All ballots in Custer County have been counted, and Election Commissioner Constance Gracey has released the official results of the 2022 midterm general election. Like several counties across the state, Custer had a respectable voter turnout for a midterm election. Of the 7,781 registered voters in the county, 4,524 cast a ballot resulting in a 58.14% voter turnout.

The one contested race in the Village of Callaway was for District 180 Board of Education, where Kay Fahnholz was added to the ballot as a write-in candidate following the May primaries. However, Fahnholz fell short of her bid to gain a seat on the board. Official results from the Custer County Clerk’s office show incumbent T.R. Anderson with 431 votes, current board president Liana Hrupek with 316, Vincent Guthrie with 315, and Fahnholz with 215.

For the Village Board of Callaway the three incumbents, Lawrence Paulsen, Mark Kimball and Abe Hinman, ran unopposed. All three will remain on the board.

The other ballot issues of local interest to Callaway residents included a vote for a bond not to exceed $4 million for a new swimming pool. The bond passed by a final count of 154 to 108. Callaway residents also voted in favor of retaining the 1% city sales tax for economic development, 183 to 75, and in favor of the Village economic development plan for using those sales tax funds 172 to 89.

Here is a look at Custer County voting numbers in state and local races.

Democratic candidate David Else was no match for Republican incumbent Adrian Smith for the District 3 congressional seat, as Smith earned 3,698 votes to 413 for Else. The margin in the gubernatorial race was nearly as wide with Republicans Pillen and Kelly garnering 3,562 votes compared to 561 for Democrats Blood and Davis. In the other three contested state races, treasurer, auditor of public accounts and attorney general, the Republican candidates cruised to easy victory.

The majority of the county races were uncontested, including representatives to the Board of Supervisors for Districts 1, 3 and 5 where Anne Gibbons, Barry Fox and Chip Blowers ran unopposed for those seats. For the District 7 seat, Sara Parliament won the vote over Donna Hoblyn-Bittner, 409 - 248. All other Custer County seats were uncontested.

The State Board of Education has received a great deal of attention in the past year, following the introduction of a first draft for State Health Standards. Though the standards have been scrapped, at least for now, the heated issues seemingly took a toll on the re-election campaign of incumbent District 7 board member Robin Stevens. Challenger Elizabeth Tegtmeier waged a grassroots campaign that gained a great deal of steam during the few months prior to the election, and Tegtmeier easily won the vote in Custer County, 2,726 to 984 for Stevens.

Unofficial results in Stevens’ home county of Dawson also have Tegtmeier with a huge victory of 3,090 votes to 1,822 for Stevens. Statewide Tegtmeier has garnered more than twice as many votes as Stevens, with Nebraska voters casting 52,811 votes for Tegtmeier and 22,043 for Stevens.

Another familiar local face, Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg, was running for a seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents representing District 7. Williams easily defeated opponent Kathy Wilmot in Custer County, 2,238 to 1,661. Williams pulled out a narrow victory in his home county of Dawson, with 2,855 votes to Wilmot’s 2,248. Statewide the race was close, with unofficial results from the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office showing Wilmot with 39,325 votes and Williams with 32,919.

Two local judges will retain their seats, as 2,491 voted yes to retaining Judge Karin Noakes and 2,620 voted yes to retaining Judge Tami Schendt.

Finally, two initiatives affecting all Nebraskans appeared on the ballot; Initiative 432 requires everyone to show a photo ID to vote, and Initiative 433 raises the state’s minimum wage over the next four years. Custer County voters were split on the initiatives, voting in favor of measure 432 by a margin of 3,565 to 725, and against measure 433 by a final vote of 2,607 to 1,707. The unofficial statewide results have both measures easily passing.