With early voting already underway in Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Mike Flood is making an unusually personal closing argument against Democratic challenger Chris Backemeyer: that he does not actually live where he is asking voters to send him to Congress. Flood has said Backemeyer still owns a home in Washington, D.C., and has not lived in the district for 28 years, while Backemeyer counters that he, his wife and their children are now settled in Lincoln.
Flood made the case directly, saying he lives in the district while his opponent does not and describing Backemeyer's Washington property as a million-dollar house, according to WOWT. The incumbent also questioned why Backemeyer is renting rather than buying a home in the district he hopes to represent. Backemeyer, in turn, confirmed he rents a home and said that decision simply reflects the cost of buying in today's market, adding that many Nebraskans rent rather than own.
A separate investigation adds more detail to the residency picture. According to plains-sentinel.com, Backemeyer grew up in Lincoln but spent roughly the last 20 years in Washington, D.C., before accepting a Department of Government Efficiency buyout and leaving his State Department job in October 2025. Backemeyer told the outlet, “I’m living in Lincoln, as are my kids and my family,” while acknowledging he still owns a home in Washington that he said is currently used as a rental property.
Voter Registration Records Raise Questions
The same report found that Nebraska's voter file lists Backemeyer as registered at the same Lincoln address as his parents, Kenneth and Patricia Backemeyer — a detail Flood has seized on, claiming Backemeyer is registered to vote at his parents' house. The outlet's reporting also notes that Backemeyer's wife, Courtney, is registered at a separate Lincoln address that was listed as a rental on Zillow until the listing was removed in June 2026. A search of Lancaster County Assessor records, per the same report, shows no homes currently owned by either Chris or Courtney Backemeyer, even as public records show the couple still owns the Washington townhouse and pays property taxes on it.
Nebraska law requires a registered voter who moves between counties to register again or update their voter record to remain eligible to vote, according to Nebraska statute 32-314. Separately, the U.S. Constitution's House Qualifications Clause requires a representative to be an inhabitant of the state from which they are elected at the time of the election, per the Constitution Annotated. Nothing in the available reporting establishes whether Backemeyer's registration or residency runs afoul of either standard.
Backemeyer Pushes Back on the Attacks
Backemeyer has not backed away from the rental arrangement. He said he decided to rent to make sure his family had what it needed and said flatly that he would not apologize for renting. He has also pointed to deeper roots in the state, saying he was born and raised in the district and that his family has been in Nebraska for more than 150 years — a detail also reported by Nebraska TV, which notes he worked more than 20 years in Washington for the State Department before returning home.
On the financial side of the exchange, Backemeyer has said Flood earns $175,000 while he himself draws no salary while running for Congress. The comparison between Backemeyer's situation and past Nebraska campaigns is not new: the station's report draws a parallel to former Sen. Bob Kerrey, who faced similar criticism over his time away from the state when he ran against Deb Fischer in 2012 after spending roughly a decade in New York.
A District Still Leaning Republican, But Watched Closely
Nebraska's 1st District spans 12 counties, including Lancaster County and Lincoln, according to the Nebraska Examiner, and Flood has won his past two U.S. House elections by 20 and 16 percentage points. The Examiner reports that election analysts still view the district as safely Republican despite a midterm environment that has generally favored Democrats nationally. Still, the race has drawn enough attention that the Cook Political Report shifted its rating from solid Republican to likely Republican on October 16, a change Nebraska TV flagged in its own coverage.
Flood and Backemeyer met face-to-face in September for an hour-long debate hosted by Nebraska Public Media News and the Omaha World-Herald, according to Nebraska Public Media. Two other candidates, Libertarian Nik Sandman and America First Party candidate Dan Hartong, are also on the ballot, rounding out a four-way general election. With early voting already underway and Election Day set for November 3, the residency fight is shaping up as one of the defining storylines of the campaign's final stretch.
