Note - I’ll be weighing in on the release of the DNC’s After Action report in the coming days, but not today. Today we are focusing on winning this November.
Afternoon all. Excited to share a lively new discussion with a great new candidate who emerged from a tough primary last week, Denise Powell, our new nominee in NE-02, one of our top pick-up opportunities this cycle. A video recording and rough transcript of our discussion can be found above.
Here is Powell’s current assessment of the state of the race:
Yeah, this was one heck of a race. There were a lot of folks running, which I think is a testament to how excited people are about Nebraska 2 — people really see the opportunity here.
I ran against some real dedicated public servants, all of whom have been so kind on this side of things. Nebraska Democrats in particular are really galvanized in this moment. We see the opportunity. This is an open seat now that Don Bacon is retiring — it’s being rated a lean Democrat seat. There’s a lot of energy.
I’m so proud of all the support this campaign has generated. As somebody who founded Women Who Run, having groups like EMILY’s List and Elect Democratic Women, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus behind me is incredibly meaningful. I would be the first Latina to ever hold federal office in the state. It’s just been amazing to see how many people have rallied behind us — and now, on the other side of the primary, so many people messaging, calling, and asking what they can do to help, including Republicans reaching out saying they don’t like what’s happening and want to work together to get this done. The energy on the ground here is palpable.
Here’s a bit more about the district:
Here is some of what she is hearing from voters this year:
Simon: Talk a little about what you're getting from everyday people when you're out on the stump, doing community meetings, coffee gatherings at people's houses — what's the sense you're getting?
Denise: It's frustration and it's fear. People are genuinely worried, and it's everybody. I keep saying that this affordability crisis doesn't discriminate between Republican and Democrat — it just doesn't. Every day, I hear a story from someone that reminds me why we have got to keep fighting. I'm talking to seniors who are scared to lose their Social Security benefits. The system is really, really fragile right now. And the word I keep hearing, especially from Republicans, is betrayal. This was a president who ran on a platform of making things more affordable, keeping us out of foreign conflicts, and he has clearly lied about both….. there's a sense [that] we need something new.
You can support Denise Powell by giving to our new Second Wave House campaign that splits your contribution among an initial set of five candidates who have emerged a bit later this cycle, or by giving to Powell directly here.
Between our support of the Nebraska Democratic Party and our 2024 NE-02 nominee Tony Vargas our community invested more than $500,000 in Nebraska last cycle. While Vargas came up just short Vice President Harris did win the “Blue Dot,” NE-02, by 5 points. It was the only targeted battleground Electoral College vote we won in the 2024 cycle. I am proud of our enormous investment there and our support of our good friends Jane Kleeb, Nebraska Dem Party Chair, who is now President of The Association Of State Democratic Party Committees and a DNC Vice Chair.
Excited to bring to you another one of our terrific battleground candidates running to take back Congress for us this November, and remember you can find all of our candidates interviews on the Hopium site under the Podcast tab and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify too.
keep working hard all. We have a country to save, and elections to win, together! - Simon
Bio - Denise Powell, US House Candidate Running In NE-02
Denise Powell is a mom, small business owner, former corporate executive, public school champion and healthcare advocate who knows that a strong work ethic and a love of family and community is the Nebraska way of life. She also knows the Good Life is getting harder to come by. It’s why she left a successful career in corporate America to focus on fighting for what makes Nebraska such a special place to live and raise a family. After Trump’s election in 2016, she founded an organization that has supported hundreds of Nebraskans running for local office, protected our public schools and the families they serve, and helped stop extremists from passing abortion bans in the state.
Denise 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. Strong families, strong businesses, strong communities – they ALL require work and investment, but everything we’ve fought for here at home is under threat. From dismantling Medicaid and making it harder for seniors to get the benefits they’ve earned, to dismantling education — from the University of Nebraska to our public schools — to attacking our veterans and ripping away women’s rights, Denise is running to fight for the people of Nebraska. We don’t need lip service from politicians, we need action.
Learn more about Denise here.
