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Two Covenanters Lose Political Bids
OMAHA, NE (November 8, 2000) - Republican Don Stenberg, a member of First Covenant Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, lost a close contest for a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Tuesday's general election, edged out by Democrat Ben Nelson, a former two-term governor.
Fewer than 12,000 votes separated the candidates – 330,366 for Nelson to 318,368 for Stenberg (see accompanying photo). A recount is possible, though not likely given the fact that the margin of victory is expected to exceed Nebraska's automatic recount threshold of one percent, or approximately 3,400 votes.
Stenberg's staff eagerly anticipated a major upset, given poll trends showing erosion of Nelson's support in the closing weeks of the campaign. In September an Omaha World Herald poll gave Nelson a 20 percent lead. By the October 29 poll, the lead had narrowed to 12 percentage points.
The close vote should not have come as a surprise, given the state's political history. Stenberg was declared the loser in his 1990 primary bid for the Republican attorney general nomination before late votes from smaller counties pushed him on to victory. In 1990, Nelson won the Democratic nomination for governor by an incredible 41-vote margin, going on to win the general election by a narrow 4,300-vote margin.
Illinois Republican Carl Hawkinson of Galesburg, a North Park College (University) graduate, lost his state Supreme Court contest to Democrat Thomas Kilbride. A member of Galesburg Covenant Church, Hawkinson is a 13-year veteran of the Illinois Senate (47th District,) chairing the judiciary committee. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983-1987.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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