There are 57 candidates running for Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature this year, the fewest since 2010, when there were 51. This marks a departure from the last two times Nebraska held state legislative elections, which had the most and second-most candidates running since 2010. Seventy-three candidates ran in 2024, and 66 candidates ran in 2022.

According to Nebraska Public Media’s Jackie Ourada, Nebraska’s state legislative offices aren’t the only ones with few candidates running this year. Ourada wrote, “All of Nebraska’s constitutional officers – governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor and treasurer – are up for election. The governor and secretary of state races have both seen a handful of candidates file to fill the seats, but the races for the other three seats have only seen a few candidates file to run. That gives voters only one option per the main political parties for the primary, and in the case for the auditor’s race, only one candidate to consider.” 

There are 32 candidates running for 12 state executive offices this year. This is up from 2024, when 20 candidates ran for 10 offices, and down from 2022, when 45 candidates ran for 13 offices. 

Looking again at just the Legislature, here are some key numbers to know about this year’s elections.

Twenty-four out of 49 total seats are up for election. Twelve incumbents are running for election and 12 seats are open, meaning no incumbent is running. Between 2010 and 2024, an average of 10.3 seats were open each year. The year with the most open seats was 2014, when there were 17. The year with the fewest was 2010, when there were three. 

There are 10 contested primaries this year (41%). Between 2010 and 2024, an average of 10.8 primaries were contested each year. The year with the most contested primaries was 2024, when there were 15. The year with the fewest was 2020, when there were six.

Nebraska is the only state with an officially nonpartisan Legislature. Each contested primary is a top-two primary, meaning at least three candidates are running and the two who receive the most votes will advance to the general election on Nov. 3. 

While Senators and candidates are listed as officially nonpartisan, almost all of the members of the legislature are affiliated with the state affiliate of either the Democratic or the Republican Party. Both parties also explicitly endorse candidates for legislative seats. 

Nebraska also is the only state with a unicameral Legislature. The Nebraska Senate is its only chamber. Currently, Republicans have a 33-14-2 supermajority. According to Flatwater Free Press, Republicans would need to retain all 33 seats to keep their supermajority. Democrats and nonpartisans would need to win one more seat to break the supermajority.