AP: Neb. lawmaker looking at run for 2nd District seat

Margery Gibbs, Associated Press
July 6, 2009

Democratic state Sen. Tom White of Omaha said Monday that he is forming an exploratory committee to consider a run for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District seat, now held by Republican Lee Terry.

White announced the step in an e-mail to supporters, saying he discussed the decision with his wife and two children.

"Regardless of the issue - making healthcare affordable, jump-starting the economy, simplifying the tax code, reducing the deficit - the metro area needs a congressman who puts partisanship aside to get things done," White said in the e-mail.

White cited his time in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature during the last three sessions as proof of his ability to work outside of partisan politics.

White, an attorney with the Omaha law firm White, Wulff & Jorgensen, also has launched a new campaign Web site.

White had been considered a likely 2010 challenger to Terry for weeks. If he runs, White will face an incumbent who has managed to win re-election five times since first being elected in 1998.

But Terry's success in the district, which includes Omaha and the surrounding area, hasn't come without some formidable challenges.

In 2006, newcomer Jim Esch gave Terry a fright, initially leading in polls before eventually losing by about 9 percentage points. Esch launched a rematch in 2008, and came within 4 percentage points of knocking off the incumbent.

Terry also faces more than the Democrat's challenge next year. Republican businessman Matt Sakalosky announced earlier this year that he'll run against Terry in the 2010 primary election. Sakalosky said he is disappointed with some of Terry's votes, including a vote for President George Bush's $700 billion bank bailout.