21-07-2025
Crystal Rhoades jumps into crowded Nebraska 2nd District field
Douglas County District Court Clerk Crystal Rhoades is running to be the Democratic nominee in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District.(Courtesy of Crystal Rhoades for Congress)
OMAHA — Douglas County District Court Clerk Crystal Rhoades is done exploring a bid. She is running to be the Democratic nominee for the Nebraska 2nd Congressional District.
She describes herself as a 'unique candidate' who can meet the moment for Democrats who want to win.
'I am tired of the chaos in Washington,' Rhoades told the Nebraska Examiner in recent days. 'I am tired of people who don't know what it's like to punch a time clock and live paycheck to paycheck.'
The lifelong Omahan has a history of helping local Democrats win elections as a political consultant, including a significant role in helping John Ewing Jr. become the first Democrat to lead the largest city in Nebraska in roughly a decade.
Last month, she shared internal polling indicating that she and State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha are within the margin of error for Democratic primary voters in NE-02. The polling has former political action committee co-founder and business owner Denise Powell at what Rhoades called a 'distant third,' a characterization Powell's campaign describes as wrong.
Recent FEC filings have shown Powell out-fundraising Cavanaugh. Powell has connections to some of local Democrats' top donors.
While Rhoades has faced criticism from her own and opposing parties, she remains the last Democrat elected to a statewide post as a member of the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the state's catch-all regulator for topics ranging from emergency telecommunications to pipelines.
'I've got 20 years of a proven track record of delivering results for the people of this district, Rhoades said. 'I have a track record of flipping seats from red to blue up and down the ballot. Nobody else in the race has all of those qualifications and criteria.'
Critics of Rhoades' service at the courthouse and in politics, including some Democrats in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, have said she too often butts heads with coworkers and potential allies.
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Rhoades pointed to her record of 'doing the right thing even when it's hard' as a plus for voters. Her team's polling indicates that potential Democratic primary voters in the district want someone who would fight President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, someone with a proven record and someone who can win.
Last week, Retired Navy veteran Kishla Askins joined the Democratic primary. Earlier this year, State Sen. John Cavanaugh, the son of a former Democratic congressman from Omaha, formally announced his candidacy. Denise Powell, the co-founder of a political action committee and a business owner, announced her bid in May. Mark Johnston and Evangelos Argyrakis also have confirmed that they are running.
Rhoades gives the race a second longtime elected official, along with Cavanaugh, plus at least one well-funded newcomer, in Powell, and possibly two, with Askins. Rhoades has been in Nebraska politics for more than a decade.
Rhoades said she plans to use her working-class background to separate herself from the candidates. She has said she would focus on kitchen-table issues.
'Democrats have seen an erosion of support from that particular demographic, because our policies and our positions haven't aligned with the needs of the working-class voters.'
Nationwide, Democrats have been seeking answers as President Donald Trump made gains among working-class voters, including minority voters last year. Some economists and political scientists have argued that the flaws of free trade contributed to the rise of Trump and his political movement.
Trump capitalized on working-class anxieties over some jobs being sent overseas and some people feeling left behind.
Rhoades said she would focus on policy changes that protect and grow the middle class, creating jobs that pay a living wage, and protecting democracy. Specifically, she wants to address lingering inflation and push back against Trump's tariffs and approach to immigration.
Another reason Rhoades said she is running is that she is concerned about Cavanaugh potentially vacating a statehouse seat at a time when one or two votes in the Legislature could let the Republican majority further erode abortion rights and pass more of the controversial legislation a handful of moderates, Democrats and progressives stop, because Republican Gov. Jim Pillen would get to appoint Cavanaugh's replacement if he wins.
'I want to make sure that we aren't sacrificing some of the things that the Democrats have been able to hold off in the Legislature,' Rhoades said.
Supporters of other Democratic candidates have criticized Rhoades for leaving the Nebraska Public Service Commission for the local clerk's job and letting herself be replaced by a Republican appointee. Rhoades has said the stakes are not the same, that her regulatory role at the PSC wouldn't make possible a potential shift to winner-take-all or a stricter abortion ban.
The 2nd District, which includes all of urban Douglas and rural Saunders Counties and a slice of suburban western Sarpy County, is typically a target of both national parties, as one of the rare remaining districts that is politically split. The district retains a slight GOP lean.
With five-term U.S. Rep. Don Bacon retiring, the open-seat race is drawing a politically diverse and competitive field.
The nonpartisan Center for Politics, the home of Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, shifted the Omaha-based House race to lean democratic from toss-up. The Cook Political Report also shifted the race to lean Democrat.
Omaha City Council Vice President Brinker Harding and former State Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha have announced bids to be the Republican nominee. National and local political observers expect it to prove one of the more competitive races in Congress for the 2026 midterms.
'There's too much at risk here for [Democrats] to be taking chances on this seat,' Rhoades said. 'We've got some really big problems in this country, and it calls for very serious people.'
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