Chris Dunker, Shelly Kulhanek, Lincoln Journal Star —
Incumbent state Sen. Rob Clements easily outpaced three challengers to win the District 2 primary Tuesday.
The Elmwood banker, insurance agent and tax preparer received 54.1% of the votes with Sarah Slattery of Plattsmouth coming in second with 23.1%.
Both Clements and Slattery will advance to the November general election, outpacing Janet Chung of Lincoln, who finished with 17%, and Schuyler Windham, who received 5.7%.
"I'm pleased with the results, especially since my district changed from what it was four years ago," Clements said Tuesday night.
Appointed to the Legislature by Gov. Pete Ricketts in 2017, Clements won election to a four-year term in 2018.
But during the 2021 redistricting effort, District 2 shifted from comprising all of Cass County and a portion of Sarpy and Otoe counties, to extending to the west into Lancaster County.
The district now stretches as far west as 70th Street between A and Van Dorn streets.
Despite the changing district, Clements was leading when the early returns from Lancaster County were announced at 8 p.m., carrying 42.2% of the vote. His lead crept upward as more precincts finished their count.
"I've worked hard to get introduced (in Lancaster County) and had a good response," he said, but added the results were "somewhat surprising."
