In what may have been a mild upset victory, Omaha’s Republican mayor Jean Stothert defeated Bernie Sanders–backed Democrat, Heath Mello. The margin was 53-46.
Dave Begley, our man in Omaha (and Council Bluffs), wrote about the Omaha mayor’s race here. He called it “a national proxy political war” and noted that Hillary Clinton won more Omaha votes than Donald Trump. Moreover, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by 16,000 in Omaha.
Thus, Mello’s defeat is a blow to “the resistance.” His campaign theme — “Come together. Fight back” — failed to carry the day.
Paul Crookston at NRO points out that Mello once supported a bill requiring abortion providers to notify women of the availability of ultrasounds. This didn’t bother Bernie Sanders. He backed Mello forcefully. Moreover, Mello’s rating from Planned Parenthood in 2015 was 100 percent.
Even so, it’s possible that Mello’s “heresy” on abortion prevented potential supporters from “coming together.” Or maybe Omaha just didn’t want a hard-left mayor.
In any event, as Crookston says, the Trump “resistance” must now look elsewhere to score a major post-November victory against the GOP.
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