Dems clean house in Lincoln

With all of Lincoln’s 195 precincts counted, the Democrats cleaned up in Lincoln last night — from Mayor Chris Beutler walking away with a landslide to three of the four council seats going to Democrats to a 26-year-old newcomer defeating an incumbent to get elected to the airport authority.

That means Lincoln now has a Democratic mayor and a City Council loaded with five Democrats, and two Republicans. One Republican and two Democrats were added to the School Board.

It was a good night to be a Dem:

• Democratic Mayor Beutler easily defeated Republican Tammy Buffington, 65 percent to 35 percent.

• Incumbent Democrat Doug Emery walloped Republican Melissa Hilty, 67 to 32 percent.

• Incumbent Jon Camp was the rare Republican who nabbed a victory over Democrat Bobbie Kosmicki, 56 to 44 percent.

• Incumbent Democrat Jonathan Cook beat Republican Travis Nelson, 64 to 36 percent.

• Newcomer Democrat Carl Eskridge leads Republican Chad Wright, 51 to 49 percent.

• Former county treasurer and Republican Richard Nuernberger and newcomer and 26-year-old Democrat Anna Wishart were elected to the Airport Authority.

• Republican incumbent School Board member Richard Meginnis batted back challenger Christina Buccholz, 51 to 49 percent — that one might even be close enough to challenge.

• Democrat Katie McLeese Stephenson clobbered Republican Angela Hogan, 61 to 38 percent, to win a seat on the School Board.

• Democrat School Board member Ed Zimmer ran unopposed.

As I said on Jack & John this morning, this is how a political party can change its fortunes on the statewide level. Some day some of these office-holders will move up to higher offices (Anna Wishart, I’m lookin at you!), and that’s how you turn a ship around. So if you don’t think the election results matter much in the grand scheme of things, you’re dead wrong.