United States / Nebraska / Gubernatorial Election
2026 Nebraska gubernatorial election
Nebraska polling average: Pillen (R) 48.4% — Walz (D) 43.0% — Pillen (R) +5.4Also: (LMN) (I) 5.3% · (AF) (I) 4.9%Pollytic average to 1 Nov 2026: recent, larger polls weigh more; no institute counts more than once.
Election date
Held on
Results
100% reporting ·
| Candidate | Votes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim PillenWinnerRepublican Party | 376,242 | 50.8% | |
| Lynne WalzDemocratic Party | 312,633 | 42.2% | |
| Brett LindstromAmerica First | 32,592 | 4.4% | |
| Rick Beard (LMN)Legal Marijuana Now | 19,682 | 2.7% |
| County | Leader | Lead | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas | Walz | +20.7 | 211,824 |
| Lancaster | Walz | +17.2 | 122,424 |
| Sarpy | Walz | +2.5 | 79,421 |
| Buffalo | Pillen | +32.1 | 19,259 |
| Hall | Pillen | +24.1 | 18,093 |
| Dodge | Pillen | +10.7 | 13,037 |
| Lincoln | Pillen | +45.3 | 12,723 |
| Cass | Pillen | +24.6 | 12,278 |
| Madison | Pillen | +41.3 | 12,133 |
| Platte | Pillen | +46.4 | 12,120 |
All 93 counties
| County | Leader | Lead | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotts Bluff | Pillen | +32.6 | 11,677 |
| Adams | Pillen | +31.4 | 11,020 |
| Saunders | Pillen | +32.3 | 10,812 |
| Washington | Pillen | +30.3 | 9,701 |
| Gage | Pillen | +26.8 | 8,581 |
| Seward | Pillen | +35.7 | 7,518 |
| Dawson | Pillen | +32.6 | 6,913 |
| Otoe | Pillen | +23.7 | 6,471 |
| York | Pillen | +40.4 | 5,410 |
| Dakota | Pillen | +8.7 | 5,027 |
| Saline | Pillen | +16.5 | 4,521 |
| Hamilton | Pillen | +51.0 | 4,393 |
| Red Willow | Pillen | +57.0 | 4,236 |
| Holt | Pillen | +63.6 | 4,225 |
| Cedar | Pillen | +57.6 | 3,955 |
| Custer | Pillen | +63.8 | 3,876 |
| Phelps | Pillen | +58.2 | 3,825 |
| Knox | Pillen | +51.9 | 3,738 |
| Butler | Pillen | +48.9 | 3,601 |
| Box Butte | Pillen | +41.7 | 3,577 |
| Merrick | Pillen | +54.4 | 3,542 |
| Cheyenne | Pillen | +52.7 | 3,383 |
| Keith | Pillen | +55.9 | 3,370 |
| Wayne | Pillen | +30.9 | 3,336 |
| Cuming | Pillen | +51.3 | 3,320 |
| Dawes | Pillen | +33.9 | 3,127 |
| Pierce | Pillen | +66.0 | 3,084 |
| Burt | Pillen | +31.1 | 3,021 |
| Richardson | Pillen | +37.0 | 3,013 |
| Colfax | Pillen | +28.9 | 2,900 |
| Kearney | Pillen | +49.7 | 2,896 |
| Clay | Pillen | +55.6 | 2,875 |
| Jefferson | Pillen | +35.5 | 2,762 |
| Nemaha | Pillen | +30.1 | 2,759 |
| Howard | Pillen | +53.6 | 2,740 |
| Antelope | Pillen | +65.3 | 2,739 |
| Stanton | Pillen | +53.6 | 2,682 |
| Boone | Pillen | +56.5 | 2,499 |
| Cherry | Pillen | +65.3 | 2,458 |
| Fillmore | Pillen | +44.7 | 2,394 |
| Dixon | Pillen | +47.6 | 2,293 |
| Thayer | Pillen | +53.5 | 2,236 |
| Polk | Pillen | +54.1 | 2,141 |
| Morrill | Pillen | +58.8 | 2,050 |
| Sheridan | Pillen | +63.5 | 2,004 |
| Furnas | Pillen | +59.7 | 1,995 |
| Johnson | Pillen | +24.7 | 1,817 |
| Valley | Pillen | +53.6 | 1,806 |
| Nuckolls | Pillen | +55.2 | 1,718 |
| Thurston | Pillen | +0.1 | 1,555 |
| Chase | Pillen | +66.0 | 1,552 |
| Harlan | Pillen | +59.8 | 1,403 |
| Webster | Pillen | +55.5 | 1,347 |
| Nance | Pillen | +46.2 | 1,346 |
| Sherman | Pillen | +49.4 | 1,298 |
| Kimball | Pillen | +58.8 | 1,294 |
| Brown | Pillen | +65.3 | 1,268 |
| Franklin | Pillen | +61.4 | 1,229 |
| Perkins | Pillen | +62.6 | 1,167 |
| Pawnee | Pillen | +44.5 | 1,153 |
| Frontier | Pillen | +64.7 | 1,129 |
| Hitchcock | Pillen | +66.2 | 1,064 |
| Greeley | Pillen | +56.5 | 1,008 |
