Ben Nelson
Coming right up on 8:00 as you can see. We can show you the first numbers starting with Nebraska's Senate race. Ben Nelson leading Don Stenberg with 53% of the vote right now.
After the first vote totals were announced, the Senate race was much closer than expected. The most recent "Omaha World-Herald" poll showed Ben Nelson up by 12 percentage points. But at 8:00, the former Governor's lead over Attorney General Don Stenberg was just half that, and that's as large as it would be all night. Supporters at both election parties were confident.
This is great. It's just excitement in the air and you can feel it just building.
I think he will stay ahead. I believe he will stay ahead.
As the night wore on and the votes were totaled, the race got closer and closer. Supporters on both sides settled in for a long night of waiting, watching, and worrying.
[Gov. Mike Johanns] "I walked in here and I didn't see anyone had brought their sleeping bags. You're going to need your sleeping bags tonight."
It wasn't long before empty cups and bottles outnumbered those attending the campaign party gathering. Even the band at Nelson's party called it a night.
[Crowd Member] "We're tearing down. This is past the band's bedtime. [cheering]..."
All the while, Nelson's lead continued to diminish. Cheers erupted at the Stenberg party each time new numbers were posted. At one point he even held a small lead, but the numbers were misleading.
[Anne Boyle, Chair NE Democratic Party] The voting machines in Douglas County have not been operating since 8:00 tonight so the numbers that you are seeing do not include any new numbers from Douglas County.
A problem in the Election Commissioner's office delayed the counting of votes from Douglas County. More ballots from Republican strongholds like the 3rd District were showing up in the numbers. Ballots from Omaha where Nelson's support is strong weren't.
[Boyle] "What's the total now?"
Telson camp grew more confident as more information came in. In a hallway far away from the hoopla of the gathering, long-time Nelson associate Sonny Foster gathered his own results calling county election offices.
[Sonny Foster] "It looks like all the bad counties are in for us, all the ones that would be bad for us."
After the problem was fixed in Douglas County, Nelson's lead grew. Long after midnight, the race was over.
[Crowd] "Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben."
A tired Anne Boyle introduced Nelson after several media outlets declared him the winner.
[Boyle] "At 1:00 in the morning, Ben, I'm tired..."
[Diane Nelson] "It's 2:00."
[Boyle] "Is it 2:00? Anyway, Senator Ben Nelson and Diane Nelson, it is great to have you here. Thank you."
[Ben Nelson] "Even though I haven't heard from my opponent, I think we have heard from the people of Nebraska and I think they have spoken and I am pleased. Thank you very much."
For Democrats, it was reminiscent of a race 10 years ago. Running for governor, Nelson won the primary by just 41 votes after a recount. He then won the general election by only 4,000 votes. This time the margin was about 12,000 votes by the time the victory cigars were lit. Nelson says a bipartisan approach made the difference.
[Nelson] "I do believe the people of Nebraska have spoken and I think I have heard them very loudly and clearly and I hope that we will be able to take the bipartisan centrist message to Washington if this lead holds and be able to do things that will be valuable for people for agriculture and for healthcare and all the issues that are so very important."
[Chuck Sigerson, Chair NE Republican Party] "We're going to wait until all the votes are counted."
The next morning Stenberg conceded the race to Nelson at a news conference.
[Don Stenberg] "I called Ben Nelson a little after 10:00 A.M. this morning and congratulated him on his victory in the U.S. Senate race. The people of Nebraska have made their decision and I respect that decision."
Throughout the campaign, Stenberg banked on Nebraskans supporting a Bush-Hagel-Stenberg team. Surrounded by tearful campaign workers at the news conference, Stenberg said he doesn't regret this strategy.
[Stenberg] "Nebraska voters have a history of splitting their tickets. I think we had the right strategy. As I said I wouldn't have run the campaign any differently. If we had it to do all over again, George Bush and Chuck Hagel and I do, in fact, share the same basic philosophy and the same vision for the future of our nation and wanted to accomplish the same things and it just made sense to run as a team to try and help people understand that that's what we were all about."
For whatever reason, Stenberg's campaign gained ground after being 24 percentage points behind after the primary. With a little more time, one political scientist says the "Vote Republican" strategy may have even lead to a different result.
[John Hibbing, UNL political scientist] "We will never know for sure but my hunch is if the election had been a week or 10 days later that Stenberg would be the next senator."
But the race did end this week. After an election night, those who managed to stay awake into the late hours of Wednesday morning won't forget.
[Scott Hoffman, Nelson Deputy Press Secretary] "It's been a wild ride up and down like a roller coaster but it was well worth the wait."
Reported for Statewide by Mike Tobias.

Elected Candidates
[Ben Nelson] "Well, it was a great tour. Getting out to tell the people thank you and give people an opportunity to know that we're going to go to Washington and exchange some of the partisanship back there for partnerships. That's what we need do."
The day after a long night, former Governor Ben Nelson took a little trip. He reintroduced himself to Nebraskans as Senator-Elect Ben Nelson.
[Nelson] "I think there were just enough, 51%, for example, who felt that my message about bipartisan, working together, reaching across the political divide really resonated and they were ready to take a chance on me and send me to Washington to see if I can pull that off."
Some believe Nelson's philosophy of bipartisan cooperation may be more significant in a Senate where the two parties are essentially even. he N
[John Hibbing, UNL political scientist] "I think he is careful. You know, he's not the kind of guy to go shooting off his mouth. I think he -- his position as a moderate does allow him to work with both Democrats and Republican. I think those would probably be the two assets that come first to mind."
[Mark Bowen, former Senate aide] "If it's going to be 50-50 or 51-49, that will be the discussion on almost every issue is where are you going to build the coalition, who can work together. And Governor Nelson and now Senator Nelson has proved that that's been part of his ability is to bring people together."
