1994 Nebraska gubernatorial election

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1994 Nebraska gubernatorial election

← 1990 November 8, 1994 1998 →
  Ben Nelson official photo.jpg No image.svg
Nominee Ben Nelson Gene Spence
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Kim Robak Kate Witek
Popular vote 423,270 148,230
Percentage 73.0% 25.6%

1994 Nebraska gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Nelson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Spence:      50–60%

Governor before election

Ben Nelson
Democratic

Elected Governor

Ben Nelson
Democratic

The 1994 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, and featured incumbent Governor Ben Nelson, a Democrat defeating Republican nominee and businessman Gene Spence with 73% of the vote to win a second term. As of 2022, this is the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Nebraska.

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Results[]

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ben Nelson (incumbent) 101,422 88.10
Democratic Robert Franklin Winingar 6,993 6.07
Democratic Robb Nimic 6,373 5.54
Democratic Write-ins 327 0.28
Total votes 115,115 100.00

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

  • John DeCamp, former Nebraska State Senator
  • Alan Jacobsen, roofing company owner
  • Ralph Knobel, farmer and former Chairman of the Republican Party of Nebraska
  • Gene Spence, businessman
  • Mort Sullivan, perennial candidate

Results[]

Republican Primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Gene Spence 69,529 38.07
Republican Ralph Knobel 57,719 31.60
Republican Alan Jacobsen 27,374 14.99
Republican John DeCamp 24,414 13.37
Republican Mort Sullivan 3,363 1.84
Republican Write-ins 234 0.13
Total votes 182,633 100.00

General election[]

Campaign[]

Though Nelson ultimately did approve of an action to prevent foster children from living with homosexuals or unmarried couples after he was re-elected, Spence hammered the governor for not supporting restrictions on foster homes.[2] Ultimately, four weeks before the elections, many prominent Republicans accused Spence of "throwing in the towel" and essentially conceding defeat to Nelson before any ballots were cast.[3] The divided Republican primary and Gene Spence's inability to unite the party following his plurality victory in the primary eventually led to Nelson's overwhelming re-election.[4]

Results[]

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 1994[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ben Nelson (incumbent) 423,270 73.0%
Republican Gene Spence 148,230 25.6%
Write-in Ernie Chambers 2,510 0.4%
Write-in Others 5,551 1.0%
Total votes 579,561 100.0%

References[]

  1. ^ a b c http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/epubs/S1200/S001-1994prim_gen.pdf
  2. ^ "Nebraska Moves to Bar Homosexuals From Being Foster Parents". New York Times. 1995-01-29. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  3. ^ Jordan, Joe (2010-06-15). "History of Omaha Congressional Race Cuts Both Ways". Nebraska.watchdog.org. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  4. ^ Susan (2004-05-07). "GoBigEd". Gobiged.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-06-19.


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