FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

April 21, 2026

State Senators Send Open Letter Reaffirming Their Support for John Cavanaugh and Pushing Back on Misleading Attacks Against Him

Omaha, NE – Today, six Nebraska State Senators released an open letter to voters to stand with John Cavanaugh and help educate Nebraskans on the stakes of this election.

See the full letter HERE.

The full text of the letter is as follows:

We stand with John Cavanaugh because we can protect the Blue Dot and existing abortion access, while sending a strong, experienced legislator to Congress.

To Nebraskans who want a strong firewall in Congress and in the Nebraska Legislature to hold President Trump and Governor Pillen accountable – we don’t have to choose one, but we do have to work together to accomplish both. 

We firmly believe that Democrats will pick up legislative seats in 2026, which will offset the loss of John after he flips the Second Congressional District blue. 

While a historically unpopular President will help us flip seats, we also have dedicated, community-rooted candidates who are supported by volunteers, donors, and their communities. We know finger pointing doesn’t win races, canvassing neighborhoods does. We know that spending enormous amounts of money to tear down John would be better invested in supporting legislative candidates to strengthen, not crack, our Unicameral firewall.

To imply that we won’t pick up even a single seat is a slap in the face to every single volunteer, donor, and candidate who is putting themselves out there and working hard to flip a seat in November.

As Democrats serving in a super-minority, we stop bad legislation through strategy, building strong relationships with our Republican colleagues, and the support of the public. It is disingenuous to boil the fate of Nebraska down to one person.  

When it comes to abortion, voters made their intent clear at the ballot box, and now a 12 week ban is in our state’s constitution. Lawmakers cannot change the constitution without the voters weighing in via ballot initiative once again.

We support our friend and colleague Senator John Cavanaugh in his run for Congress because we know Nebraska voters are smart, tired of the noise, and want the same things we want: strong public schools, access to reproductive freedom, and real solutions to the affordability crisis. That’s why John stepped forward to bring his experience to the next level in Congress.

We endorse John because he is the best person to represent Nebraskans in Congress. We see him work across the aisle, while still holding strong on his values, and know he will enact real change in Washington.

Nebraska Democrats do not have to choose between picking up seats in the Nebraska legislature and holding Trump accountable in Congress. 

Signed,

Senator Machaela Cavanaugh

Senator Danielle Conrad

Senator George Dungan

Senator Terrell McKinney

Senator Victor Rountree

Senator Ashlei Spivey

In response to questions about the Blue Dot, John Cavanaugh responded:

“Since joining the Legislature, I have helped lead the progressive fight to secure the blue dot and protect reproductive rights. Democrats do not have to choose between standing up to Trump and protecting our Blue Dot. With strong Democrats running this cycle, I believe we will pick up seats in November, giving us more votes to protect the Blue Dot and reproductive healthcare.”