Morning Digest: Why this Democrat-turned-Republican is challenging a GOP incumbent

Democrats also think they have an opening in one of 2025's top races

Democrat-turned-Republican Mike McDonnell is the newest candidate for mayor of Omaha (credit: Nebraska Legislature)

Leading Off

Omaha, NE Mayor

State Sen. Mike McDonnell has launched his long-anticipated campaign to take on a fellow Republican, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, in next year's officially nonpartisan election to lead Nebraska's largest city.

But McDonnell, who left the Democratic Party in April, isn't the only candidate hoping to deny Stothert a historic fourth term. Two Democrats, Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing and nonprofit leader Jasmine Harris, announced bids earlier this year, and it's possible the field could grow larger before candidate filing closes on Feb. 28.

All contenders will face off on April 1, and the top two vote-getters will advance to a May 13 general election. Omaha, unlike many other municipalities, does not allow candidates to avoid a second round of voting if they win a majority in the primary.

While McDonnell is naturally emphasizing local issues, including his call for a referendum on the future of a proposed downtown streetcar project, he's twice attracted national attention over the last two years.

In 2023, when he was still a Democrat, McDonnell provided the crucial vote that gave Republicans the two-thirds majority they needed to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster and pass a 12-week abortion ban. (While elections to the 49-member unicameral legislature are also officially nonpartisan, Republicans have dominated the body for decades.)

McDonnell cited his opposition to abortion rights when he joined the GOP the next year, though his position as head of the Omaha Federation of Labor meant that he still retained ties to a vital Democratic constituency. It also put him in an uncomfortable position in September when Donald Trump and Republican Gov. Jim Pillen called for lawmakers to change the law that awards presidential candidates an electoral vote for each congressional district they carry.

Both parties put enormous pressure on McDonnell at a time when it appeared that Kamala Harris' lead in the Omaha-based 2nd District could potentially decide the presidential election.

His plans to challenge Stothert, whom he'd battled when he was the city's fire chief, also added to the unfolding drama. Democrats, reported NBC, made sure McDonnell saw a poll showing "just how much his chances of winning a mayoral race improved if he didn't go along with Trump."

The senator ultimately came out in opposition to changing Nebraska's unusual system, which only one other state, Maine, also uses. Harris went on to carry the 2nd District by a 52-47 spread, though the district's lone electoral vote didn't make the difference in the end.

McDonnell, who could not run for reelection because of term limits, launched his bid against Stothert by highlighting his support from members of both parties. One of his Democratic backers is former Mayor Mike Fahey, who lost reelection to Stothert in 2013.

Ewing, for his part, was first elected to his post as Douglas County treasurer in 2006. He took on Republican Rep. Lee Terry in 2012 in a previous version of the 2nd District and lost 51-49, but he had no trouble winning another three terms as treasurer.

Jasmine Harris, who like Ewing would be the first Black person to be elected mayor, previously sought the office in 2021. Stothert took first in that year's primary with 57%, while Democrat RJ Neary outpaced Harris 16-14 for the second spot in the general election. Stothert went on to easily secure a third term by beating Neary 64-35 in the second round.

Election Results

MS Supreme Court

A hotly contested runoff for the Mississippi Supreme Court was too close to call when we put the Digest to bed after midnight, with Republican state Sen. Jenifer Branning leading Justice Jim Kitchens, a long-serving moderate, by about 2,500 votes out of roughly 120,000 cast.

That margin comes from Mississippi Free Press reporter Ashton Pittman and included votes not yet included in the Associated Press' totals, which had Branning ahead by a smaller 500-vote edge. But an unknown number of votes remained uncounted even going by Pittman's tally, including all votes in heavily Democratic Holmes County, which had reported nothing at all.

Branning and Kitchens are competing for an eight-year term in the swingy 1st District, which runs across the middle of the state and includes its bluest counties as well as its largest, Hinds, home of the capital of Jackson. Kamala Harris carried the district by 213 votes on Nov. 5, a margin of 49.5% to 49.4%, while Branning led Kitchens 41-36 in the first round of voting that same day.

