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Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska's 1st Congressional District defeated Democrat Carol Blood, a state lawmaker, to win his second full term in the House while Rep. Adrian Smith won his 10th term representing the state's 3rd Congressional District, prevailing over little-known challenger Daniel Ebers, a Democrat from Lincoln.

In the 2nd District — which garnered national attention ahead of Tuesday's election as a potential swing district that could feasibly determine the outcome of the race for the White House — Vargas led Bacon by a razor thin margin of 50.5% to 49.5% as of 12:35 a.m. Wednesday.

That race, which played out in Nebraska's "blue dot" congressional district, drew House leaders from both parties to the district to campaign and prompted millions in spending from outside groups aiming to impact the makeup of Congress where majorities in both chambers were expected to remain thin.

Vargas in particular was boosted by outside spending and appearances from prominent Democrats like vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz and Kamala Harris’ sister, Maya Harris, who made appearances in Omaha last month to campaign for Harris and down-ballot Democrats thanks to Nebraska's unique electoral system that made a national battleground out of the 2nd District, where Harris picked up an electoral vote Tuesday.

Things were different elsewhere in the state.

Smith sailed to reelection in the 3rd District. He had captured more than 78% of votes cast by the time the Associated Press called the race for Smith at around 10 p.m. Tuesday.

In the 1st Congressional District — which includes Lincoln, the state's second largest city and a Democratic stronghold — Flood led Blood by a margin of 56.5% to 43.5% as of 12:35 a.m. Wednesday. The AP called that race for Flood at around 11:35 p.m. Tuesday. 

A Republican from Norfolk who rose from Nebraska's Legislature to the House in 2022, Flood, 49, was a shoo-in for reelection in a district where GOP voters outnumber Democrats by 74,275.

Still, he made efforts to win over voters in Lincoln, where Flood launched his campaign earlier this year and has hosted town halls each year he has been represented the city.

"Give me a chance to show you what I can do," he said last month. "And I recognize I'm two years in, but I'm working very hard. I want to deliver for the 1st District and I want to deliver for Lincoln."

When he initially won the House seat in a special election in June 2022 following the resignation of ex-Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, he edged Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln with 52.7% of the vote.

But in a November rematch five months later, the media executive and former lawyer won nearly 58% of the vote as he claimed his first full two-year term in Congress.

Democrats made little effort to unseat him this time around.

Blood, a 63-year-old former city councilwoman from Bellevue who will be term-limited in the Legislature this year, had raised less than $113,000 as of Oct. 16 and aired zero television ads as she tried to become the first Democrat elected to represent Nebraska's 1st Congressional District since 1964.

Flood's campaign had spent $1.2 million by the end of September, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Blood had been clear-eyed about her long odds at election prior to Tuesday's vote.

In a series of social media posts on Monday, Blood, who managed her own congressional campaign, said "we knew going into this race that there was literally a 1% chance of winning" before revealing an illness that she said had left her hospitalized for days and recovering for months in the campaign's earliest days.

"But I didn't drop out," she said, noting that she and campaign staffers "knocked on tens of thousands of doors" in the district's small towns and larger cities.

"No matter how you label my race, or me for that matter, I rose to the challenge and never quit no matter how I was feeling," Blood wrote. "We had a late start and have worked our tails off. I'm proud of me, I'm proud of my team and I thank those who vote for me."