Denise Powell (D), Brinker Harding (R), and Eric Michael Foreman (L) are running in the general election for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District on November 3, 2026.

Incumbent Don Bacon (R), first elected in 2016, is not running for re-election. Bacon won re-election 51.3%–48.7% in 2022 and 50.9%–49.1% in 2024. That year, Kamala Harris (D) defeated Donald Trump (R) 51.6%–47.0% in the 2nd District.

The Nebraska Examiner's Juan Salinas II said, "Like in other cycles, election analysts view the district as a top pick-up opportunity for Democrats. The 2nd District includes all of Douglas and Saunders Counties, and a significant portion of suburban and rural Sarpy County. It also includes the state’s largest concentration of Democrats, even after it was redrawn after the last census to include a larger swath of Republican-leaning rural voters in Wahoo and surrounding areas." As of July 2026, major election forecasters rated the general election Lean Democratic or Tilt Democratic.

Powell is a former corporate communications director and partner at an architecture firm. She co-founded the Women Who Run Nebraska political action committee. Powell's campaign website says she "is running for Congress because while our representatives say they’re fighting for us in Nebraska, they’re voting against us in Washington, DC. Every day, we see more of our friends and neighbors struggling to make ends meet while Donald Trump and MAGA extremists are focused on trade wars that are increasing our cost of living and passing massive tax breaks for billionaires like Elon Musk."

Harding was elected to the Omaha City Council in 2016. He earlier served as chief of staff to Omaha Mayor Hal Daub (R) and as an executive at an investment management firm. Harding's campaign website said, "Unlike in Washington, we have balanced the City of Omaha’s budget every single year. On the City Council, I have voted to lower Omaha’s property tax levy three times. And when most major cities are suffering from a 40% increase in violent crime, we have driven Omaha’s violent crime rate to historic 40-year lows. We didn’t defund our police, we gave them the record pay raise they deserve. "

As of June 30, 2026, Powell had raised $2.67 million and Harding had raised $2.03 million.

The outcome of this race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 120th Congress. All 435 U.S. House districts are up for election.

Currently, Republicans have a 219-212 majority with four vacancies in the chamber.