John Ewing, the treasurer of Douglas County, Nebraska, is set to become Omaha’s first Black mayor after his opponent conceded in Tuesday’s mayoral election — and Democrats are celebrating the upset as a sign of what they say is the latest in a string of election victories where they are “outperforming Republicans.”
Ewing faced off against incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert, a Republican who was running for a fourth term.
The election is technically nonpartisan; political parties are not named on the ballot. But according to the Associated Press, Ewing’s and Stothert’s campaigns became more partisan ahead of election day.
Ewing currently leads Stothert by almost 11,000 votes, according to election results from the Douglas County Elections Commission.
“One of the things I’ve always wanted to do is be a mentor and an example for the young people in our community, so they could believe that their dreams were possible. And I hope they’re watching tonight. I hope they believe that their dreams are possible,” Ewing told ABC affiliate KETV late Tuesday night.
Stothert said she called Ewing to concede, according to KETV.
Democrats are pointing to the results, and how Ewing flipped the office from Republican to Democrat, as a sign of what they say is their continued success in special and off-cycle elections this year.
That includes victories or better-than-expected performances in some state legislative special elections, as well as the Democratic-supported candidate’s victory in the nonpartisan Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April.
“From coast to coast, from blue to purple to even red states, Democrats are overwhelmingly outperforming Republicans in nearly every election held this year,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement late Tuesday.
Republicans and other observers have argued against reading too much into results of individual. Off-cycle elections, including special elections, or elections such as Omaha’s mayoral election that are not held concurrently with Election Day, have a much smaller turnout and are not necessarily indicative of what turnout or results on Election Day in November might be.
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