Nebraska Primary Facts and Figures

The Nebraska primary is May 13, 2008.

Presidential Primary Winners

Democrats

• 1988: Michael Dukakis
• 1992: Bill Clinton
• 1996: Bill Clinton
• 2000: Al Gore
• 2004: John F. Kerry

Republicans

• 1988: George H.W. Bush
• 1992: George H.W. Bush
• 1996: Bob Dole
• 2000: George W. Bush
• 2004: George W. Bush (unopposed)

Sources:
Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections
Nebraska Election Administration

October 2006 General Election Voter Registration Data

• Registered voters: 1,138,069
• Registered Democrats: 370,600 (33% of total)
• Registered Republicans: 572,869 (50% of total)
• Nonpartisan: 187,004 (16% of total)

Source:
Nebraska Election Administration

General Election Winners—1988-2004

• 1988: George H.W. Bush
• 1992: George H.W. Bush
• 1996: Bob Dole
• 2000: George W. Bush
• 2004: George W. Bush

Sources:
Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections
Nebraska Election Administration

Exit Poll Demographics

2004 General Election

Sex

• Male: 48%
• Female: 52%

Race

• White: 95%
• African-American: 2%
• Latino: 2%
• Asian: 0%

Age

• 18-29: 17%
• 30-44: 25%
• 45-59: 34%
• 60 and older: 24%

"Are you a white conservative Protestant?"

• Yes: 26%
• No: 74%

Source:
CNN

3 Things You Didn't Know About Nebraska Primaries

1. For the first time in history, Nebraska's registered Democrats held a caucus to determine voters' presidential preferences on Feb. 9, 2008, far in advance of the scheduled primary. The May 13, 2008, primary will allocate delegates only for the Republican candidates.

2. In the 1976 primary, native son Gerald Ford banked on winning Nebraska against Ronald Reagan. On a campaign swing through Nebraska, he greeted enthusiastic crowds, saying, "It's great to be in Omaha—and I hope the feeling is mutual." At the polls a few days later, however, Nebraska Republicans voted for Reagan by a 55-to-45 margin. Perhaps it was noted that while Ford was born in Omaha, he lived there for only 16 days before his mother fled a bad marriage, eventually settling in Michigan.

3. Former Minnesota Gov. Harold E. Stassen was the first to really exploit the power of a primary, and he demonstrated that power in Nebraska in 1948. Stassen, a Republican, used a delegate-oriented campaign theme: The power to decide the nomination should belong to the voters, not hand-picked delegates. With his grass-roots methods and efficient campaigning, Stassen handily defeated Thomas E. Dewey, Robert A. Taft, Earl Warren, Douglas MacArthur, and others in the Nebraska presidential primary. In its post-primary editorial, "A Major Contender," the Omaha World Herald attributed Stassen's victory to his "hard hand-shaking and campaigning over a long period of time."

Sources:
The Associated Press
Nebraska State Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society