LINCOLN — Former President Joe Biden is coming to Nebraska next month for the Democratic state party’s top annual fundraising event.
It will be one of the few public appearances for Biden since he dropped out of the 2024 presidential election amid concerns from party leaders over his electability following a debate performance against then-former President Donald Trump.
Biden in 2010 visited Nebraska to campaign for then-Democratic congressional nominee Tom White while Biden was vice president. He also visited the state in 2017 and 2019. He never visited Nebraska during his presidency, breaking a streak of presidents appearing in the state. But he did visit neighboring Council Bluffs during his 2020 campaign.
Presidential hopeful Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear earlier this year announced a visit to Nebraska in November. This continues the trend of prominent Democratic figures making their way to the heartland – particularly Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, where it is likely the open seat will decide which party controls the U.S. House for the next two years.
Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his “Fighting Oligarchy” nationwide tour in Omaha. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz hosted a Democratic town hall earlier this year, and former Texas U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke had a similar town hall in August.
The 2nd District’s single presidential electoral vote has swung from Republican to Democratic in recent years, most recently to former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Nebraska could regain the national spotlight in 2026 with the open seat and Dan Osborn’s nonpartisan Senate bid against Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts.
The midterms are emerging as crucial for the state Democratic party as it tries to find an opening. The events with prominent Democratic figures appear aimed at energizing the Nebraska Democratic base for the midterms, and come when two federal races could be competitive.
The party has had some recent successes, including Democrat John Ewing Jr.’s defeat of three-term GOP incumbent Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert earlier this year. The party is looking to win a congressional seat for the first time since former U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford in 2017 and make gains in the Nebraska Legislature, where Republicans have gained a legislative supermajority.