Mike Flood
Mike Flood, a Republican who has represented Nebraska's 1st congressional district since 2022 and earlier served as speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, faces Democrat Chris Backemeyer in his 2026 bid for reelection.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Mike Flood.
- Born
- February 23, 1975
- Birthplace
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Education
- Norfolk Catholic High School (1993)
University of Notre Dame (Bachelor of Arts, 1997)
University of Nebraska College of Law (Juris Doctor, 2001)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Mike Flood, whose full name is Michael John Flood, was born on February 23, 1975, in Omaha, Nebraska.
He graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School in Norfolk in 1993, earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame in 1997, and received a Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2001.
Flood worked at a Norfolk radio station in high school, hosted a show on the Notre Dame campus station, and later worked as a radio personality at the Lincoln country station KFGE.
Career
Alongside his legal studies, Flood built a broadcasting business, launching KUSO in 1999 as the first station of what became Flood Communications and founding the News Channel Nebraska network in 2015.
He won the 19th district seat in the Nebraska Legislature unopposed in 2004 and served from 2005 to 2013, including as speaker from 2007 to 2013. During that period he introduced and passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a 20-week abortion ban.
Term limits ended his first tenure in 2013, and he returned to the Legislature for the 2021 session after winning the same seat unopposed in 2020.
In January 2022 Flood announced a challenge to Republican U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned on March 31, 2022, following a felony conviction. Flood won the resulting special election against Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks, 53% to 47%, and was sworn in on July 12, 2022.
He defeated Brooks again that November, 58% to 42%, and beat Democrat Carol Blood, 60% to 40%, in 2024. In July 2025 he was elected unanimously as chair of the Main Street Caucus, and he chairs the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.
2026 race
Mike Flood is seeking reelection in Nebraska's 1st congressional district, which covers eastern Nebraska around Omaha and its suburbs and takes in Lincoln, Bellevue, Fremont and Norfolk. He was re-elected there with 60.1% of the vote in 2024 and is again the Republican nominee.
His Democratic opponent is Chris Backemeyer, who won the Democratic primary with 57.6% of the vote over renewable energy developer Eric Moyer. Libertarian Nik Sandman, a retired farmer, and Daniel Hartong of the America First Party are also on the general-election ballot on November 3, 2026.