District details

Unlike most other Greater Nebraska legislative races, which feature two conservative candidates, voters here will have a choice between members of opposing parties. 

Republican Dan Lonowski and Democrat Michelle Smith are vying to replace Republican Sen. Steve Halloran.

Lonowski told the Flatwater Free Press he’s a conservative Catholic who is running to make Nebraska a better place. He previously worked as a Spanish teacher, assistant football coach and wrestling coach. He retired from the Army National Guard after 36 years. He’s currently a business owner and a project coordinator for the nonprofit Area Substance and Alcohol Abuse Prevention, according to his campaign website. 

Smith is a mental health professional and has served as an adjunct professor at Doane University teaching future masters level therapists. She opened Sunrise Inspirations PC in 2014 to provide mental health services in Hastings and nearby communities. According to her website, she believes her experience as a therapist will help her “empathetically listen, understand, and advocate for all constituents in the district.”

The Nebraska Farm Bureau and Nebraska GOP endorsed Lonowski, as did Halloran. Smith has endorsements from Nebraska’s AFL-CIO chapter and the Nebraska Association of Public Employees. The state teachers union endorsed both candidates.

On the issues

Lonowski’s top priorities include keeping or improving the standing of public schools, reforming property taxes and ending abortion – he favors a total ban. On related issues, Lonowski said he supports school choice as long as money is not taken from public schools, and he’s also a proponent of the EPIC tax initiative, saying it has potential. The EPIC proposal would replace income, property and inheritance taxes with a 7.5% consumption tax. 

Smith did not respond to the Flatwater Free Press questionnaire. According to her website, she would like to improve health care access in rural areas and simplify health insurance processes. She would like to support small businesses through tax credits and credit lines, address high housing costs through credit and down payment plans and encourage agricultural research. Her website doesn’t list her stances on school choice and abortion.