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A Grassroots Victory: Looking Back on Chuck Hagel’s Campaign for the U.S. Senate Exhibit Opens

This exhibit offers glimpses into Chuck Hagel's 1996 run for the U.S. Senate and runs through February 5, 2027, on the first floor of Criss Library.

  • published: 2026/10/13
  • contact: Lori Schwartz - Archives and Special Collections
  • email: lschwartz@unomaha.edu

1st Floor – In honor of the 30th anniversary of UNO alum Chuck Hagel’s run for U.S. Senate in 1996, this colorful exhibit offers a glimpse into the efforts that secured the victory. Hagel overcame little name recognition and strong opponents, facing Attorney General Don Stenberg in the Republican Primary and Governor Ben Nelson in the General Election.

Campaign memorabilia, photographs, and documents from the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives help visitors learn what a Senate campaign looked like thirty years ago. This exhibit cannot adequately cover the complexities and full range of activities involved in a Senate campaign but instead highlights voter engagement and get out the vote efforts, events, advertisements and debates, finances, polling, and endorsements.

UNO alum Chuck Hagel served as a U.S. Senator (NE-R) from 1997 to 2009 and as U.S. Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2015. When he left the U.S. Senate, he donated his records to UNO.

This exhibit was curated by Hagel and Technical Services Archivist Lori Schwartz and student employees Emma Houndjo and Quinn Constantino with installation assistance from Sean Summerfelt. This exhibit runs through February 5, 2027, on the first floor of Criss Library.

Open for Research

The U.S. Senate Chuck Hagel Archives is available for use in person at Archives and Special Collections on the first floor of Criss Library. Among the 500 boxes of material available for research are the Legislative Files, the most content-rich set of material in the Hagel Archives. These files cover almost every issue that arose in legislation or was prominent at the national level from 1997 to 2009. Significant events and topics include the Clinton impeachment proceedings in 1998-1999, a contested presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, U.S. involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic downtown of 2007-2009, and disaster and drought assistance for Nebraska's rural areas.

For more information about all the records available for research, visit the finding aid for the Hagel Archives. The Archives and Special Collections department is open to researchers Monday-Friday 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. We recommend researchers contact archivists in advance of their visit to view materials.

About Criss Library

The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library fulfills the UNO mission through dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments. With its location on UNO’s Dodge Campus, Criss Library provides UNO students, faculty and staff, and the Omaha community with the resources and materials needed to excel academically and professionally.