LINCOLN - U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s re-election bid has a path to victory despite his indictment for lying to the FBI about foreign funds raised for a previous campaign.

That’s the upshot from his team’s most recent poll, which reached 405 likely GOP primary voters in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District. The Nebraska Examiner obtained a copy of the poll, including the questions that were asked. The poll shows nine-term incumbent Fortenberry leading former Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood by 10 points, head-to-head, which is outside of the margin of error. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5%, per the campaign. The poll was conducted Wednesday via calls to landlines and cell phones. In January, the same pollster found the two candidates closer, within the margin of error.

Fortenberry’s negative advertising against Flood appears to be having an impact, his polling firm, Moore Information Group found. The new poll shows more voters are reacting unfavorably to Flood since the advertisements started airing. The ads were still running this week, during the polling.

Flood joined the race in mid-January and secured the endorsements of Nebraska’s last two governors, Republicans Pete Ricketts and Dave Heineman. Much of the state’s GOP leadership is behind him. Fortenberry faces a wild card: three felony charges saying he lied to or misled federal investigators about his campaign’s fundraising. His trial is scheduled to begin March 15.

Meanwhile Flood continues to rally much of the state’s GOP leadership around his U.S. House campaign to unseat indicted fellow Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Lincoln. Flood’s campaign on Wednesday announced endorsements from three former chairmen of the Nebraska Republican Party: Mark Fahleson, Mark Quandahl and David Kramer.

In a joint statement, they highlighted Flood’s work to limit abortions and cut taxes. “He’s a law-and-order conservative,” the statement said. “He cares about our party, stopping the Biden agenda, and he will fight for Nebraskans and our conservative values.”

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