District details

Goldoni, a Democrat, is the co-founder of Nebraska AI.

Royal, a Republican, is a wealth management adviser and accountant.

Goldoni is endorsed by several current and former state senators, Omaha Mayor John Ewing and organizations like the Nebraska State Education Association. See the full list on her campaign website. Royal is endorsed by several state senators and other local government officials. See all of his endorsers on his campaign website.

On the issues

Goldoni said she’s running to lower costs for Nebraskans as state systems fall behind with today’s economy. Royal said he’s running to be a fresh leader with financial expertise who will champion fiscal responsibility, protect taxpayers and ensure people can thrive in Nebraska.

Both candidates cited property tax affordability as the district’s top issue. Goldoni said if elected, she would treat affordability as a throughline on every vote. She said the state should lower taxes while keeping schools strong. If elected, Royal said he would seek to modernize Nebraska’s existing tax structure to provide meaningful tax relief to Nebraskans and reduce its regulatory burden to grow Nebraska businesses.

Royal and Goldoni both said they don’t support raising sales taxes to relieve property taxes. Royal said it disproportionately impacts working families and consumer spending. He said legislators must analyze their spending, Nebraska’s list of sales tax exemptions and its regulatory drag so they can make the state competitive without increasing taxes. Nebraska relies too heavily on property taxes, Goldoni said. The state should broaden its tax base through economic growth, increase the state’s share of school funding and budget responsibly.

Goldoni said lawmakers should start from the presumption that voter-approved ballot measures should be implemented as intended. Changes made over technical issues should be narrow and shouldn’t gut the core of what voters approved, she said. If elected, Royal said he would respect the mandate of Nebraskans and work to implement approved ballot measures, using his technical expertise to ensure the regulatory language matches voter intent.

The state must balance aggressive economic development with local resource stewardship, Royal said. He said investments in data centers should be made without taxpayer incentives through county boards and without increasing utility rates or draining water resources. Goldoni said data centers present broad positives for Nebraska, but they also place significant demands on natural resources and local infrastructure. Nebraska should create statewide standards for data center establishment, she said, so companies are transparent and the public can see the real impact before a project breaks ground.

Goldoni said if she’s elected, she would eliminate state taxes, fees and programs that can’t show results, to battle the state’s budget deficit. She would then grow the state’s economic base through development in the workforce, agriculture, manufacturing and new industries. Royal said he would advocate for an agency-by-agency forensic audit to eliminate redundant programs and streamline operations. He said he would protect public education, safety, infrastructure and healthcare while also growing the state’s economy.