Nebraska's 1st District
U.S. House · Nebraska
Mike Flood won re-election by 3.5 points over Chris Backemeyer.
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State unofficial resultsUpdated Nov 7, 2026, 1:22 PM ET
Where the race moved
Against the 2024 presidential vote
The seat's recent races
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
Money in this race
Each line compares the two sides on one scale: their campaigns, and outside groups spending for them or against their opponent.
Top funders
Outside groups and direct contributors, ranked by what they put in; the color shows which candidate it helps.
| Retire Career PoliticiansFor Backemeyer, against Flood | $2M | |
| HMPAgainst Flood | $1.4M | |
| BIG RED LEADERSHIP PACAgainst Backemeyer | $256.7K | |
| American Liberty Foundation PACFor Flood | $51.2K | |
| Working AmericaFor Backemeyer, against Flood | $2.5K |
Campaign money: FEC, through Oct 14, 2026. Outside spending: independent expenditures by super PACs, parties and other groups, primary and general, as reported to the FEC through Nov 1, 2026, updated Nov 3, 2026. It leaves out spending not reported as independent expenditures (most issue ads and much dark money), so it understates all outside money.
Source: FEC campaign filings; FEC independent expendituresUpdated Nov 3, 2026, 1:05 AM ET
Polls against the result
The final average had Flood ahead by 2.3. Flood won by 3.5: a 1.2-point miss toward Democrats.
- Poll with Backemeyer ahead
- Poll with Flood ahead
- Final polling average
- Result
| Pollster | Dates | Sample | Backemeyer | Flood | Margin | Adjusted | Miss vs result | Grade | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling for House Majority PACD-sponsored | Oct 19–Oct 20 | — LV | 45 | 46 | R+1 | R+2.5 | +2.5 | B+ | x.com ↗ |
| Global Strategy Group for Fight for Nebraska PACD-sponsoredMain question · in average | Aug 31–Sep 3 | 600 LV | 49 | 45 | D+4 | D+2.5 | +7.5 | C | s3.documentcloud.org ↗ |
| Global Strategy Group for Fight for Nebraska PACD-sponsoredOther version | Aug 31–Sep 3 | 600 LV | 43 | 42 | D+1 | — | +4.5 | C | s3.documentcloud.org ↗ |
| Zenith Research for Austin Ahlman's campaign | May 8–May 11 | 401 RV | 38 | 45 | R+7 | R+8.4 | −3.5 | — | x.com ↗ |
Adjusted: after correcting for the pollster's house effect and likely-voter screens. Miss: the poll's margin minus the result; + means the poll leaned Democratic. Grade: the pollster's accuracy in past elections, A+ to D (pollster ratings).
Source: Each poll's release, via The New York Times and Wikipedia poll listsUpdated Oct 20, 2026
Pre-election forecast (final, Nov 3)
Our model's last run before Election Day, Nov 3, 2026. It no longer updates.
- Chris Backemeyer
- 24%
- Mike Flood
- 76%
- Projected margin
- R+4.0
The candidates
Incumbent U.S. representative (2022–present)Chris Backemeyer (D)
Former deputy assistant secretary of state
Also on the ballot: Nik Sandman (Libertarian), 1.8%; Dan Hartong (Other party), 1.7%