Mark Bowen is Chief of Staff for Lincoln Mayor Don Wesley. He spent 11 years in Washington working as an aide to Democrat Senator Jim Exon. He sees a similarity between the two men.
[Bowen] "Senator Exon -- I'm sure, like Senator Nelson, Senator Exon was known for being one of those people in the Senate you could go to and always say what you felt. He worked with both sides. He was known as a friend amongst Republicans as well as the Democrats."
In the 3rd District, voters sent a man with a similar message to Washington. Republican Tom Osborne downplays party labels.
[Dr. John Anderson, UNK political scientist] "I think what he won't be prepared for is when ideology becomes very important in the Republican party as it has on different occasions. And if he wants to get help in the other areas, he's going to have to fall into line and that might not be easy for him to do."
[Tom Osborne] "Thank you very much for everything that you have contributed. Thanks."
Osborne realizes the ways of Washington will test him.
[Osborne] "But I think I will be fine. I know something about the competitive arena. I know something about organization. So I think it won't be quick and easy, but I think over a period of a few months, I will begin to feel comfortable and we'll begin to try to get some things done."
[Doug Bereuter] "J.C. Watt, the former Oklahoma quarterback, came in and I reintroduced him to Tom. He knew him quite well. J.C. said to Coach Osborne -- now, Coach, you know, people don't always do what you tell them to do here."
But Bereuter and others who know Osborne predict he will learn the ropes quickly and become an effective representative. Bruce Rieker led Osborne's campaign and worked for Congressman Bill Barrett.
[Bruce Rieker] "You know, there were people that asked well, is he tough enough to handle Washington? You know, this man has been in Division One football at the highest level that there could be. I think that, you know, all of that has prepared him to handle virtually any situation that comes his way. And yes, he is ready."
[Lee Terry] "The only piece of advice I'd tell him is look, the intelligent people rise to the top and in a body of 435, it just takes a little bit of time so be patient."
As you might expect, Osborne has a plan for his new job.
[Osborne] "Probably would fly in there on a Monday and come back on a Thursday night. Be in the 3rd District on Friday and Saturday. Spend Sunday with my family and then go back and do it again. So it's a lot of travel, a lot of work."
[Johnson] "There is a whole group of members of congress that do it. They're just called the Tuesday-Thursday club. That they basically spend half their time in D.C. and half back in the district. So it's a model that's not unique to him. It's been going on for maybe 20 years now."
Osborne hopes to gain a seat on the Ag Committee and his grassroots approach to policy will begin on the farm. A 16-member advisory board will help him shape ag policy.
[Craig Buescher] "That's a real neat approach I think. I went to this forum in Hastings where they had the initial forum amongst farmers to kind of bring that idea out and to kind of gain some insights. I'd like to be involved in that process and I think farmers need to be."
[John Hanson, Osborne advisor] "It is my opinion that there's probably not too many agriculturalists like myself in this state that know the ag issues like Tom Osborne does today and that's just because he has studied them backwards and forwards."
Ben Nelson says he'd like a spot on the Senate Ag Committee. He plans to take an active role in changing federal farm policy, and strengthening Social Security is high on his list.
[Nelson] "As well as working diligently with others who have now heard enough and talked enough about the prescription drug benefit that maybe we can get something accomplished."
Supporters say Nelson will be a player in the Senate. Meanwhile, the coach will take a seat in the House. They each have eight weeks to come up with a game plan.
Reported for Statewide by Brad Penner.

Initiative 416
[crowd booing] "...Opponents of Initiative 416 react to news that the measure will easily pass. Donna Colley watches closely. The Omaha woman traveled to Vermont last Summer where she and her partner shared vows. She believes the vote could have turned out differently with more time and money."
[Donna Colley] "Disappointed in the sense that we didn't have enough money to get out and educate all the voters all over the state because I genuinely -- well, I know that the vote would have been dramatically different had we had the funds that they had from out of state to educate voters."
Others weren't surprised about the outcome of Initiative 416 but felt personally attacked.
[Joe Hoagbin] "I mean, it hurts me personally deeply and it hurts me about this state of Nebraska that that many folks would be for this amendment to our State Constitution."
[David McCracken] "I'm scared. I mean, I don't know what we're going to do but we will have to think about it. Have to do something."
Over at the Pro 416 headquarters, Guyla Mills expected a big win from the beginning. She continues to say it's not about discrimination.
[Guyla Mills] "I would not be here today, I would not have worked on this issue for four and a half years had homosexuals across the country not tried overnight to redefine the most time-honored tradition on demand and that being marriage."
Mills started working on this issue four years ago after the State legislature debated a bill recognizing same-sex unions. The bill never went anywhere but Guyla kept moving forward.
[Mills] "We knew that this movement that had started in 1996 had enough steam behind it to be propelled to the victory that we have had tonight."
Other supporters say this measure will show people around the nation how important marriage and family is to Nebraskans.
[Dan Parsons] "We're very satisfied and grateful that the Nebraska voters understood the message that to protect marriage is paramount in Nebraska."
Opponents do say there's a positive side to this measure -- many different people brought together for a common cause.
[Colley] "The good side is we're all brought together now. We've kind of learned a lesson about sitting back on our laurels. I think we will be ready for the future as a group now where we weren't before."
But it's not over yet. Opponents predict legal action, possibly a number of lawsuits. Attorney Mike McClellan says the language is too vague and it's discriminatory.
[Mike McClellan] "Based on the fact that it is intended to discriminate against gay and lesbian Nebraskans which means it is separating them into a separate class which is a classic or typical equal protection clause case."
Supporters say they realize it will be challenged but believe the measure is solid and will do their best to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
Reported for Statewide by Andrea Gallagher.