This is a list of all senators who have served in the Nebraska Legislature since it became a unicameral body in 1937.
Records show that the apportionment of the legislative districts established for the 1936 election remained unchanged through the election of 1962.The 1937 Nebraska Legislative Journal, Pg. VII, https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/52/PDF/Journal/r1journal.pdf1962 Nebraska Blue Book, Pg. 301, https://nebraskaccess.nebraska.gov/LegPastPresent/1962.pdf The boundaries of these districts were restricted to fall along county lines. In the election of 1962, the voters of Nebraska passed a measure to loosen the county-line boundary restriction and to increase the number of legislative districts from 43 to 49."A Brief History of Legislative Redistricting in Nebraska" https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/pdf/reports/research/snapshot_redistricting_2018.pdf This resulted in a new apportionment that renumbered all the existing districts and added two additional districts to Lancaster County, three additional districts to Douglas County, and one north of Douglas county. That plan went into effect for the election of 1964.
However, on June 15, 1964, the United States Supreme Court handed down Reynolds v. Sims, which held that state senate districts must be roughly equal in population. One month later, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska in League of Nebraska Municipalities v. Marsh held that the portion of the 1962 amendment to the Nebraska Constitution allowing the legislature to give consideration to area when redistricting was unconstitutional. This meant that the legislature had to once again redraw the district boundaries in 1965 based solely on population. In July 1965, the legislature approved a plan with newly apportioned districts which was upheld by the Nebraska Supreme Court in January 1966 and went into effect for the election of 1966. After 1966, the Nebraska Legislature conducts a process of redistricting every ten years after the decennial United States Census.
After its inception in 1937, members of the unicameral Nebraska legislature served for a term of two years, and all state legislative districts were up for reelection in every biennial election. However, another change adopted by the voters of Nebraska in the 1962 election was to increase the term of state senators from two to four years, and to stagger the election of state senators so that roughly half of the districts were up for election every two years. The election of 1964 was the last election in which all legislative districts were up for election at the same time. Odd-numbered districts elected senators to four-year terms, such that odd-numbered-district elections would coincide with United States presidential elections. Even-numbered districts elected senators in 1964 to two-year terms, such that even-numbered-district senators would be up for election again in 1966, in which they would be elected to four-year terms such that even-numbered-district elections would coincide with United States midterm elections.
Even though the Nebraska Legislature, as a nonpartisan body, officially recognizes no party affiliations, the party affiliations of individual members are still noted below when known for reference.
District 1 In the pre-1964 apportionment, what is now District 1 was also called District 1, and it consisted of the counties of Johnson, Pawnee, and Richardson. In 1964, the district was expanded to include Nemaha.1964 Nebraska Blue Book, Pg. 316, https://nebraskaccess.nebraska.gov/LegPastPresent/1964.pdf The district's boundaries were then changed in the 1966 reapportionment to exclude Pawnee County,1966 Nebraska Blue Book, Pg. 327, https://nebraskaccess.nebraska.gov/LegPastPresent/1966-70.pdf but in the 1971 redistricting, Pawnee County was regained, as well as the southeastern corner of Gage County, but Johnson was excluded.1972 Nebraska Blue Book, Page 343, https://nebraskaccess.nebraska.gov/LegPastPresent/1972.pdf From 1980 to 2010, the district grew in size to encompass parts of Johnson and Otoe counties, and in the ten years after the 1991 redistricting, it even included the southern third of Gage County.
