Two candidates were vying for the Grand Island Legislature’s District 35 seat. From left to right: Senator Ray Aguilar (incumbent member) and former Secretary of State Dan Quick. (Photos courtesy of the candidates; Capitol photo by Rebecca Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)
GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska – The final votes have been counted in a legislative rematch race in Nebraska, favoring a former union leader over the incumbent, second-ranking senator.
As of Tuesday evening’s count, former state Sen. Dan Quick continued to lead state Sen. Ray Aguilar. Fast was over 135 voteswhich falls outside the mandatory recount margins. Quick served in the Legislature from 2017 to 2021. In 2020, Aguilar, who had served from 1999 to 2009, defeated Quick to return to the District 35 seat.
Fast, 66, is one retired welder and mechanica former leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1597 and a former member of the Central Community College Board of Governors. In one statement On Tuesday, he thanked voters and Aguilar for his service.
“I want to thank all voters for participating in this election,” Quick said. “I pledge to be a senator who fights for all members of our community, regardless of who they voted for.”
Quick will be the only Democratic representative in the Legislature west of Lincoln as Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont leaves at the end of the year. Aguilar is a registered Republican.
The legislature is officially nonpartisan, although senators sometimes vote along or close to party lines on important issues to end filibusters (which require 33 votes) and advance legislation.
Republicans retained at least 33 seats for the 2025 legislative session after the election.
Aguilar, 77, the longest-tenured lawmaker currently serving in the Legislature, rose from vice chairman to chairman of the Board of Governors in January. The 10-member committee represents the legislature between sessions and serves as the HR department of the legislature.
When Aguilar competed for the chairmanship of the Executive BoardFollowing the resignation of Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, he highlighted his tenure and previous service as chairman of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. He also pledged to “continue to support and lead the institution in a nonpartisan manner in the future.”
Asked about the results, Aguilar said Wednesday: “I would like to thank all the great media friends I have worked with over the years and of course my great staff, now and former staff.”
In 1999, then-Gov. Mike Johanns appointed Aguilar to a legislative vacancy, the first Latino senator in the Legislature. Aguilar was a former school and groundskeeper. Later he had a cleaning service.
About 42% of the district is estimated to be Latino or Hispanic most recent legislative documents. That makes it the third-highest concentration of Hispanic/Latino representation among the state’s 49 legislative districts, behind District 5 in South Omaha (44%) and District 7 in East Omaha (52%).
Sens.-elect Margo Juarez (District 5) and Dunixi Guereca (District 7) won these races this fall. Guereca succeeds the Legislature’s other current Latino senator: Tony Vargas.
Votes remain to be counted for two key legislative races: District 13, in northeastern Douglas County, and District 3, in the Bellevue-Papillion area.
Ashlei Spivey passes Nick Batter 65 votes in District 13, as Victor Rountree leads Felix Ungerman past 181 votes in District 3. Spivey and Rountree are both Democrats, while Batter is a registered nonpartisan and Ungerman is a Republican.
Douglas County Elections Commissioner Brian Kruse said a total of about 5,000 ballots remain to be counted, including 335 in District 13 — not all of them will be accepted, he noted. Officials plan to count ballots Monday at 1 p.m.
Sarpy County Elections Commissioner Emily Ethington and her office did not respond to a request for comment on the remaining ballots to be counted there. Results are as of 4:11am on November 6.
Friday is the deadline for county officials to determine whether local provisional ballots can be accepted, according to a spokesperson for the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office. This also applies to provisional ballots that required voters to provide valid identification within a week of the election.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES IN YOUR INBOX
