Omaha Republican Mayor Loses Reelection Bid After Running Anti-Trans Ads

Democratic challenger John Ewing beat Republican incumbent Jean Stothert 56% to 44% for the mayorship of Omaha.

Nebraska Democrats response to Jean Stothert’s anti-transgender ads

On Tuesday, Democrat John Ewing pulled off a surprise upset in Omaha’s mayoral race, defeating longtime Republican incumbent Jean Stothert 56–44 percent. Ewing’s victory makes him the first Black mayor in the city’s history—and delivers a sharp rebuke to anti-transgender campaign tactics. Stothert had blanketed airwaves and mailboxes with anti-trans ads, attempting to turn the race into a referendum on gender identity. But Nebraska Democrats didn’t flinch. Instead of distancing themselves, they doubled down—mocking Stothert’s messaging and pointing out the absurdity of making trans issues a centerpiece in a race fundamentally about roads, housing, and city governance. The outcome marks one of the first real-world tests of post-2024 anti-trans politics in a contested swing district—and this time, it backfired for Republicans.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Stothert’s team saturated Omaha’s airwaves with ads claiming that John Ewing “stands with radicals” on issues like “boys in girls’ bathrooms and sports.” The same message appeared across a flood of mailers citywide, part of a scorched-earth strategy that mirrored national trends. In the run-up to the 2024 election, more than $200 million was poured into anti-trans advertising nationwide, with many Republican candidates winning their race. But in Omaha, that strategy fell flat, signaling potential fatigue with transgender issues among swing voters.

Democrats didn’t sit back in the face of Stothert’s mailer blitz—they hit back hard. In the campaign’s final days, Nebraska Democrats launched their own countermessaging, mocking the incumbent’s fixation on culture war talking points. One viral image featured a bathroom stall with the tagline: “Jean’s focused on potties. John’s focused on fixing potholes.” The contrast was blunt, effective, and local.

After Ewing’s win, Nebraska State Sen. Megan Hunt summed up the result: “We need to understand this as a victory against trans hate and discrimination — it’s what otherwise moderate Mayor Jean Stothert made the entire end of her campaign about. Regular Americans don’t react to or receive the call to trans panic. Enough. We are speaking to the future.”

Ewing’s victory comes in a state that has been at the center of some of the most aggressive anti-transgender legislation in the country. Just two years ago, Nebraska made national headlines when Democrats staged a historic filibuster to protest a gender-affirming care ban. Though the bill ultimately passed, it only did so after weeks of gridlock that brought the legislature to a standstill. This year, Republicans returned with more—introducing bills targeting transgender athletes, bathroom access, and other flashpoints. Stothert seemed to believe she could ride that same wave of culture war politics into another term as mayor. That bet backfired—and in resounding fashion.

Heading into 2026, Omaha won’t just be celebrating its first Black mayor—it’ll also be a battleground in one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who’s made anti-trans rhetoric a centerpiece of his platform, will be fighting for reelection. He’s railed against the Equality Act, warning it would “allow men in women’s sports”—a line ripped straight from the same playbook that just collapsed under Jean Stothert. If Bacon was planning to run that strategy again, Tuesday’s results should give him serious pause. Omaha voters just sent a clear message: the era of winning elections by punching at transgender people may be coming to an end.