Today, District 1 covers Otoe, Johnson, Nemaha, Pawnee, and Richardson counties.2021 Legislative Redistricting Map, https://nebraskalegislature.gov/pdf/maps/2021/legislative/leg_lb3_final.pdf
NameYears Elected (Appointed)PartyResidenceNotes1936 DemTecumseh1938 RepFalls City1940 DemHumboldtSon of Otto Kotouc Sr.1942, 1944 RepFalls City1946 DemFalls City1948 RepLiberty1950, 1952, 1954, 1956 DemHumboldtFather of Otto Kotouc Jr.1958 RepHumboldtBrother of Calista Cooper Hughes1960, 1962 DemHumboldt1964 RepHumboldtSister of John Cooper1968, 1972 RepFalls City1976 DemFalls City1980, 1984 RepAuburn1988 DemTecumseh1992, 1996, 2000 RepTable Rock2004, 2008 RepElk CreekLieutenant Governor (2013–2014)2012, 2016 RepSyracuseNebraska Public Service Commissioner (2019–present)(2019), 2020 RepPeru/DunbarAppointed by Governor Pete Ricketts; wife of Andrew La Grone2024 RepSyracuse
District 2 In the pre-1964 apportionment, what is now District 2 was also called District 2, and it consisted of the counties of Otoe and Nemaha. In 1964, the district was changed to consist of Otoe and Cass counties, and in the 1966 reapportionment it was changed yet again to only include the eastern half of Otoe and Cass counties. In the 1971 redistricting, District 2 was expanded to include more of Otoe and Cass counties and added most of Johnson County. In the 1981 redistricting, Johnson county was shifted back to District 1, and District 2 was drawn to include all of Cass County and the northern half of Otoe county. For the 1991, 2001, and 2011 redistrictings, District 2 continued to shrink in size by including less and less of Otoe County.
Today, District 2 consists of only Cass County and a small portion of eastern Lancaster County.
NameYears Elected (Appointed)PartyResidenceNotes1936 RepAuburn1938, 1940, 1942, 1944 DemSyracuse1946, 1948, 1950 RepAuburn(1952) RepAuburnAppointed by Governor Val Peterson1952, 1954, 1956, 1958 RepJulian1960, 1962 RepUnadilla1964, 1966 RepNebraska City(1970) RepNebraska CityAppointed by Governor Norbert Tiemann1970, 1974, 1978, 1982 RepAvocaSon of Fred Carsten1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 RepPlattsmouth2006, 2010 RepLouisville(2011) RepPlattsmouthAppointed by Governor Dave Heineman2012, 2014 RepPapillion(2017), 2018, 2022 RepElmwoodAppointed by Governor Pete Ricketts
District 3 In the pre-1964 apportionment, what is now District 3 was also called District 3, and it consisted of the entirety of Sarpy County. This remained the same in the 1964 reapportionment, but after the 1966 reapportionment, it was reduced to only include a portion of Sarpy County, which continued to be readjusted for population in subsequent redistrictings.
Today, District 3 still consists of a portion of Sarpy County.
NameYears Elected (Appointed)PartyResidenceNotes1936, 1938 RepAvocaFather of Calvin Carsten; Listed as a Democrat in the 1937 legislature but as a Republican in the 1939 legislature1940 DemCedar CreekSon of Christian Metzger1942, 1944 DemPapillion1946, 1948 DemCedar CreekSon of Christian Metzger1950 DemCedar CreekFather of William A. Metzger1952 DemPapillion1954 DemCedar CreekSon of Christian E. Metzger1956 DemPapillion1958, 1960 RepMurdock1962, 1964 RepBellevue/Papillion1968, 1972, 1976 DemSpringfieldElected as a Republican in 1968 and 1972 but switched to the Democratic Party in 19731980, 1984, 1988 RepGretna1992 DemGretna1996, 2000 RepGretnaNebraska Attorney General (2003–2015)(2002) RepPapillion/BellevueAppointed by Governor Mike Johanns2004 DemGretna2008, 2012 RepBellevue(2013), 2014 RepBellevueAppointed by Governor Dave Heineman2016, 2020 DemBellevue2024 DemBellevue
District 4 In the pre-1964 apportionment, what is now District 4 was called District 9, and it included a section of Douglas County.
Today, District 4 still consists of a section of Douglas County, which has been readjusted for population in subsequent redistrictings.
