FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 16, 2026
CONTACT: Campaign@BackNebraska.com
BREAKING: Inside Elections and Cook Political Report Shift NE-01 in Chris Backemeyer’s Direction as Momentum Surges
Race raters move Nebraska’s First District as polls show Backemeyer leading Flood
Lincoln — On back-to-back days, two of the nation’s leading race raters, Inside Elections and Cook Political Report, upgraded Nebraska’s First District from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican,” signaling that the race is moving in Chris Backemeyer’s direction.
The shifts come as multiple polls show Backemeyer taking the lead over incumbent Mike Flood. A recent outside poll from Global Strategy Group shows Backemeyer ahead 49% to 45% head-to-head. The lead holds when third-party candidates are included, with Backemeyer up one point.
In its analysis, Inside Elections wrote: “…[C]ontinued voter frustration over Trump’s tariff and agriculture policy, and high costs driven by the Iran War, have put this race in play.”
Backemeyer, a former national security expert, released the following statement:
“Nebraska families are working hard and still falling behind, while Mike Flood keeps voting for the tariffs and the war driving up their costs. Families deserve a representative who puts them first, not one who rubber-stamps a failed agenda. This campaign is about changing that, and we’re building the momentum to do it.”
In August, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) added NE-01 to its “Districts in Play” list, the first time the district has appeared on it in 20 years.
Backemeyer is on the air with a six-figure TV and digital ad buy highlighting Flood’s unrelenting support for reckless tariff policies that are raising prices and hurting farmers, and for the Iran War, which is raising fuel prices, adding $1 billion a day to the national debt, and putting the country at greater security risk.
Watch the ad here.
About Chris
For more than two decades, Chris served at the highest levels of national security and economic policy in the U.S. Department of State and the White House National Security Council. Now, he’s running for Congress to serve the state that shaped him, fighting for working families, expanding opportunity, and building a better future for all Nebraskans.
To learn more about Chris and his campaign, please visit www.BackNebraska.com.
For a high-resolution headshot of Chris, please click here.
