District 10 is up for grabs as new candidates Johnson, Rens fight for open seat in state Legislature

LINCOLN — In the politically split District 10, a seat in the Nebraska Legislature is up for grabs with its current representative ineligible for reelection.

State Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington is term-limited after serving two consecutive terms representing the district, which encompasses a portion of northwestern Omaha and Douglas County. In her place, audiologist Cindy Johnson and small business owner Rebecca Rens are fighting for the seat.

The district is near equal in terms of the party registrations of its voter base. According to the latest voter registration statistics from the Nebraska Secretary of State, there are 9,920 registered Republicans, 9,260 Democrats along with 7,246 nonpartisan voters in the area.

The two candidates have taken different approaches in addressing party politics in their campaigns. Rens, a Republican, said she doesn’t hide her party affiliation when talking to voters, despite some saying her campaign is fighting an uphill battle because of it.

DeBoer is a Democrat, and has endorsed Johnson, but Johnson said she’s received support from across the political aisle. She said many voters she has encountered were once registered to a party, but have since absconded because they were frustrated by both sides.

“What I really think needs to happen is we’ve got to quit putting people in boxes,” Johnson said. “We’re not left and right. We’re not red and blue. We’re all Nebraskans.”

Neither Rens nor Johnson have been elected into office before, though Johnson currently serves in an appointed role as a representative on the Learning Community Coordinating Council for Douglas and Sarpy counties. Both candidates said they felt it was the right time and place for them to run.

Rens worked as the president and owner of a concrete construction company in northwest Iowa for more than three decades before moving to Omaha several years ago to be closer to her adult children. Since then, she started a small consulting firm, and said she’s found many similarities between running a business and campaigning.

“You are going out, you’re getting to know your people,” Rens said. “Rather than clients, I have voters.”

Johnson started an audiology practice in Norfolk before moving to Omaha in 2010 to work for Children’s Nebraska. She currently works part-time providing hearing valuations to veterans. She said she is a former president of the Nebraska Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and has worked with the Nebraska Legislature in the past on hearing legislation.

From her perspective, Johnson said many of the voters in District 10 feel like their voices are not being heard in the Legislature, particularly after lawmakers slow-walked the implementation of several successful ballot measures in 2024. She said voters appear to be most frustrated by the response to the legalization of medical cannabis.

Johnson said voters are also concerned about taxes and the increasing cost of living in the state. She said working class residents have expressed that working multiple jobs sometimes isn’t enough to get by anymore, and they’re agitated watching others get ahead in front of them.

“If we’re going to be a pro-life state, then that means we take care of everybody,” Johnson said.

Rens said property taxes are at the top of District 10 concerns according to her conversations with voters. She said the instability of property valuations is making it harder for Nebraska to attract new businesses, residents and jobs, and said the state’s overall tax system may be in need of an overhaul.

“We can’t simply shift from one group to another and call it reform,” Rens said.

Both Rens and Johnson said they want to focus on affordability issues, if elected. Rens said she doesn’t support tax increases or tax shifts to make room for property tax cuts, but said she is interested in looking for new revenue streams.

Johnson said she is open with voters when asked that she does not have all the answers, but tells them that all options would be on the table.

“Any politician who says they have all the answers is probably lying to you,” Johnson said.