GOP and Dem PACs Unload Ads Targeting John Cavanaugh in CD-2 Race
by Matt Johnson
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
OMAHA — As the Democratic primary for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District heats up, outside spending has put apparent frontrunner John Cavanaugh in the crosshairs with both Republican and Democratic PACs taking aim at the state senator.
A new Super PAC called Fight for Nebraska PAC has reported more than $450,000 in independent expenditures supporting Democratic candidate Denise Powell and opposing Cavanaugh. The spending — which occurred mostly in March 2026 — funded mailers, television ads, and digital advertising, including thousands of dollars on Facebook and Instagram ads that began running around March 31.
The ads center around attacks claiming that Cavanaugh leaving the Unicameral early would allow Governor Jim Pillen to appoint his replacement, giving Republicans another reliable vote.
“We’re hanging on by a thread — our representation, our Electoral vote, and abortion rights are all dependent on maintaining the filibuster in the Legislature,” one Facebook ad reads. “If John Cavanaugh is elected to Congress, Governor Pillen will get to choose a MAGA Republican to replace him.”
Cavanaugh has previously responded to the concern from Democrats calling it a “loser mentality.” “I am confident that I’m going to win this house seat, and I’m confident that I’m going to do it in a way as a leader that will help Democrats win more seats at the state level,” Cavanaugh said.
While Super PACs are legally prohibited from coordinating directly with candidates, the Fight for Nebraska website explicitly champions Powell as a leader “ready to stand up for Nebraskans and take the fight to the MAGA extremists in Washington,” highlighting her efforts fighting the state’s total abortion ban, securing legal aid for immigrant families, and protecting public schools.
With a crowded and competitive Democratic primary in a district rated Lean Democratic heading into November, this rapid injection of outside money signals an intense battle down the stretch over who will become the party’s nominee in Nebraska’s highest-stakes congressional race.
No donor information for the PAC has been disclosed yet, but the scale and speed of the spending make Fight for Nebraska a major new player in the 2026 cycle.
Trump PAC ‘Backs’ Cavanaugh
This week, Cavanaugh hit back at a conservative-leaning group, the American Action Network, which recently sent a mailer and posted digital ads tying the candidate to Donald Trump. “Call Senator John Cavanaugh today and thank him for standing with President Trump and championing the MAGA Tax Agenda in Nebraska,” the flier read.
The digital ad, running on Google, claimed Cavanaugh was “working to enact Trump’s policy right here in Nebraska.”
(Picture credit John Cavanaugh’s Twitter)
Cavanaugh quickly responded online, saying it was proof he was the Democrat best poised to win in the general election. “Republicans are meddling in the #NE02 primary because they know our campaign will beat Brinker Harding in November if we win on May 12,” he stated on Twitter.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb added: “Republicans are terrified and this mailer is hilarious. It will backfire.”
Democrats Warned Against Infighting
Last month, Democrats warned against candidates going negative in the CD-2 race, saying infighting would only hurt the party.
“Hearing rumors that Denise Powell is recruiting folks to film a negative commercial this weekend against other Democrats,” State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, John Cavanaugh’s sister, said in a social media post. “That’s so sad — can’t you be positive Denise? We should be fighting Trump — not each other.”
Former Democratic Party chair Vince Powers also posted at the time, “Powell has been running an excellent campaign, she would not jeopardize it by working to help the republican win in Nov by going negative vs a dem.”
Powell never publicly responded to the rumors and did not respond to multiple attempts for comment from The Plains Sentinel.
Brinker Harding, the only Republican candidate for CD-2, said last month that he sees an opportunity in the potential Democratic infighting in the race.
“If I could, I might sit on my couch with a bowl of popcorn and watch them beat each other up and spend all their money,” Harding said Monday at an event in Omaha. “When they start at zero on May 13, with $0 in the bank account, and they’ve beaten each other so hard to get further and further to the left, that puts us in a better position to win.”
Heading into 2026, Powell raised the most cash of any of the Democratic candidates in the race with over $300,000. Cavanaugh raised just over $200,000.
Cavanaugh is seen by most political observers as the frontrunner in the Democratic primary that has six candidates, including himself, Powell, Crystal Rhoades, Kishla Askins, Van Argyrakis and Melanie Williams.
Internal polling from both Cavanaugh and Rhoades show the pair leading the race with Powell in third place.
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.