Horizon · our Election Day forecast: polls, plus fundamentals like incumbency, fundraising and past results.

Pulse · polls only: where the races stand today, with no fundamentals and wider uncertainty.

What's the difference?

Nebraska › Nebraska Legislature · State legislature · November 3, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026

Nebraska Legislative District 20

Top twoNonpartisan

Forecast without candidates. Candidates not yet compiled: this forecast is for the seat's current party against a generic challenger.

The Democrat is very likely to win: the Democrat wins in more than 99 of every 100 simulations.

Democrat (D)
99%
chance of winning
Republican (R)
1%
Average margin
D+20.8
80% of outcomes
D+12 to D+31
Partisan lean
D+11
Polls
No pollsmodel only

The Democrat is very likely to win: the Democrat wins in 19 of every 20 simulations.

Democrat (D)
96%
chance of winning
Republican (R)
4%
Average margin
D+17.7
80% of outcomes
D+5 to D+30
Partisan lean
D+11
Polls
No pollsmodel only

How this race is decided

One-chamber legislature

Nebraska has a single legislative chamber of 49 members, called senators.

Nonpartisan ballot

Legislative candidates appear without party labels, and the top two from an open primary advance, so two members of the same party can meet in November. The forecast uses each candidate's registered party.

Filibuster

Ending a filibuster takes 33 of 49 votes, so a party usually needs 33 seats to pass contested bills; overriding a veto takes 30.

Staggered terms

Members serve four-year terms; about half the seats are on the ballot each election.

Range of outcomes

Final margin across our simulations; the white dashes mark the middle 80%.

D+20.8R+40R+20EvenD+20D+40
D+17.7R+40R+20EvenD+20D+40

How the odds have moved

Chance of winning by forecast date.

0%25%50%75%100%AugSepOctNovNov 3Democrat 99%Republican 1%

Updated nightly. Each day is the current model run on the polls that had ended by then (how).

0%25%50%75%100%AugSepOctNovNov 3Democrat 96%Republican 4%

Updated nightly. Each day is the current model run on the polls that had ended by then (how).

The candidates

What goes into the forecast

Every ingredient's estimate of the final margin.

National environment
D+9.5Election Day forecast
Nebraska state offices
+0.7Polls for governor, statewide and legislative races · details
Environment here
D+10.2Used by the fundamentals
Swing reaching this office
58%Of a shift in the environment, from past legislative races since 2016
Midwest adjustment
+0.3How legislative races in the region have run against lean and environment lately
← RepublicanDemocratic →Lean + environmentUsual vote, shifted by 58% of the environment andthe Midwest adjustmentD+18.2Fundamentals modelAdds incumbency, past results, money andexperienceD+20.5Polls in similar placesPolling of similar races in Nebraska andlook-alike placesD+21.0Polling averageNo polls of this racenot availableHorizon forecastPolls + fundamentals, projected to Election DayD+20.8Pulse forecastPolls (and polling of similar places) only, todayD+17.6

Each estimate is a margin before national and statewide uncertainty is simulated. Horizon blends polls, fundamentals and a little of the similar-places estimate, weighting each by how precise it is; Pulse uses polls and similar places only.

Fundamentals inputs
Incumbency (+1 D, −1 R)1
Fundraising edge (log ratio of individual money)0
Elected-experience edge0.67
First-term incumbent0
Seat's last result vs. expectation0
Incumbent's last result vs. expectation0

Polls

No public polls of this race. The forecast relies on fundamentals and on polling of similar places in the state.

The district

Lean D+11: how much more Democratic or Republican than the nation it votes for president.

Presidential vote

← RepublicanDemocratic →2016 presidentR+4.8R+7.0 vs. nation2020 presidentD+8.3D+3.8 vs. nation2024 presidentD+11.5D+13.0 vs. nation

Precinct results re-aggregated to the current district lines.

Who lives here

Population
42,386
People per km²
1,242
Adults with a B.A.+
50%
White, no degree
42%of adults
  • White 83%
  • Hispanic 7%
  • Black 4%
  • Asian 2%
  • Other / multiracial 4%

American Community Survey 2020–2024, aggregated from census tracts.

Past results

Results in the same-numbered district; earlier elections may have used different lines.

2024 President Vote in this district

22,077 two-party votes · D+11.5 · D+13.0 vs. the nation
✓ Kamala Harris (D)55.8%
Donald Trump (R)44.2%

2022

16,196 votes
✓ John A Fredrickson (—)50.3%
Stu Dornan (—)49.7%

2020 President Vote in this district

23,744 two-party votes · D+8.3 · D+3.8 vs. the nation
✓ Joe Biden (D)54.2%
Donald Trump (R)45.8%

2018 Earlier district lines

14,778 votes
✓ John S McCollister (—)58.8%
Jackie Collett (—)41.2%

2016 President Vote in this district

20,418 two-party votes · R+4.8 · R+7.0 vs. the nation
✓ Donald Trump (R)52.4%
Hillary Clinton (D)47.6%

2014 Earlier district lines

12,307 votes
✓ John S McCollister (—)52.1%
Matt Lathrop (—)47.9%