the 100th legislative session from 2007 to 2009. He was reappointed to serve on the Education committee and as chairman of the Judiciary committee during the 101st legislative session from 2009 to 2011. In 2014, it was speculated that he would either run for the Democratic nomination in the Senate election or for attorney general, but he did not run. During the 2014 Nebraska gubernatorial election he endorsed Democratic nominee Chuck Hassebrook. U.S. House of Representatives 1994 On August 14, 1993, Ashford announced that he would not seek reelection to the state legislature and that he was interested in running for the Republican nomination in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. On October 2, he formally announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination in the district and stated that his priorities would be to ban military-style assault weapons and focus on jobs and welfare reform. In the Republican primary he lost to Jon Lynn Christensen, who received over fifty percent of the popular vote, and narrowly came ahead of Ronald L. Staskiewicz. During the primary campaign he raised $145,715.00 and spent $146,002.00. After losing the congressional primary Ashford stated on May 11, 1994, that he was interested in running in the Omaha special mayoral election. On June 1, he announced that he would not run in the election. He later joined Brenda Council's mayoral campaign. 2014 On February 12, 2014, Ashford announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. He selected Kieran McCarney, the former communications director and AFL–CIO Nebraska affiliate, to serve as his campaign manager. He won the Democratic primary against Mark Aupperle. On October 17, 2014, the National Republican Congressional Committee released an advertisement tying Ashford to Nikko Jenkins as Ashford had supported legislation in the state legislature giving early prison release for good conduct. Ashley Lewis, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman, stated that the ad had "no place in America", Ashford stated that it was a desperate attack from Lee Terry's failing campaign, and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele called the ad racist. After the release of the NRCC ad he raised over $20,500. In the general election Ashford narrowly defeated Terry, who with Steve Southerland was one of only two incumbent Republicans to lose reelection to a Democratic opponent during the 2014 House of Representatives elections. During the campaign he raised $1,246,958.11 and spent $1,231,468.32 while Terry's