# Machaela Cavanaugh

Machaela Cavanaugh is a nonpartisan member of the Nebraska Legislature for district 6.

- Party: Nonpartisan
- Seat: Nebraska Legislature, district 6
- Serving since: 2019-01-09
- Current term: NE 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/fd6e1947-c274-4ff5-b2ee-5e5a79d6a729

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/fd6e1947-c274-4ff5-b2ee-5e5a79d6a729 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

17% of the 41 bills Cavanaugh sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom 5% of the Nebraska Legislature (nonpartisan).

## What Cavanaugh says (NE 2025–26 session)

16 classified statements: 16 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the Nonpartisan state legislators average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Cavanaugh | Nonpartisan state legislators average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 1.1% | 5 of 6 |
| Policy criticism | 18.8% | 16.3% | 2 of 6 |
| Policy discussion | 37.5% | 40.7% | 4 of 6 |
| Bipartisanship | 6.3% | 3.2% | 2 of 6 |
| Credit claiming | 12.5% | 16.6% | 4 of 6 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 0.4% | 5 of 6 |

Most discussed policy areas: Health 100% (Nonpartisan state legislators 36%); Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 33% (Nonpartisan state legislators 13%); Economics and Public Finance 33% (Nonpartisan state legislators 16%); Labor and Employment 33% (Nonpartisan state legislators 12%); Taxation 33% (Nonpartisan state legislators 16%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.88 (standard error 0.03), from 192 donors and 836 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 1.0% of Nonpartisan state legislators score lower.

## Votes (NE 2025–26 session)

1,770 roll calls. Attendance 94.5% (Nebraska Legislature (nonpartisan) 95.5%).

Key votes:

- 2026-04-17 · voted yea · Fredrickson MO586 failed · LB 929 Provide for managed care organizations to pay the deductible, cost sharing, or similar charges on behalf of medicaid enrollees · fail · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB929/
- 2026-04-17 · voted yea · Cavanaugh, J. MO585 failed · LB 1256 Redefine a term under the Emergency Management Act · fail · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB1256/
- 2026-04-10 · voted yea · Passed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 49-0-0 · LB 820A Appropriation Bill · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB820A/
- 2026-04-10 · voted yea · Passed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 48-1*-0 · LB 912A Appropriation Bill · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB912A/
- 2026-04-10 · voted yea · Passed on Final Reading 47-2*-0 · LB 955 Provide for practice agreements between pharmacists and physician assistants · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB955/
- 2026-04-10 · voted nay · Passed on Final Reading 43-6*-0 · LB 1261A Appropriation Bill · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB1261A/
- 2026-04-10 · voted yea · Passed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 49-0-0 · LB 820 Change retirement provisions relating to approved identification documents, participation in certain retirement systems, state contributions, ex… · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB820/
- 2026-04-10 · voted nay · Passed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 38-11-0 · LB 935 Provide for court fees; change provisions relating to incentives for rural legal practice, protection orders, hearsay, sentencing, support order liens,… · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB935/
- 2026-04-10 · voted nay · Passed on Final Reading 41-8*-0 · LB 889 Change a penalty and provisions regulating licensure and registration under the State Electrical Act · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB889/
- 2026-04-10 · voted yea · Passed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 49-0-0 · LB 905 Change and eliminate provisions relating to boards, commissions, committees, task forces, and funds that terminate · pass · https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB905/

## Legislation (NE 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 41 bills: 41 reached committee, 7 passed one chamber, 7 passed both, 2 became law. Cosponsored 7. 17.1% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Nebraska Legislature (nonpartisan) 36.9%; rank 46 of 47).

Recent sponsored bills:

- LB 958A: Appropriation Bill (passed both chambers, 2026-04-08) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB958A/
- LR 416: Recognize May 2026 as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month in Nebraska (passed both chambers, 2026-03-31) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LR416/
- LR 316CA: Constitutional amendment to provide for certain rights of persons with disabilities (in committee, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LR316CA/
- LB 1111: Require an annual data center load report to the Nebraska Power Review Board, provide powers and duties for public power suppliers, allow and require… (in committee, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB1111/
- LB 1035: Change and provide limitations on the rating system an insurer can file under the Property Casualty Insurance Rate and Form Act (in committee, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB1035/
- LR 303CA: Constitutional amendment to provide for paid family medical leave (in committee, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LR303CA/
- LB 1002: Change provisions relating to filings under the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act (in committee, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB1002/
- LB 958: Provide for implementation of a home and community-based services waiver, retroactive coverage of certain benefits, and reimbursement of doula services and… (became law, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB958/
- LB 966: Adopt the Hunger-Free Schools Act and provide for an appropriation (became law, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LB966/
- LR 297CA: Constitutional amendment to change provisions related to amending, repealing, modifying, or impairing a law enacted by initiative petition (in committee, 2026-04-17) https://openstates.org/ne/bills/109/LR297CA/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $4,701 (Nonpartisan state legislators median $10.9K). Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-03-06 · Post on X · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/2030048045690183994
- 2025-12-30 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/2006124851816222765
- 2025-08-28 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1961154253633822845
- 2025-08-13 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1955740555612184608
- 2025-08-13 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1955740557491290227
- 2025-08-13 · Post on X · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1955740559227994456
- 2025-06-05 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1930622592408297772
- 2025-06-05 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, bipartisanship, credit claiming · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1930622594471821456
- 2025-04-11 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1910834193292025885
- 2025-04-08 · Post on X · https://x.com/senatormachaela/status/1909754260218147147

## Links

- Official site: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/landing-pages/index.php?District=6
- Campaign site: https://cavanaughforlegislature.org/
- X: https://x.com/senatormachaela
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/senatormachaela/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senatormachaela/?hl=en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/machaela-cavanaugh-a1b5471b/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/fd6e1947-c274-4ff5-b2ee-5e5a79d6a729