Democrat Jay Pitts leads Republican Ben Houchin with all 199 precincts reporting. The results are unofficial, and more ballots are still to be counted.
Disclosure: Oversight Justice’s owner, David Mitchell, is a party to a case in Lancaster County District Court in which a post-dismissal motion is pending. Neither candidate is a party to it.
LINCOLN — Jay Pitts, a Democrat, leads Republican Ben Houchin in the race for Lancaster County sheriff, according to unofficial results from the Lancaster County Election Commission.
These results are unofficial and may change.
Pitts had 70,387 votes to Houchin’s 49,078, a margin of 21,309 votes. That is from the county’s final election-night report, labeled 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, with all 199 precincts reporting.
By Oversight Justice’s calculation, Pitts had about 58.8% and Houchin about 41.0% of the 119,667 votes cast in the sheriff’s race, including write-ins. Write-in candidates received 202 votes.
The seat is open. Sheriff Terry Wagner “has held the office since 1994 and is set to retire,” 10/11 NOW (KOLN) reported Nov. 4. The station reported that this is “the first time in more than three decades that Lancaster County will have a new sheriff.”
Results: unofficial, with ballots still to count
The report counts 123,964 ballots cast countywide. About 6,000 early ballots received Nov. 2 and 3 are to be counted Friday, Nov. 6, and about 3,000 provisional ballots the next Friday, Nov. 13, according to the report’s own note and the Election Commission’s results page.
Under state law, each county’s abstract of votes is due to the Secretary of State by the third Monday after the election, which is Nov. 23. The state board of canvassers meets on the fourth Monday after the general election, which is Nov. 30.
The candidates
Pitts is “a 25-year law enforcement veteran with deep roots in Lancaster County,” according to his campaign website. The site says he was born and raised in the county, attended Lincoln High School and the University of Nebraska, and then joined the Lincoln Police Department. His father, John Pitts Sr., also served with the Lincoln Police Department, the site says. 10/11 NOW also reported that Pitts served with the Lincoln Police Department.
The site says Pitts serves on the boards of two local nonprofit groups, CentrePointe and Lighthouse.
On its issues page, his campaign says the Sheriff’s Office “is significantly understaffed.” It proposes changing grooming standards to allow facial hair and visible tattoos, as a way to recruit military veterans.
10/11 NOW reported that Pitts’ stated priorities for the office include recruiting deputies of integrity, strengthening transparency and accountability, prioritizing domestic violence calls, building safer communities and creating a culture of teamwork.
Pitts ran for sheriff in 2022 as a Democrat. Wagner, a Republican, received 59,786 votes to Pitts’ 49,043 in that race, according to the county’s official final 2022 results. Libertarian Conan Thomas received 4,139.
At his watch party, Pitts spoke about his family. “You’re away from your family a lot, and I tell you family means everything to me,” he told 10/11 NOW. He also said “having my mom and dad here and my sisters and, you know, my wife and my kids, it’s really special.”
Houchin is chief deputy of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, 10/11 NOW reported. His campaign website says he joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1993 and rose “from deputy to sergeant to captain to chief deputy.”
His campaign promised “the best trained deputies in Nebraska.” The site also says he would “strengthen interdiction on I-80 and federal partnerships to stop fentanyl and meth.” It says Wagner endorsed him.
What the sheriff’s office does
Under Nebraska law, the sheriff, personally or through deputies, must “preserve the peace in his county,” investigate crime, arrest suspects, and present evidence to the county attorney.
Disclosure: Oversight Justice’s owner, David Mitchell, is a party to a case in Lancaster County District Court in which a post-dismissal motion is pending. Neither candidate is a party to it.
Photo: Lincoln’s County-City Building. Photo by Hanyou23 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
- Lancaster County Election Commission, Nov. 3, 2026 General Election Results: https://www.lancaster.ne.gov/1564/November-3-2026-General-Election-Results
- Lancaster County 3:15 a.m. Nov. 4 report: https://www.lancaster.ne.gov/DocumentCenter/View/34126/GN26-Election-Day-320-AM-Final
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 32-1034: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=32-1034
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 32-1037: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=32-1037
- 10/11 NOW (KOLN), Nov. 4, 2026: https://www.1011now.com/2026/11/04/jay-pitts-defeats-ben-houchin-lancaster-county-sheriff-race/
- Lancaster County, Official Final Results, Nov. 8, 2022 General Election: https://www.lancaster.ne.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16332/GN22-Official-Final-Results-for-Web
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 23-1710: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=23-1710
- Pitts for Sheriff, About: https://www.pittsforsheriff.com/ ; Issues: https://www.pittsforsheriff.com/about
- Houchin for Sheriff: https://www.houchinforsheriff.com/
