Omaha has a new voice in Washington. She is making history too. Democrat Denise Powell won Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday, becoming the first Latina ever elected to represent the state in Congress.

Powell is also the first woman to hold the Omaha-area seat. She will replace Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who has represented the district since 2017 and chose not to run again. She becomes the first Democrat to hold the seat in about a decade.

A clear win in a swing seat

The race was expected to be close. It was not. Powell beat Republican Brinker Harding by roughly 38,000 votes, with all precincts reporting, according to unofficial results. Harding, an Omaha City Council member, called her to concede a little after 9 p.m.

Powell told a cheering crowd that voters had picked common sense over chaos. She thanked her team and said there was no way they could have won without everyone in the room.

The district is known as the blue dot because it often backs Democrats for president while sending Republicans to the House. That pattern broke this year.

Daughter of immigrants

Powell grew up in Miami as the daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Chile. She has written about how her parents' work for Latino communities shaped her own path. She and her husband moved to Omaha in 2009.

Her career has spanned corporate communications, marketing and public school advocacy. She has also served on the boards of Omaha's Immigrant Legal Center, a women's support center and a local arts group.

Opening doors for women

After the 2017 Women's March, Powell helped launch Women Who Run Nebraska, a group that trains and supports women seeking public office. It grew from letter writing nights into a full program for candidate training, voter outreach and fundraising. She stepped away from the group in 2025 to run herself.

On the trail, she pointed to her work backing a higher minimum wage and paid sick leave, two causes Nebraska voters approved at the ballot box in recent years.

Powell will serve a two year term starting in January. For many Latino families in Nebraska, her win is a first they have waited a long time to see.