State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, center, meets with State Sens. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and Terrell McKinney of Omaha, from left. March 26, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — After two months of speculation, State Sen. John Cavanaugh is throwing his hat into the ring Wednesday and running for Congress in Nebraska’s 2nd District.

The Omaha-based lawmaker joins one high-profile local candidate in PAC co-founder and small business owner Denise Powell, along with Mark Johnston and Evangelos Argyrakis.

The winner of the May 2026 Democratic primary will try to do what former Omaha State Sen. Tony Vargas fell short of doing so two times — becoming the first non-Republican to represent Nebraska in Congress since the late former U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford

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