- Polls have closed in the race between Sen. Ben Sasse and Democratic challenger Chris Janicek in Nebraska.
- Sasse is the projected winner, according to Decision Desk HQ.
- Races are called when the results indicate that the trailing candidate does not have a viable path to victory.
- Sasse was first elected to the US Senate in 2014 after handily defeating his opponent by over 30 percentage points.
- Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
- See the live coverage and full results from the U.S. Senate elections.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse will retain his US Senate seat against Democratic challenger Chris Janicek, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ.
Sasse was elected to the Senate in 2014 after defeating Democrat Dave Domina by 32.9 percentage points. Prior to serving in Congress, Sasse served as the president of Midland University for five years.
In the 2016 presidential election, the state of Nebraska voted for President Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton by 25 points.
Sabato's Crystal Ball with the University of Virginia Center for
Janicek lost some support from the Democratic side after news outlets reported that he had used racial slurs about two decades ago. The New York Times reported that Janicek had directed the N-word at a party at Black people.
He also faced allegations of sexual harassment. A former campaign staffer of his came forward saying he had sent her and others sexually explicit text messages. After that, members of the Nebraska Democratic Party announced they would withdraw their support from his campaign and urged him to drop out. Janicek refused, the Times reported.