2010 Nebraska Governor - Heineman vs. Meister

Nebraska’s Republican roots run deep. It was one of a handful of states that voted against Franklin Roosevelt twice, and from 1940-2008 it voted for the Democrat only once, when it gave LBJ 52 percent of the vote in 1964.

But its gubernatorial politics are more heterodox. In 2002, Mike Johanns became the first Republican to win a second term since 1954: Republicans won only three of 12 elections from 1958 through 1998. The typical Democratic formula was to have a Republican incumbent raise taxes, allowing a conservative Democrat to sneak through. This year, there are no signs of that happening, and Dave Heineman will almost certainly be handily re-elected against attorney Mike Meister.