ELECTION 2026: NE 20th Legislative District race features incumbent, challenger

OMAHA, Neb. — Four years after State Sen. John Fredrickson won Nebraska’s closest legislative election of the cycle by 82 votes, voters in Central and West Omaha are once again deciding who will represent District 20 in the Nebraska Legislature.

Incumbent Sen. Fredrickson, an Omaha native, is seeking reelection against challenger Chris Anderson, a retired Air Force veteran. Now, both candidates are knocking on doors across the district in the closing stretch before Election Day.

Anderson retired last year after 31 years in the Air Force. He has been campaigning in neighborhoods including Westgate, while Fredrickson has been talking with voters in areas including Sunset Hills.

Among the issues both candidates are hearing about is property taxes.

According to Nebraska Department of Revenue data, Douglas County had the state's highest average property tax rate last year.

"What we don't do is what the governor's been proposing, which is giving some of the largest tax breaks to the wealthiest Nebraskans," Fredrickson said.

He said he supports targeted relief for "folks who are retirees, folks on fixed incomes."

"I want to reduce property taxes, get some fiscal responsibility," Anderson said.

Anderson said his plan is to limit the annual tax rate increase to 5 percent.

He is also pitching his status as a political newcomer as an asset, arguing voters are frustrated by political division and elected officials' inability to find common ground.

“People are tired of the division in our country,” Anderson said.

When asked specifically how he would address that division, Anderson acknowledged the difficulty of the issue and said some of it comes from national politics.

“But I think part of it is because people are tired of elected officials not finding common ground,” Anderson said.

Fredrickson, meanwhile, is asking voters to look at his record in the Nebraska Legislature as he seeks another term. He said he stands up for the voters in his district.

"By listening to them, by prioritizing their interests, by pushing back against tax increases on them, by ensuring things are affordable for them, by not just doing whatever the governor asks," Fredrickson said.

Both candidates say they plan to continue knocking on doors across central and west Omaha in the lead-up to Election Day.

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