Brinker Harding drew endorsements from two Republican and two Democratic Omaha mayors when he first ran for City Council. He touts that the nonpartisan council's Democratic majority elected him, a Republican, as vice president.
He's counting on similarly broad support to drive him to a win in the race for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District.
"I went into this wanting to represent everyone, and I think I have a track record of working with both public- and private-sector people who have different opinions than I do. But we sat down, and we got things done," Harding said.
Throughout the general election campaign, Harding balanced a conservative message that fires up local Republicans and an assurance to voters of all political backgrounds that he would represent them well in Congress.
A commercial real estate agent who has served a decade on the City Council, Harding has not shied away from the national GOP focus on the rise of more progressive, leftist and, in some cases, socialist candidates. Harding has welcomed Republican leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to Omaha, and they have said the Democratic Party is not the party it used to be and is following its left-leaning members.
In debates with Democratic nominee Denise Powell, a communications consultant and founder of a political action committee that supports female candidates, he has said her policy ideas would raise taxes.
He has also turned attention to cultural issues, arguing that she supports sex education in kindergarten and government-funded transgender surgeries for minors. Powell pushed back, saying she is not a Democratic socialist, supports age-appropriate health education and does not support risky surgeries. She also said that is a conversation for families with their doctors.
Harding has sought to link Powell to progressive Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because of past donations. He called Ocasio-Cortez the "queen of socialism" but said he would still try to work with her if elected.
Harding emphasizes his decades of work in Omaha. He grew up in the city and studied business at the University of Kansas and the University of Omaha, now the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He worked for Mayor Hal Daub as his chief of staff before shifting to work in commercial real estate. Harding was first elected to the City Council in 2017. He describes himself as a fourth-generation Nebraskan and frequently mentions his wife and two daughters.
He even featured them in a campaign ad that showed him outnumbered by women in his home but still able to keep the peace and work with the other side. The ad's message focused on working across the aisle to lower prices and on accountability measures for Congress, such as banning Congressional stock trading, blocking pay during a government shutdown and introducing term limits. He later suggested a limit of about 20 years, saying that's a number to negotiate and set collaboratively.
Harding and visiting Republicans have emphasized the One Big, Beautiful Bill as a success, trumpeting its tax exemptions for tips, overtime and Social Security, along with preserving key tax cuts for most working people. They've defended new requirements for supplemental nutrition and Medicaid, saying they established reasonable work, education and volunteering requirements and ensure that the people in need are the ones receiving help.
Harding and his supporters acknowledge higher gas and diesel prices and say they also feel pain at the pump, but stress efforts to ensure Iran can never develop a nuclear weapon.
Powell has said Harding would be a rubber stamp for President Donald Trump, and Harding has pledged to put the district over party.
"If it's good for the district, if it's good for the state. If it's good for the nation, I am going to be that cheerleader to make sure it happens here," Harding said.
Harding has also been quick to highlight where he disagrees with the president.
He joined most Nebraska Republicans in criticizing Trump's boosted beef imports from Argentina, saying that hurts domestic ranchers. He said Trump's tariffs were too broad and should have been applied "surgically." He also called Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin a thug shortly after Trump announced he would buy diesel from Russia and said the president should not limit reporters' access to the White House.
Harding has spoken about helping maintain Republican control of Congress to continue good work, like the OBBB. He has highlighted Trump's efforts to reduce drug costs through most-favored-nation policies that seek to align U.S. drug prices with lower prices in similar countries.
To help healthcare costs, Harding said he favors putting subsidies into health savings accounts and more flexibility for consumers to pool together to negotiate healthcare coverage.
In some ways, Harding has modeled his campaign after Rep. Don Bacon, who is retiring from Congress after 10 years representing CD2. Bacon endorsed Harding and said he is a Republican more aligned than Powell with the mainly moderate district.
"I am 100% behind Brinker," said Bacon. "He has earned (the right) to win this election with his message, and he's earned it with his 40 years of service to this city."
Bacon has won a series of close elections, bucking Democrats' hopes to flip the seat. The district is notoriously purple, voting for Bacon while also supporting Democratic presidential candidates, including Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024.
Harding has called Powell out of touch with the district, highlighting her roots in Miami and her working in Los Angeles prior to moving to Nebraska. He criticized her for receiving "dark money" PAC support in the Democratic primary and for raising lots of money from out of state. Powell has defended her local level of support and, after the primary, acknowledged that the flood of TV ads — from her campaign and outside groups — helped build her name ID.
Powell has raised $3.2 million in total, and Harding's campaign raised $1.4 million. Across all entities in the most recent quarter, Powell drew $2.4 million and Harding raised close to $1.3 million. Harding raised 83% of his funds from Nebraska, whereas donations from Nebraska made up 31% of Powell's fundraising, according to a KETV report. Powell's Nebraska fundraising totals $1 million, and Harding's Nebraska total is $1.2 million.
Harding also brushed aside GOP- and Democrat-aligned PACs pulling money from the race, a possible signal that those entities don't see the race as quite as close as expected. He said the conservative PAC money was "gravy," not essential. "It was certainly additive, but it wasn't something that we were relying on to get our message out," he said.
Part of Harding's message is the city itself. He treats progress in the city as his resume, pointing out the city boosted public safety pay and always keeps a balanced budget, a statutory requirement.
"You look at what's gone on from downtown Omaha to the Elkhorn River. You look at the downtown Riverfront park now. You look at the 72nd and Dodge Main Library now. You look at what we did when I worked for (former mayor) Daub with the West Dodge Expressway," Harding said, noting the city's development that contributed to its rating by Forbes as the best city to move to in America.
Harding doesn't take sole credit for any city projects. He highlights them as examples of working on a good team: "Those were all very complicated issues that not everyone agreed with at the outset. But we found a way to get those things done. And look at what that's done for the city of Omaha."
Eric Michael Foreman is the Libertarian nominee in CD2.
Election Day is Tuesday.