The GOP Is Losing It Over Omaha's First Black Mayor

Democrat John Ewing Jr. will become Omaha’s first Black mayor after defeating Jean Stothert, who holds the record for the longest running mayor. The race was officially non-partisan, but Stothert had aligned herself with the Trump administration and GOP policies over her years in office, to which Ewing countered with a Democratic stance in his campaign.

“We embark on a new chapter, Ewing said Tuesday to a room of screaming supporters as Stothert conceded. “I am deeply honored and humbled to stand before you today as your mayor elect.”

Ewing has received praise from democratic leaders online for winning what should have been a landslide race for his opponent. Ewing led the race by 10,900 votes with just under 90,000 votes counted late Tuesday. Around 7,000 votes were left before Stothert claimed defeat.

Yet the surprise defeat seemed to spark fear among GOP members such as Gov. Jim Pillen, who warned Republican supporters at Stothert’s campaign party that they “just didn’t get the vote out. Republican voters, particularly in the west of the city, need to reflect because Stothert’s re-election should have been in the bag, said Pillien.

“Elections matter. Leadership matters. Conservative leadership matters. I hope that all of us can take a bite into that apple and make sure we don’t forget, and make sure that we play a role,” he said.

In social media comments, Democratic strategists described Stothert’s loss as a “political shockwave” that has left Republicans “panicking,” adding that a city’s mayoral election often acts as a barometer for wider political shifts.

Nebraska is usually considered a red state, but it registers more Democratic Party members than Republicans. Under Stothert's 4 term regime, Omaha was one of America’s most populous cities to have a Republican mayor.

The Omaha mayoral election race had turned nasty in its final weeks with attack with the typical republican rhetoric, including one ad that claimed Ewing “stands with radicals who want to allow boys in girls’ sports.”

Ewing said he wouldn‘t respond to hypothetical questions and that he hasn‘t dealt with transgender issues in his most recent role as county treasurer.