| Gosper | Pillen | +58.9 | 910 |
| Garden | Pillen | +64.0 | 900 |
| Boyd | Pillen | +69.8 | 888 |
| Garfield | Pillen | +69.5 | 823 |
| Deuel | Pillen | +63.2 | 771 |
| Rock | Pillen | +69.1 | 708 |
| Dundy | Pillen | +67.4 | 684 |
| Sioux | Pillen | +68.1 | 505 |
| Keya Paha | Pillen | +75.5 | 421 |
| Wheeler | Pillen | +68.5 | 387 |
| Hayes | Pillen | +80.7 | 383 |
| Hooker | Pillen | +65.5 | 339 |
| Loup | Pillen | +55.4 | 336 |
| Banner | Pillen | +75.9 | 324 |
| Logan | Pillen | +78.2 | 321 |
| Thomas | Pillen | +71.2 | 316 |
| Grant | Pillen | +78.1 | 283 |
| Blaine | Pillen | +62.8 | 231 |
| McPherson | Pillen | +80.4 | 230 |
| Arthur | Pillen | +74.9 | 227 |
How the count progressed
Updated
Polls vs result
The last polling average before the vote () against the actual result.
- Mean absolute error
- 1.9 pts
- Error on the winner’s margin
- −3.2 pts
| Candidate | Average | Result | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pillen (R) | 48.4% | 50.8% | −2.4 |
| Walz (D) | 43.0% | 42.2% | +0.8 |
| Lindstrom (I) | — | 4.4% | — |
| (LMN) (I) | 5.3% | 2.7% | +2.6 |
| (AF) (I) | 4.9% | — | — |
Error = average − result, in percentage points. A dash means the party or candidate was missing from the average or the result; it is left out of both errors.
Polling trend
The average of recent polls. Newer polls and more accurate pollsters count more. How it’s calculated
Latest polls
Each poll as published, with its pollster, fieldwork dates, sample size and a link to the source.
How to read a poll
- Sample size is how many people were asked. More people means less random error, never none.
- ±3 is the margin of error: the real figure is likely within 3 points either way of the one shown.
- Two polls can differ because they were taken on different dates, with different methods and different samples.
- est. means the institute did not publish a margin of error, so it is estimated from the sample size.
- The average smooths this out: it combines recent polls, so one unusual poll cannot swing the picture.
What the polls say
Pillen (R) leads the polling average in Nebraska on 48.4%, 5.4 points ahead of Walz (D) (43.0%). The biggest shift over the past month is Pillen (R), up 6.3 points.
9 polls from 7 institutes were published in the last 30 days of polling. The most recent is from YouGov, published 1 Nov 2026. The average gives recent and larger polls more weight and counts no institute more than once; read how it works.
Candidates
Who is standing, in order of the polling average, then the result.
- Jim PillenRepublican
- Lynne WalzDemocratic
- Rick Beard (LMN)
- Brett Lindstrom (AF)
- Brett Lindstrom
Forecast
All 2026 racesHow likely each side is to win, according to the main forecasters.
Lean RForecast
Chance of winning: Jim Pillen (R) 79%, Lynne Walz (D) 21%
- Cook Political ReportLean R
- Sabato's Crystal BallLikely R
- Inside ElectionsLikely R
How the forecast has moved
Model
Chance of winning by party, one point per daily snapshot.
Show all 7 forecasters
VoteHub
ElectIndex
CM Election Predictions
America First Insight
Kalshi
Polymarket
PredictIt
Rating changes
- PredictIt:Safe RLikely R3 Nov
- Model:Likely RLean R28 Oct
- Cook Political Report:Likely RLean R28 Oct
- Fox News:Safe RLikely R28 Oct
- CM Election Predictions:Safe RLikely R20 Oct
- Cook Political Report:Safe RLikely R20 Oct
- Inside Elections:Safe RLikely R20 Oct
Government
Who governs Nebraska now.
Jim Pillen
Governor of Nebraska