Call
the Map
Forecast6 days out
← HouseNovember 3, 2026

NE-02 · U.S. House

Denise Powell is heavily favored to flip Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district. Predicted margin: D+9.9.

Denise Powell (D)94 in 10054.850.8–58.8
Brinker Harding (R)6 in 10044.940.9–48.9
Other (O)—0.2
Show all others (1)

Eric Michael Foreman

Other is a combined forecast; individual estimates are not published.

Ballot eligibility alone supplies no quantitative estimate. Other is a collective share, not any named candidate’s forecast. Official ballot sources: Eric Michael Foreman (checked 2026-08-31).

Under each share, its likely range (80 in 100 simulations)

Background

Omaha's blue dot; Bacon's retirement makes it an open-seat risk.

Likely DOpen seat

Forecast history

Steady0.0 pts · Oct 26 → Oct 28NE-02 U.S. House: steady — the published margin moved 0.0 points between the Oct 26 and Oct 28 editions (3 of 47 stored editions). This is movement of the published forecast between editions.
D+10D+5EVENAug 1Nov 3 · Election Day

Latest reading · Oct 28 · first published Sep 9 · 80% range · margin points D+1.9 to D+17.9. Methodology

 

About this series

Reconstructed with the current model Aug 1 – Sep 8 and Sep 16 – Sep 18; published readings Sep 9 – Oct 28. Each reconstructed day is the current model on that day’s own inputs, not a forecast published then. Corrections are dated in the changelog.

Faded: CTMM 2.2 reconstructed history: computed after the fact with each date's available polls and environment, without expert ratings; not an issued forecast. Issued forecasts begin at the launch marker.

CTMM 2.2 readings for 2026-09-16, 2026-09-17, 2026-09-18 were computed after the fact with each day's available inputs: no edition was issued on those days. Not an issued forecast.

