He's already talked about it expanding it out of the business district, which is a start.

I sure hope so, and besides the streetcar route will already be built so people will get a chance to finally see it in action, as Linkin5 indicates.
As long as we ensure that safety and low crime is a priority, we should be fine; as the streetcar will easily sell itself if people feel safe.

Stothert did a Tremendous job with downtown/midtown development, more than any mayor I can remember. The urban part of Omaha looks way different now than from 10 years ago. Especially along the Dodge corridor from downtown all the way to 72nd . I Think some of her voters became complacent and probably stayed home and didn’t vote. I voted today in what’s considered a mostly Republican precinct around 4pm and the place was basically empty. Can’t wait for the roads to improve though.

Yes, voter "fatigue" was being discussed prior to this. This election also showed voter complacency. And some people are influenced more from emotions, more so than logic. So a combination of factors suggest as to why Ewing won.

Still I appreciate how vibrant our urban core has become and the great leader Mayor Stothert was. I was one week away from Omaha and I couldn't help but appreciate all the wonderful things our talented Omaha team has achieved these past few years! I always appreciate results over rhetoric and Mayor Jean Stothert delivered great urban development momentum.

I just don't get why Ewing would actually claim that downtown is "dirty" in a disgusted expression, he could of used something else to criticize the mayor.
That is a head scratcher as I find downtown very clean; even more so than some of the other cities I have seen this and the past year.

[Busguy2010]

Bruh, I hate to be a fly in the ointment, but the LGBTQIA etc is only like maybe 10% of the population. Maybe they showed up against her, but I don't think that one ad lost her the race. Hate to be blunt. We're talking about a good black man against a good white woman, how do you even try that rhetoric? Its everything you want, literally.

I'll admit I'm surprised. I guess where im leaning is people voted with their heart, not their head. That ad definitely was a mistake, but I don't think it swayed a large number of people who had already voted for her in years past.

She's literally an all time-mayor, and should have a street named after her. I'm kind of at a loss for words, but whatever. I'd guess people just weren't excited.

[buildomaha]

I like to think that Omahans are typically pragmatic, especially in the voting booth. Stothert has built her political capital and career on providing results. More than feelings about lgbtq issues, I think the turn toward culture issues really took a toll on her image. It showed a focus on issues that are not aimed toward improving the city. People want civic leaders that will fix roads, bring economic development, and build civic pride. Moving to culture war issues proved to be a grave mistake for the Stothert campaign. It’s quite the unfortunate downfall for one of the most effective mayors this city has ever seen.

[Erik]

I like to think that Omahans are typically pragmatic, especially in the voting booth. Smothers has built her political capital and career on providing results. More than feelings about lgbtq issues, I think the turn toward culture issues really took a toll on her image. It showed a focus on issues that are not aimed toward improving the city. People want civic leaders that will fix roads, bring economic development, and build civic pride. Moving to culture war issues proved to be a grave mistake for the Stothert campaign. It’s quite the unfortunate downfall for one of the most effective mayors this city has ever seen.

This is precisely it. Over the years, I've learned to reject those who run on a punch down campaign rather than focusing on what they offer.

As I've gotten older, I don't want to see or hear that garbage. It insults the intelligence, if not outright gives vibes from history lessons.

I've voted for Jean before when her campaign was moderate. She wasn't a moderate candidate today.

[Renovator2559]

She's literally an all time-mayor, and should have a street named after her. I'm kind of at a loss for words, but whatever. I'd guess people just weren't excited.

She earned it in having a street named after her for we achieved so much in these past few years. The fact that she ran those ads in the very end, doesn't detract the fact that she delivered the results we were looking for and kept Omaha stable while pushing for great urban development momentum.

Let's not forget that James C. Dahlman served approximately 20 years of non-consecutive terms (1906–1918, 1921–1930). Mayor Jean Stothert is the 2nd longest running Omaha mayor, so its not fairly typical for mayors in Omaha to run for that long.

Who knows, depending on how Ewing does and if Mayor Stothert is serious about the city years after; she may be able to run again like Mayor Dahlman for a 4th non-consecutive term. Though by that time, we will see other qualified candidates as well; so may the best ideas and best vision win.

She wasn't a moderate candidate today.

Though most of her campaign was run as a moderate and she was effective at crossing party isles.
No one is perfect and its unwise to hold perfect standards on a human, but I get it some people are influenced more from emotions, which have the propensity to cloud logic.
In fact I'd say that Mayor Jean Stothert was way more perfect than what we are used to seeing on the typical politician.

[Erik]

She's literally an all time-mayor, and should have a street named after her. I'm kind of at a loss for words, but whatever. I'd guess people just weren't excited.

She earned it in having a street named after her for we achieved so much in these past few years. The fact that she ran those ads in the very end, doesn't detract the fact that she delivered the results we were looking for and kept Omaha stable while pushing for great urban development momentum.

Let's not forget that James C. Dahlman served approximately 20 years of non-consecutive terms (1906–1918, 1921–1930). Mayor Jean Stothert is the 2nd longest running Omaha mayor, so its not fairly typical for mayors in Omaha to run for that long.

Who knows, depending on how Ewing does and if Mayor Stothert is serious about the city years after; she may be able to run again like Mayor Dahlman for a 4th non-consecutive term. Though by that time, we will see other qualified candidates as well; so may the best ideas and best vision win.

She wasn't a moderate candidate today.

Though most of her campaign was run as a moderate and she was effective at crossing party isles.
No one is perfect and its unwise to hold perfect standards on a human, but I get it some people are influenced more from emotions, which have the propensity to cloud logic.
In fact I'd say that Mayor Jean Stothert was way more perfect than what we are used to seeing on the typical politician.

Nah. It was too much. She was a fine mayor for awhile, but she ultimately was swinging further away from where I and others were.

I have a more progressive mindset and I voted for her because she reached out to people to ensure she was going to be a mayor for all people, plus she had an economic focus.

To me, and many others, she had lost that focus. She started to attack communities (even if they were words) and lost focus on many of her duties.

I reject that. Call me emotional, call me whatever, but she left us behind.

[Busguy2010]

I like to think that Omahans are typically pragmatic, especially in the voting booth. Smothers has built her political capital and career on providing results. More than feelings about lgbtq issues, I think the turn toward culture issues really took a toll on her image. It showed a focus on issues that are not aimed toward improving the city. People want civic leaders that will fix roads, bring economic development, and build civic pride. Moving to culture war issues proved to be a grave mistake for the Stothert campaign. It’s quite the unfortunate downfall for one of the most effective mayors this city has ever seen.

This is precisely it. Over the years, I've learned to reject those who run on a punch down campaign rather than focusing on what they offer..

HUH¿

And then neglect to acknowledge her track record? Like I said, that's an emotional reaction. Thats kind of backwards logic.

We lost a good one today in place for a future unknown.