A Nebraska Democratic state senator is challenging a Republican incumbent in the state 1st Congressional district, a Republican stronghold that could help decide which party controls the U.S. House in 2025.
Sen. Carol Blood confirmed Tuesday she plans to run for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Mike Flood. The two served alongside each other in the Nebraska Legislature.
Blood, who unsuccessfully ran for Nebraska governor against Jim Pillen in 2022, previously represented eastern Sarpy County at the Nebraska State Capitol and once served on the Bellevue City Council. Through her campaign, she said wants to focus on investing in public education and growing Nebraska’s economy by attracting a younger workforce to the state, according to her campaign website.
District 1, which hasn’t been represented by a Democrat since 1967, includes Lincoln, Bellevue, Fremont and Norfolk.
Flood won the congressional seat in a 2022 special election after former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry resigned. Fortenberry was convicted of lying about campaign contributions to federal authorities, but the convictions were reversed after he was prosecuted in California and not in Nebraska or D.C. where he allegedly lied to the FBI.