ELLEN MORTENSEN

We are now less than three weeks away from the General Election, and early voting has begun. In an effort to keep our readers informed, we will be presenting information on candidates and issues facing the voters of Dawson County on Nov. 8.

As of Oct. 3, there were a total of 27,681 registered voters in District 43 - which Custer County now lies in due to redistricting. Breaking down those numbers by party, it is no surprise that the highest percentage of registered voters in the district are registered Republicans as Nebraska has notoriously been predominantly a red state. In our particular district - which encompases all of Custer, Blaine, Loup, Garfield, Brown, Rock, Keya Paha, Boyd, Cherry, Sheridan and Dawes counties - Republican voters outnumber Democrats more than 6:1. What may be surprising, however, is the number of nonpartisan registered voters there are in District 43; 3,510. That is 200 voters more than registered Democrats; which may be an indication that many Americans are choosing to distance themselves from either of the established parties.

If you have not yet registered to vote in the General Election, time is running out. The deadline for in-person voter registrations is Oct. 28. In-person early voting must be done by Nov. 7. Mail-in early voting ballots must be in the hands of the county clerk or election commissioner by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8.

Unlike in the primaries, voters in the General Election receive a ballot that lists all candidates for the office, regardless of party affiliation. The ballot we will all receive will include three candidates for District 3 US House of Representatives, and three pairs of candidates for Governor/Lt. Governor.

For the House of Representatives, David J. Else and Mark Elworth, Jr. are running against incumbent Adrian Smith, who has served in Congress since 2006. The gubernatorial candidates are: Jim Pillen-Gov., Joe Kelly-Lt. Gov.; Carol Blood-Gov., Al Davis-Lt. Gov.; and Scott Zimmerman-Gov., Jason Blumenthal-Lt. Gov. The other state offices include Secretary of State, where incumbent Bob Evnen is running unopposed, and State Treasurer, which is a race between incumbent John Murante and Katrina Tomsen. Attorney General Doug Peterson is not seeking to retain his seat, which will be filled by either MIke Hilgers or Larry Bolinger. Three candidates are seeking to fill the role as Nebraska’s next Auditor of Public Accounts - Mike Foley, Gene Siadek and L. Leroy Lopez. The office of Public Service Commissioner for District 5 will also appear on the Dawson County ballots, and is unopposed.

None of the offices for Custer County are being challenged; as any of the contested races were decided in the primary. Each county office on the General Election ballot has just one candidate.

One of the most hotly contested races on the regional level is that of State Board of Education representing District 7. Incumbent Robin Stevens of Gothenburg is being challenged for that seat by Elizabeth Tegtmeier. Matt Williams has exhausted his time as Senator and is seeking to serve on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents as the District 7 representative. Kathy Wilmot is also vying for that seat.

On the local level, Callaway voters will have three special issues on the ballot: a bond not to exceed $4 million for a new swimming pool; the continuation of the 1% city sales tax for economic development; and the Village economic development plan for using those sales tax funds.

For Board of Education Callaway District 180, three names appear on the ballot. Incumbents TR Anderson and Liana Hrupek are seeking re-election, and those seats are being challenged by Vincent Guthrie and write-in candidate Kay Fahnholz.

For the Oconto Village Board three names appear on the ballot: Blake Fedderson, Jared Eggleston and Tim Pflaster. With three seats needing to be filled all three will become board members, unless someone happens to garner more write-in votes than one of the candidates who filed.

Next week we will introduce you to the candidates for Callaway Board of Education.