It’s always good to be an incumbent in American politics. That’s especially true in Nebraska this year where the incumbent Senator and Governor are from opposing parties. But, regardless of the party label, both incumbents enjoy strong support from the state’s voters.

In his race for re-election to the U.S. Senate, Democratic Senator Ben Nelson’s continues lead Republican challenger Pete Ricketts. Nelson now leads Ricketts 57% to 31%. Those numbers represent a three-point pick up for Nelson from last month’s poll, while Ricketts’ support continues to slide, taking a four-point drop since last month.

Despite the Republicans’ enrollment advantage in Nebraska, Nelson is a highly popular incumbent with all voters, enjoying a favorable rating of 78%—one of the highest in the country. In fact, 79% of GOP voters have a favorable view of Nelson, a number that almost matches the 83% of Democrats who support their party’s senator. Ricketts doesn’t fare as well among his own party, with only 57% of his fellow Republicans voters holding a favorable view of him

In the race for governor, Republican incumbent Dave Heineman tops Democratic challenger David Hahn with 74% of voters a favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of the sitting governor compared to 34% for his challenger. Hahn has some serious ground to make up in the four months leading to Election Day; 39% of voters indicate having a somewhat or very unfavorable impression of him and 28% still have yet to make up their minds.

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Overall, 76% of Nebraskans approve of Heineman’s performance as their governor, a rating that is strong among both Republicans (74%) and Democrats (66%). Heineman also ranks higher than President Bush in the Cornhusker State, with only 56% of voters giving their approval to the president.