Governors

MI-Gov

State Sen. Jonathan Lindsay tells longtime political writer Tim Skubick he's interested in seeking the GOP nomination for governor of Michigan. Lindsay, a Green Beret veteran who first won elected office in 2022, adds that he'll make up his mind early next year.

If this is the first time you've heard about Lindsay, you're not alone. Skubick writes that "he has zero statewide persona, let alone name ID with the electorate."

NY-Gov & New York, NY Mayor

Rep. Ritchie Torres will decide sometime in mid-2025 whether he'll challenge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in the following year's Democratic primary, he tells the New York Post. Torres also didn't dismiss the idea that he could run for mayor of New York City next year instead, though he indicated the governorship was more appealing to him.

Meanwhile, former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals three years ago, is "preparing to launch a mayoral bid soon," according to unnamed sources who spoke with Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel. A Cuomo spokesperson responded by calling the reporting "premature" in a statement but also recited a long list of accomplishments claimed by Cuomo during his time in office.

House

FL-01

Wealthy businessman Keith Gross dropped out of the special election for the 1st District on Monday and threw his support behind Donald Trump's endorsed candidate, Jimmy Patronis, Florida's chief financial offer. Former state Rep. Frank White, likewise, decided to back Patronis rather than enter the race against him, and Sen. Rick Scott also got behind him on Tuesday. Several other Republicans, however, are still running in the Jan. 28 primary.

FL-06

State Sen. Randy Fine confirmed Tuesday morning that he was entering the special GOP primary for Florida's 6th District, prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson to quickly join Donald Trump in endorsing his candidacy.

Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini also announced Tuesday that he wouldn't run against Fine even as labeled his would-be opponent a "sweaty America-Last RINO" and a "sociopath with no integrity."

Florida's resign-to-run law means that it's now too late for any current elected officials to join the race, since the deadline to submit an irrevocable letter of resignation has now passed. (Fine's resignation will take effect on March 31.) However, other hopefuls have until Dec. 7 to join the contest for this Daytona-area constituency.

The primaries in the race to replace Rep. Mike Waltz, who says he'll resign on Jan. 20 to become Trump's national security adviser, will take place on Jan. 28, though the GOP nominee should have no trouble in the April 1 general election. With Trump's blessing, Fine is now the favorite, though at least one other notable Republican, Waltz district director Ernest Audino, is still running.

Fine, who successfully sought a promotion out of the state House earlier this month, attracted national attention in 2023 when he announced that he was switching his endorsement in the presidential primary from his home-state governor, Ron DeSantis, to Trump.

Fine, the only Jewish Republican in the legislature, had served as DeSantis' Jewish outreach chair during the governor's tight 2018 election campaign, and the two had appeared to be close allies. But Fine painted a very different picture of their relationship in an op-ed in the Washinton Times explaining why he was abandoning DeSantis.

"In 2020, I had an open anti-Semite run against me," Fine wrote. "So many Republican leaders came to my defense; Governor DeSantis did not. He didn’t even endorse me."

Fine's defection stunned the state GOP, with one colleague in the legislature telling the Washington Post, "I literally can’t believe it." Trump, though, was all too happy to embrace his new supporter and endorse his bid for an open seat in the state Senate this year.

Many voters in the 6th District won't be familiar with any of this backstory, though, as Fine has never appeared on their ballots. That's because neither Fine's old state House district nor his new Senate district overlaps with the congressional district he's now running for.

Fine also doesn't live in the 6th, though members of the House are not required to reside in the districts they represent. Trump's pick for the vacant 1st District, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, also doesn't live in his would-be constituency, though unlike Fine, Patronis has successfully run statewide.

Ballot Measures

AK Ballot

Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican whose office oversees elections in Alaska, says she plans to conduct a recount of a ballot measure to repeal the state's ranked-choice voting system that was narrowly defeated earlier this month.

Ballot Measure 2, which would also eliminate Alaska's unique top-four primary, fell short by just 664 votes, with 49.9% voting in favor and 50.1% against. A recount cannot be formally requested until results are certified, which the Anchorage Daily News' Sean Maguire says should happen Saturday, though the state GOP says it plans to seek one.