Smart Politics: Political Analysis By and Beyond the Numbers

In Nebraska’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, incumbent Jim Pillen cruised to a 66.2-point victory in a five-candidate field as he seeks a second term this November. Pillen’s victory marked the 19th successful renomination bid by a sitting Nebraska GOP governor out of 19 attempts dating back to the state’s first primary in 1908 when Republican Governor George Sheldon won without opposition. Overall, Nebraska governors are 30 for 31 in securing their party’s nomination during the primary era with only Democrat Ashton Schallenberger falling short in 1910 – losing by 0.6 points to Omaha Mayor James Dahlman.

In last week’s Ohio primary, Sherrod Brown set a state record for the most support received in a contested U.S. Senate primary in his race against technologist Ron Kincaid. The former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator won 89.5 percent of the primary vote – breaking incumbent John Glenn’s record of 87.6 percent set in 1986 en route to his third term. Brown’s mark is now the highest among the 63 contested major party U.S. Senate primaries in Ohio history (34 Democratic, 29 Republican). Fourteen GOP primaries and nine on the Democratic side saw nominees win without opposition, including appointed Republican incumbent Jon Husted this cycle.