Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood won a third term in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District after Democrat Chris Backemeyer conceded Wednesday morning, the Nebraska Examiner, WOWT and KETV reported^1,2,3.

Unofficial results Wednesday showed Flood at 50.1% to Backemeyer’s 46.4% as of 11 a.m., the Examiner said¹. WOWT and KETV put Flood’s lead at about 9,000 votes, with KETV saying 91% of ballots were counted and the race had not been officially called when Backemeyer conceded^2,3.

Flood told supporters at Nebraska Republican Party headquarters in Lincoln that “this seat belongs to the people that live here”¹. He was joined by Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts and other statewide Republicans^1,2.

Backemeyer said in a statement that supporters had sent a message that “the status quo isn’t good enough,” congratulated Flood and said it had been an honor to be the nominee^1,2.

Flood won reelection in 2024 by about 20 percentage points^1,3. He attributed the tighter 2026 margin to voter anger over affordability, beyond typical midterm headwinds for the president’s party¹.

KETV noted Flood, in office since 2022, also defeated Libertarian Nik Sandman and America First Party candidate Daniel Hartong³. Flood chairs the Republican Main Street Caucus and previously served as speaker of the Nebraska Legislature³.

Fischer said she was pleased most Nebraska GOP incumbents would return even as she lamented Harding’s loss to Denise Powell in the 2nd District¹. Ricketts described the state’s Republican hold as a “firewall,” the Examiner reported¹.

Flood said he hoped a farm bill, the National Defense Authorization Act and other measures could move in a lame-duck session². He said it was hard to predict the seat’s path in two years because federal races track the national mood¹.

Official certified totals for Nebraska’s 1st District were not in these reports^1,2,3.