Scrutinel— 2026 midterms

UpdatedOct 10, 2026, 11:27 AM EDT
To election day24 days
Simulations200,000

Nebraska 2nd District

Currently held by a Republican · open seat

Democrat
Denise Powell
90%
Republican
Brinker Harding
10%
ForecastLikely D
Projected margin
D+11.8
80% range
D+0.2 to D+23.4
Partisan lean
D+5.5
Tipping-point chance
0.83%
Uncertainty multiplier
1.82×

The 80% range comes from 200,000 simulations in which this race’s error is correlated with every other race through the national, state and demographic layers.

How the estimate is built
Polls 12%Fundamentals 88%
Polling average
D+4.0
Fundamentals
D+13.2
Blended
D+12.0
Similar-race shift
+0.1
Poll–fundamentals gap
9.2 pts
PollingDR matchup
Polls in window
1
Distinct pollsters
1
Most recent
September 13, 2026
Democrat
46.0%
Republican
42.0%
Undecided / other
12.0%
Spread between polls
0.0 pts
Fundamentals
Partisan lean
D+5.5
Elasticity
0.90
Incumbency
0.0
Candidate experience
0.0
Fundraising
+1.1
National environment
D+7.1
Expected margin
D+13.1
The polls behind this number1 most recent of 1 in the window
PollsterDatesSampleDRMargin
SurveyUSASeptember 13, 2026182 LV4642D+4

Each poll is weighted by recency, the square root of its sample size and its pollster rating, then adjusted for that firm’s house effect, its sampled population and any partisan sponsorship — so the average above is not the mean of this column.

How it voted for presidenttwo-party
2024 margin
D+4.7
2020 margin
D+6.5
Shift 2020 → 2024
R+1.8
Votes cast, 2024
316,693

Presidential results reaggregated onto the 2026 district lines. This is where the seat’s partisan lean comes from, and it carries most of the forecast in a race nobody has polled.

Who lives hereCensus ACS
Population
484,492
Median age
45.9
Median household income
$79,800
Bachelor’s degree or higher
42%
White
72%
Black
11%
Hispanic
11%
Asian
5%

Used to find demographically similar districts, so a race with no polling can borrow the polling error of races that look like it.

Campaign fundraisingFEC filings to Invalid Date
CandidatePartyRaisedCash on hand
Denise PowellDEM$2.7M$997k
Brinker HardingREP$2.0M$1.1M

Receipts across the cycle, from FEC bulk filings. The model uses the ratio between the two sides rather than either total, and weights it lightly — money follows a competitive race at least as much as it causes one.

← Back to the full forecast