In the aftermath of record voter turnout, locally and nationally, there's renewed talk of tying Omaha's city election to the presidential race.

Mark Gudgel, a currently little-known candidate for Omaha mayor in 2021, says if elected he will use his “campaign’s volunteer organization” and the bully pulpit to make the change.

According to Douglas County election records, in 2017 99,000 Omahans voted in the city's spring-time general election for mayor. In November, 2016 nearly 238,000 voted in the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Along with greater voter turnout Gudgel says taxpayers would also benefit. The separate city election costs a reported $250,000.

But the proposal has its downsides, according to Paul Landow a political science professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and former chief-of-staff to Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey.

“Holding city elections in the off-year allows voters to concentrate on elections that typically draw very little attention,” Landow tells News Channel Nebraska. “It also allows contributors and workers/volunteers to participate without being diverted to bigger, more attractive races. Finally, it allows candidates to concentrate on the election without the clutter of dozens of simultaneous elections.”

Gudgel’s proposal would move up the 2025 city election to November, 2024 knocking six months off the terms of the next seven city council members and the next mayor, including Gudgel if he were to win.

“Anyone who knows me knows I'm not running for personal gain,” says Gudgel.