NameYears Elected (Appointed)PartyResidenceNotes1936, 1938, 1940 RepOmaha1942, 1944 RepOmahaStepson of Robert B. Howell1946, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958 RepOmaha(1959), 1960, 1962 RepOmahaAppointed by Governor Victor Anderson1964, 1966 RepOmaha1970 RepOmahaMayor of Omaha (1989–1994)(1973) DemOmahaAppointed by Governor J. James Exon1974, 1978 RepOmaha1982, 1986 RepOmaha1990 DemOmaha(1994) DemOmahaAppointed by Governor Ben Nelson2020-2021 Nebraska Blue Book, Pg. 386, http://govdocs.nebraska.gov/epubs/l3000/D001-202021.pdf1994, 1998, 2002 RepOmahaSpeaker (2005–2006)2006, 2010 RepOmahaSon of Carol McBride Pirsch2014, 2018 RepOmaha2022 RepElkhorn
District 5 In the pre-1964 apportionment, what is now District 5 was called District 8, and it included a section of Douglas County.
Today, District 5 still consists of a section of Douglas County, which has been readjusted for population in subsequent redistrictings.
NameYears Elected (Appointed)PartyResidenceNotes1936 DemOmaha1938 DemOmaha1940 DemOmaha1942 DemOmaha1944Omaha1946 DemOmaha1948, 1950, 1952, 1954 RepOmaha1956, 1958, 1960 DemOmaha(1961), 1962, 1964, 1968, 1972 DemOmahaControversially appointed by Lt. Governor Dwight Burney; initially appointed as a Republican, but switched to the Democratic Party in 1969(1976), 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988 DemOmahaAppointed by Governor J. James Exon1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 DemOmaha/Bellevue2008, 2012 DemOmaha2016, 2020 RepOmaha Elected as a Democrat in 2016 and 2020 but switched to the Republican Party in 20242024 DemOmaha
District 6 What is now called District 6 was created when the legislature expanded from 43 to 49 districts in 1964, and it consisted of a portion of Douglas County.
Today, District 6 still consists of a portion of Douglas County, which has been readjusted for population in subsequent redistrictings.
NameYears Elected (Appointed)PartyResidenceNotes1964, 1966, 1970, 1974 DemOmahaHusband of Margaret Moylan(1978) DemOmahaAppointed by Governor J. James Exon; Wife of Harold Moylan1978, 1982 DemOmahaU.S. Representative (1989–1995)1986, 1990 RepOmahaU.S. Representative (2015–2017); began his first term as a Democrat but switched to Republican in 1988; Later served as a Senator from District 201994, 1998, 2002 DemOmaha2006, 2010 RepOmahaLieutenant Governor (2014–2015)2014 RepOmaha(2017) RepOmahaAppointed by Governor Pete Ricketts2018, 2022 DemOmahaSister of John Cavanaugh, daughter of John J. Cavanaugh III
District 7 In the pre-1964 apportionment, what is now District 7 was also called District 7, and it included of a section of Douglas County.
Today, District 7 still consists of a section of Douglas County, which has been readjusted for population in subsequent redistrictings.
NameYears Elected (Appointed)PartyResidenceNotes1936, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956 DemOmahaSpeaker (1953–1954)1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1972 DemOmaha1976 DemOmaha1980 DemOmaha(1984), 1984, 1988, 1992 DemOmahaAppointed by Governor Bob Kerrey(1995), 1996, 2000 DemOmaha Appointed by Governor Ben Nelson(2002), 2002, 2004 DemOmahaAppointed by Governor Mike Johanns2008, 2012 DemOmaha(2015) RepOmahaAppointed by Governor Pete Ricketts2016, 2020 DemOmaha2024 DemOmaha
District 8 In the pre-1964 apportionment, what is now District 8 was called District 10, and it included a section of Douglas County.
Today, District 8 still consists of a section of Douglas County, which has been readjusted for population in subsequent redistrictings.