Greetings all. Excited to share a new interview I just completed with Denise Powell, our terrific candidate in NE-2, the “blue dot.” Denise prevailed in a hard fought six way primary in May, and as you will see she is a great candidate and is in a very strong position to win in what is rightly called our #1 pick up opportunity this cycle.
NE-02 is the most Democratic seat held by a Republican in the 2026 battleground. Harris won it by 5 points in 2024, Cook has it a +3 Dem district and currently rates it “Lean Democrat.” Rep. Don Bacon, who has held this seat for ten years, is retiring and it will be very difficult for the Rs to hold this seat with the national environment 7+ more Dem than 2024 and with their candidate, Brinker Harding, supporting Trump on the war, tariffs, the health care cuts and more. She also out-raised Harding by almost 2:1 in the second quarter.
You can donate to Denise via our Winning The House - Second Wave Fund or by giving to her directly. Head to her campaign website to learn more or volunteer, and here’s a link to the last time Denise dropped by in the spring.
From our conversation:
Simon Rosenberg:
Last question before you go. Talk about one of the things that's been interesting for us this cycle. We are running in a lot of states and districts that have a heavy Ag component to them. And this has not always been the case, that Ag communities were sort of open to Democrats, but the tariffs, the loss of markets, the cuts to healthcare, the fertilizer increases, diesel going up… it seems like we're hearing from your colleagues that there are places now that are more open to us than in the past. Can you talk a little bit about that?Denise Powell:
Absolutely, and the word that I hear a lot is betrayal. Because I think these folks, you know, were promised something that this administration didn't deliver. And I have conversations with farmers where I want to talk to them about soybean markets, and sure, they want to tell me that they're selling their crop at a loss, but they also want to tell me that their healthcare costs doubled or tripled. So on top of the fact that they are just, you know, barely breaking even, they're dealing with all the same things that the rest of us are dealing with. Growing costs, the groceries, the gas, and for the farmers, the diesel and the fertilizer really is even more impactful. So, they're underwater right now, and I think we're seeing this all around the country. You know, we're seeing this increase in farmer suicide rates, in bankruptcies, and it's really painful.And the interesting thing in a state like Nebraska is that, yes, we have a part of the district where we have a lot of farmers and a lot of rural areas, but a lot of people even right here in the more urban part of the district — they're really connected to the agricultural roots of the state. They grew up on family farms, they're going back to visit their grandparents, and so the fact that our farmers are struggling so much right now, it resonates even with folks here in the heart of Omaha. It's going to have a huge economic impact on this state and so many others if we don't do something to solve for it.
Enjoy getting to know (or re-meeting for those who watched our first discussion) Denise Powell, a terrific candidate who has one of the very opportunities to flip a red seat blue this November. Share this interview with others, hit like so more will see it, and keep working hard all. We have a country to save, and elections like this one in the “blue dot” 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.
