John Ewing was born and raised in Omaha, Neb., where he still resides. He attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration and criminal justice and a master's in urban studies.
In 1982, Ewing became an Omaha police officer, serving for 24 years and receiving the department's Distinguished Service Medal in 2000. Ewing rose to the rank of deputy police chief before retiring in 2006, the same year he was elected Douglas County treasurer.
In 2010, he received the NAACP Living Legend Award and was inducted into the Omaha Northwest High School Hall of Fame.
Ewing is also an associate minister at the Salem Baptist Church in Omaha and has worked as an adjunct professor in leadership and ethics at the University of Nebraska-Omaha's School of Public Administration.
Ewing and his wife, Dr. Viv Irving, have two daughters.
John Ewing knows that in 2012 history is not on his side.
The Democrat is the latest in a string of candidates over the last 14 years who have challenged Republican Rep. Lee Terry for Nebraska's 2nd District U.S. House seat.
But Ewing also believes he has a chance in the November 2012 general election to win over voters tired of partisan gridlock in Congress and ready for new faces in Washington.
"I'm running for Congress because for too long Washington and Lee Terry have ignored Nebraska taxpayers and the middle class," Ewing said. "We need to cut wasteful spending and significantly reduce our national debt, but Congressman Terry has chosen instead to protect the special interests."
Ewing accused Terry, who is seeking his 8th term in Congress, of voting "for two budgets that make seniors pay $6,000 more a year for their Medicare benefits, and uses that money to pay for even more tax breaks for multimillionaires."
Terry has seen more stringent competition in recent elections, coming within 4 percentage points of losing to Democrat Jim Esch in 2008. Ewing supporters note that, like that election, the 2012 presidential election will likely bring with it campaign money from President Barack Obama seeking to again win the electoral vote tied to Nebraska's 2nd District, which consists of Omaha and its suburbs.
But unlike in the 2008 race, Obama in 2012 doesn't inspire the same enthusiasm with voters who have struggled with a sour economy for four years while watching the prices of food and gas rise. Also, redistricting after the 2010 U.S. Census has made the district friendlier to GOP candidates.
Unlike previous Democratic challengers, Ewing does have the advantage of name recognition in Omaha. Born and raised in Nebraska's largest city, Ewing was a police officer for 24 years, the last six spent as deputy police chief. In 2006, he was elected Douglas County treasurer, becoming the first African-American elected to countywide office in Nebraska's history.
"Anybody who's gotten a license plate renewed or paid property taxes knows who John Ewing is," said Randall Adkins, political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Even Terry knows Ewing _ the two attended high school together in the 1970s. Within hours of their respective nominations in the May 2012 primary, the pair had resurrected a high school dustup.
Terry took issue with Ewing referring to him in a fundraising email as "the water boy." Terry hinted that the term harkened to verbal bullying he endured from Ewing in high school, saying "water boy" was a name Ewing called him when Terry was the school football equipment manager and Ewing, a year older, was a starting tight end.
Ewing vehemently denied ever harassing Terry, saying, "Oh, that's not true. I didn't even know Lee Terry well enough to even have conversations with him when we were in high school."
The two have since avoided making the dispute an issue in their campaigns, but it could foreshadow what might be a contentious race.