The 2025 primary election has concluded, however, approximately 7,000 votes are yet to be tallied. KETV examines the current results and anticipates what might happen in the forthcoming general election.
The Douglas County Election Commissioner indicates that the vote tally was tight between the current mayor, Jean Stothert, and challenger John Ewing, Jr.
Subscribe to our NewslettersExamining the figures provided by the Douglas County Election Commissioner, the race for mayor appears to have been closely contested between the current mayor, Jean Stothert, and her challenger, John Ewing, Jr.
In 2025, the top three contenders for votes were as follows:
- Jean Stothert - 25,056 votes
- John Ewing - 21,623 votes
- Mike McDonnell - 13,859 votes
This isn’t the first time Stothert has encountered a tight vote tally in the primaries against another contender. The most closely contested election was in 2017 when he competed against Heath Mello. Presently, he serves as both the president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber.
In 2017, the vote counts for the top two candidates were:
- Jean Stothert - 25,501 votes
- Heath Mello - 24,155 votes
An additional aspect to highlight is campaign financing. Stothert and McDonnell topped the list with the highest number of contributions overall, yet the incumbent was ahead in receiving the largest quantity of smaller donations for her campaign.
Funding sources for campaigns of the leading three contenders:
- Jean Stothert - $423,487.83
- John Ewing - $81,026.50
- Mike McDonnell - $282,544.58
The Douglas County Election Commission continues to tally the votes, with updates expected sometime after lunchtime on Friday.
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READ THE FULL STORY: Omaha main election: Insights from the statistics
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