U.S. House · Nebraska's 3rd District
Macey Budke
CandidateNebraska Working People Party
- Race
- U.S. House · Nebraska's 3rd District
- Result
- Adrian Smith, projected winner
- Opponents
- Adrian Smith (R); Becky Lynn Stille (D); David J. Else (Legal Marijuana Now); Mark Cohen (Nonpartisan)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did0 statements · 0 votes
Macey Budke, who works in behavioral health management in North Platte, lost the November 3, 2026 election for Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District to Adrian Smith after running on the Nebraska Working People Party line. She describes herself as an Independent candidate and holds master's degrees in psychology and healthcare administration.[1][2][3]
On the ballotU.S. House · 3
2026-11-03
| Adrian Smith R | incumbent |
| Becky Lynn Stille D | challenger |
| David J. Else Legal Marijuana Now | challenger |
| Macey Budke Nebraska Working People Party | challenger |
| Mark Cohen Nonpartisan | challenger |
Biography
Macey Budke, who works in behavioral health management in North Platte, lost the November 3, 2026 election for Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District to Adrian Smith after running on the Nebraska Working People Party line. She describes herself as an Independent candidate and holds master's degrees in psychology and healthcare administration.[1][2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Budke says she grew up in rural Nebraska and that her work focuses on helping rural communities access quality care.[3] The Nebraska Examiner describes her as a registered nonpartisan write-in candidate, while Ballotpedia lists her ballot line as the Nebraska Working People Party.[4][2] She received 2.8% of the vote to Adrian Smith's 71%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]
In their own words
Priorities
Statements, quoted without a stance
- Expand public health coverage
“Rural communities deserve affordable, accessible healthcare close to home.”[5]
In her 2026 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey
- Broad tariffs on imported goods
“A producer can do everything right and still get caught between tariff retaliation, shifting foreign demand, input cost pressure, and federal decisions made far away from the operation carrying the risk.”[6]
On her campaign website's agriculture plan
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/macey-budke
Compare all 5 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.U.S. House Nebraska's 3rd District results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 2.United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
- 3.Macey Budke, Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey (2026) · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey Candidate's own words
- 4.Nonpartisan Cohen submits signatures seeking Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District ballot · WOWT / Nebraska Examiner · 2026-07-31 News report
- 5.Macey Budke, Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey (2026) · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey Candidate's own words
- 6.Plans · Budke for Congress Candidate's own words