Democratic state lawmaker to run against Nebraska Republican Rep. Mike Flood

A Nebraska Democratic state senator is challenging a Republican incumbent in the state 1st Congressional district, a Republican stronghold that could help decide which party controls the U.S. House in 2025.

Sen. Carol Blood confirmed Tuesday she plans to run for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Mike Flood. The two served alongside each other in the Nebraska Legislature.

Blood, who unsuccessfully ran for Nebraska governor against Jim Pillen in 2022, previously represented eastern Sarpy County at the Nebraska State Capitol and once served on the Bellevue City Council. Through her campaign, she said wants to focus on investing in public education and growing Nebraska’s economy by attracting a younger workforce to the state, according to her campaign website.

District 1, which hasn’t been represented by a Democrat since 1967, includes Lincoln, Bellevue, Fremont and Norfolk.

Flood won the congressional seat in a 2022 special election after former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry resigned. Fortenberry was convicted of lying about campaign contributions to federal authorities, but the convictions were reversed after he was prosecuted in California and not in Nebraska or D.C. where he allegedly lied to the FBI.

Flood announced that he filed for re-election Wednesday in a social media post, stating, “I look forward to continuing my work to fix our broken economy, secure the southern border, and ensure our federal government is working for the American people.”

Blood has not yet filed to run with the Secretary of State but will officially kick off her campaign Saturday at the electrical workers’ union hall in Lincoln.

Republicans currently hold one of the smallest majorities ever in the U.S. House. They hold 219 seats to Democrats' 213 but have lost three members since December.

Rep. George Santos of New York was expelled, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California resigned and Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio left to become president of Youngstown State University.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic state lawmaker to run against Nebraska Republican Rep. Mike Flood