Data table
DateMarginChance80% rangeReading
Oct 28D+9.9D win 93.8%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 27D+9.9D win 93.9%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 26D+9.9D win 93.8%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 25D+9.9D win 93.8%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 24D+9.9D win 93.9%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 23D+9.9D win 93.8%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 22D+9.9D win 93.8%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 21D+9.9D win 93.8%D+1.9 to D+17.9Published forecast
Oct 20D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.6 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 19D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.6 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 18D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.6 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 17D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.6 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 16D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.6 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 15D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.5 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 14D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.5 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 13D+9.5D win 93.4%D+1.5 to D+17.4Published forecast
Oct 12D+6.4D win 84.2%R+2.0 to D+14.7Published forecast
Oct 11D+6.4D win 84.2%R+2.0 to D+14.7Published forecast
Oct 10D+6.4D win 84.2%R+2.0 to D+14.7Published forecast
Oct 9D+6.3D win 84.0%R+2.0 to D+14.7Published forecast
Oct 8D+6.3D win 84.0%R+2.0 to D+14.7Published forecast
Oct 7D+6.3D win 83.9%R+2.0 to D+14.7Published forecast
Oct 6D+6.2D win 83.6%R+2.1 to D+14.6Published forecast
Oct 5D+6.2D win 83.3%R+2.1 to D+14.6Published forecast
Oct 4D+6.2D win 83.4%R+2.1 to D+14.6Published forecast
Oct 3D+6.2D win 83.4%R+2.2 to D+14.5Published forecast
Oct 2D+6.2D win 83.2%R+2.2 to D+14.5Published forecast
Oct 1D+6.2D win 82.9%R+2.2 to D+14.5Published forecast
Sep 30D+6.2D win 82.9%R+2.2 to D+14.5Published forecast
Sep 29D+6.1D win 82.9%R+2.3 to D+14.5Published forecast
Sep 28D+6.1D win 83.0%R+2.3 to D+14.5Published forecast
Sep 27D+6.1D win 82.7%R+2.3 to D+14.5Published forecast
Sep 26D+6.1D win 82.8%R+2.3 to D+14.5Published forecast
Sep 25D+6.1D win 82.6%R+2.3 to D+14.4Published forecast
Sep 24D+6.0D win 82.5%R+2.4 to D+14.4Published forecast
Sep 23D+6.0D win 82.5%R+2.4 to D+14.4Published forecast
Sep 22D+5.9D win 81.8%R+2.5 to D+14.3Published forecast
Sep 21D+5.9D win 81.8%R+2.5 to D+14.3Published forecast
Sep 20D+5.9D win 82.2%R+2.5 to D+14.3Published forecast
Sep 19D+5.9D win 82.1%R+2.5 to D+14.3Published forecast
Sep 18D+5.9D win 82.5%R+2.5 to D+14.3Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 17D+5.9D win 82.4%R+2.5 to D+14.3Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 16D+5.9D win 82.2%R+2.5 to D+14.3Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 15D+5.8D win 81.3%R+2.6 to D+14.2Published forecast
Sep 14D+8.0D win 87.9%R+0.8 to D+16.8Published forecast
Sep 13D+8.0D win 88.0%R+0.8 to D+16.8Published forecast
Sep 12D+8.0D win 88.0%R+0.8 to D+16.7Published forecast
Sep 11D+7.9D win 87.9%R+0.8 to D+16.7Published forecast
Sep 10D+7.9D win 87.7%R+0.9 to D+16.6Published forecast
Sep 9D+7.7D win 87.2%R+1.1 to D+16.4Published forecast
Sep 8D+7.8D win 87.7%R+1.0 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 7D+7.7D win 87.5%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 6D+7.7D win 87.5%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 5D+7.7D win 87.5%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 4D+7.7D win 87.4%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 3D+7.7D win 87.3%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 2D+7.7D win 87.3%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Sep 1D+7.7D win 87.3%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 31D+7.7D win 87.4%R+1.1 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 30D+7.7D win 87.3%R+1.1 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 29D+7.7D win 87.4%R+1.1 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 28D+7.7D win 87.3%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 27D+7.7D win 87.3%R+1.1 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 26D+7.7D win 87.1%R+1.2 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 25D+7.7D win 87.2%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 24D+7.7D win 87.1%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 23D+7.7D win 87.1%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 22D+7.7D win 87.1%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 21D+7.7D win 86.9%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 20D+7.7D win 87.0%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 19D+7.7D win 87.0%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 18D+7.7D win 87.0%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 17D+7.7D win 86.9%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 16D+7.7D win 86.9%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 15D+7.7D win 87.0%R+1.2 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 14D+7.6D win 86.7%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 13D+7.6D win 86.7%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 12D+7.6D win 86.8%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 11D+7.6D win 86.7%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 10D+7.6D win 86.7%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 9D+7.6D win 86.7%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 8D+7.6D win 86.7%R+1.3 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 7D+7.6D win 86.7%R+1.4 to D+16.6Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 6D+7.5D win 86.3%R+1.5 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 5D+7.5D win 86.3%R+1.5 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 4D+7.5D win 86.3%R+1.5 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 3D+7.5D win 86.3%R+1.5 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 2D+7.5D win 86.2%R+1.5 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs
Aug 1D+7.5D win 86.2%R+1.5 to D+16.5Reconstructed with the stated inputs

The polls

Poll average D+9.2A poll’s weight halves every 60 days and grows with its sample. Each pollster counts once, at its best release. Every poll counts at its published margin, sponsored or not.In House races the forecast then counts a poll sponsored by a party or campaign at full weight and moves its margin 2 points against that party, which puts the average it reads at D+10.5.2 recorded polls · 2 in the poll average

FieldworkAddedPollsterResultSample
from 2026-10-02National Public Affairs ↗D+12.0D 50% · R 38%377 LV
from 2026-09-08SurveyUSA ↗Grant Forbes, LLCD+4.0D 46% · R 42%182 LV
Explore all 2 polls for this race

How the margin was built

Tap an input for its calculation and source.

