Fortenberry defeats Bolz for Nebraska's 1st Congressional district
LINCOLN, Neb. — It was a close race and it took a little longer to count than normal but the votes say Republican Jeff Fortenberry will retain his seat after fending off a close challenge from the Democrat Kate Bolz.
After polls closed at 8PM and the results started coming in things at first did not look good for the incumbent Congressman, who was down almost double digits when results were first posted. But as the count continued that deficit slowly turned into a comfortable lead for Fortenberry.
"Look every single race you run in its your first race its not like you can carry any other ones from the past in it so of course things get anxious," said Fortenberry after his victory Tuesday night.
Fortenberry commended his challenger Kate Bolz on the close race and said he felt the deciding factor came down to voters wanting a candidate with more experience in Washington.
"This was really about building Nebraska and leading America. We have a substantive amount of experience now in public policy and bringing results home. Particularly about protecting jobs, protecting our streets and keeping us safe. And earning the trust because this is my home," said Fortenberry.
With his victory Fortenberry said he can now shift his focus to his upcoming term as the 1st district representative and continue his work in Washington to make Nebraska communities safer from the dangers he says they face like the pandemic and social unrest.
"We have to make America safe again. Safe from COVID, safe from violence, safe from foreign adversary's and safe for what is the coming rebirth of America's small business opportunity. That's all very exciting," said Fortenberry.
With a win tonight Congressman Fortenberry is headed back to Washington for his 9th term as the 1st district's representative and he says he plans on wasting no time on getting back to the big issues facing Americans like national security and the COVID pandemic. STD
