Marge Higgins

In 1980, Higgins announced that she would challenge appointed State Senator Ray Powers in the 9th district, which was based in downtown Omaha.^[4] In the nonpartisan election, Higgins faced Powers and construction worker John Cronin and University of Nebraska at Omaha student Randy Stevenson.^[5][6] Higgins placed second in the primary, winning 38 percent of the vote to Powers's 43 percent,^[7] and they advanced to the general election.^[8] In the general election, Higgins defeated Powers by a narrow margin, winning 51–49 percent.^[7][9]

Following Higgins's victory, Powers resigned from the legislature early, and Higgins was appointed to serve out the remaining month of his term.^[10] She was sworn in on December 2, 1980.^[11]

Higgins ran for re-election in 1984, and was challenged by C. Bruce Davis, the chairman of the Nebraska Commission on Aging.^[12] In the primary election, Higgins placed first by a wide margin, winning 62 percent of the vote to Davis's 38 percent.^[13][14] Higgins only narrowly defeated Davis in the general election, winning her second term with 52 percent of the vote.^[13]

In 1985, Higgins announced that she would run for Governor in 1986.^[3] She contracted a severe case of the flu during the campaign, and was absent from the campaign trail for six weeks in the months leading up to the primary election. However, after receiving a "clean bill of health" from her doctor, she continued her campaign.^[15] However, she ended up finishing a distant fifth in the Democratic primary, receiving 3 percent of the vote.^[16][17]

Higgins declined to seek a third term in the legislature in 1988.^[18]

Higgins died on December 2, 2015.^[2]