Toward D+9.9
Toward R−<0.1
Forecast marginD+9.9

Displayed values are rounded.

All calculations & sources

This district's measured terrain +4.958 points

Call the Map's partisan lean on the CURRENT district lines, before any current-cycle evidence. Every pull below is measured from here — not from EVEN.

  • Call the Map partisan lean, district geography bound to this forecast edition.
  • Prior source: observed_unchanged_lines.

National environment +2.071 points

The contribution to this race’s margin, not the national polling margin itself. The race’s loading, reference level and polling blend determine how much of the national climate reaches its final forecast.

  • Three-source blend, updated 2026-10-14: 53% generic-ballot aggregates (D+7.7) · 28% special-election overperformance (D+9.0 across 46 specials) · 20% approval-implied (D+9.1 from net approval -24.3).
  • Latest polls — generic ballot 2026-10-14 (14 days old), approval 2026-10-14 (14 days old).
  • Generic-ballot average D+7.7 · support factor 0.87 (the share of that channel's capacity the admitted polls carry) — separate inputs; their product is a capacity diagnostic, not a margin.
  • Weights are the 55/25/20 capacities scaled by each channel's evidence and renormalized, so thin polling widens the interval instead of pulling the center toward zero — 12% of the weight is carried that way.
  • Blended national environment: D+8.3.
  • Applied at full strength to this chamber's races.
  • This step’s recorded contribution to the margin is +2.1.
  • Blended national environment: D+8.3 (updated 2026-10-14).
  • Effective poll weight 88%; fundamentals share 12%, carried by the interval (×1.06) rather than by the center.
  • The support factor is the share of the generic-ballot capacity the admitted polls carry; average × support is a capacity diagnostic, not a margin, and is not what the row above multiplies.
  • Applied at full strength to this chamber: +2.1 of this margin.

Fitted model, above the terrain shown +1.705 points

What the fitted model adds on top of the starting terrain above — incumbency, past results, campaign finance and the other fitted terms — measured from that terrain rather than from EVEN. It is a comparison with the starting point already shown, not a separate input. The source detail lists the variables the fit uses.

  • Fitted baseline 6.663 minus starting point 4.958 = 1.705 points.
  • One fitted structural total; this edition does not split it into partisan lean and incumbency.
  • Fundamentals: +6.7 — the district's structural lean before this year's polling, money and candidate quality are added.
  • This edition publishes that as one fitted total. It does not break it into a partisan-lean and an incumbency term, so this page does not invent that split.
  • fundamentals core = 25-term dynamic formula (mass fit over the master feature matrix, held-out-cycle validated; see matrix/feature_dictionary.md + mass_fit_report.json)
  • 40-term formula, held-out validated.

This race’s polls +1.176 points

What this race’s own recent polling adds beyond its prior. The forecast weights each poll for recency and sample size and counts each pollster once; the weights listed here are those of the polls’ own average.

  • National Public Affairs (2026-10-05, n=377): D+12.0 · weight 0.41 in the poll average
  • SurveyUSA (2026-09-13, n=182): D+4.0 · weight 0.22 in the poll average
  • Poll average D+9.2, from 2 polls · 2 recorded polls. This is the polls’ own average, each poll at its published margin, the figure this page’s poll summary shows. In House races the forecast then counts a poll sponsored by a party or campaign at full weight and moves its margin 2 points against that party, which puts the average it reads at D+10.5. The forecast gives the polls 67% of the weight against its structural prior for this race, which moves the margin 1.2 points away from Republicans from where it stood before the polls. Eligible polls: latest poll: 2026-10-05 (23 days old).

Votes for other candidates −0.024 points

Every step above is measured between the two major-party candidates alone, as if nobody else were on the ballot. The forecast sets 0.2% of the vote aside for other candidates and write-ins, so as a share of every vote cast the gap between the two is smaller by that much. This step is exactly that: the two-party margin times the share going to other candidates. It is the same arithmetic that turns the two-party margin into the two shares printed at the top of the page.

The components this edition publishes for this race, in points. “Other factors” closes the sum to the two-party structural lean exactly. The margin the page prints is a share of every vote cast, so the “Votes for other candidates” row carries the exact difference between the two-party lean and that margin; with it, the walk sums to the printed margin exactly.

Named factorContribution
FundamentalsThe admitted fitted baseline. Its surviving variables differ by office; the source detail above identifies those used for this race.+6.66
National environmentThe national environment’s contribution to the prior. Polling can attenuate its influence; this value is not the national polling margin.+2.07
This race's pollsAdmitted head-to-head polls of this race, recency- and quality-weighted.+1.18
Other factors0.00

Where the votes are

The map of this race loads here.

Recent elections

ElectionResultVotes cast
2024 · U.S. House ↗R+1.9314,567
2022 · U.S. House ↗R+2.7219,470
2020 · U.S. House ↗R+4.6336,962
2018 · U.S. House ↗R+2.0248,485

Historical district boundaries may differ. Margins are the Democrat’s share of all votes cast minus the Republican’s.

The money

The tick marks cash on hand. A missing filing stays blank rather than becoming $0.

One more fundraising reportCall the Map · $325

The candidates are comfortably out-fundraising the website covering them. A little rude, perhaps, but statistically unsurprising.

Received so far
$325
Measured compute
$26,188.58

Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee supports are counted as each one arrives. Measured compute prices model runs at standard published API rates; it is not what I paid. Hosting, data and subscriptions, the domain and my own time are not counted. Donations buy gratitude, never a forecast adjustment.

Supporters are listed by first name and last initial; a username alone is shortened to its first eight characters. Want your full name shown? Say so in your message. Give privately, or leave the name blank, and you are listed as Anonymous, with the platform and date. Supporters who give a name may also be thanked by name in the newsletter.

Thank you to Tom H., ColoradoFlyer, Chris, EW, gbaileym…, True Independent, MT V., JBL, Erin G., Caroline M., Melanie, MKV and 7 more.

See the public support ledger →

Outside spending

Separate from what the campaigns raised

For and against Denise Powell$3.7M

18 spending groups
GroupForAgainst
FIGHT FOR NEBRASKA PAC$1.3M$0
CHC BOLD PAC$532K$0
BOLD America$419K$0
Elect Democratic Women$300K$0
EDW Action Fund$199K$0
ROLLING SEA ACTION FUND$150K$0
NO GOING BACK PAC INC.$0$122K
Pro-Choice Majority 2026$121K$0
PROGRESSIVE PROMISE$0$100K
Women Vote$94K$0
AB PAC$88K$0
Progressive Turnout Project$67K$0
Healthcare for Action PAC$59K$0
Latino Victory Fund$50K$0
Community Change Voters$26K$0
MAGA INC.$0$20K
CIVIC RENEWAL FUND INC.$0$17K
Neighbor Voices$1K$0

For and against Brinker Harding$1.7M

6 spending groups
GroupForAgainst
HMP$0$1.5M
CIVIC RENEWAL FUND INC.$82K$0
NO GOING BACK PAC INC.$39K$0
CFFE PAC$0$32K
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND$2K$0
Neighbor Voices$0$910

Includes primary spending. Opposition is recorded against its named target; no benefit to another candidate is assumed.

$2.6M in outside spending on earlier candidates.

No filing matched: Eric Michael Foreman.

FEC filings · through 06/30/2026 · Definitions & method

Race context

2024 presidential vote here
316,690
2024 presidential margin
D+4.7between the two parties

Population profile

White alone · 75.5%492,748 of 652,597 · Residents2022 Census · matched race geography

Coverage

Forecast as of October 28, 2026: Call the Map currently has Denise Powell ahead of Brinker Harding by D+9.9, with a 94 in 100 chance to win. This is an open seat. That result would flip the seat to Democrats. The current poll average is D+9.2; 2 public polls are recorded.