Election 2022: Candidates chosen in race to be Nebraska’s next governor

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - After months of relentless political ads amid a very crowded Republican primary for governor, University of Nebraska Board of Regent Jim Pillen secured the nomination after a late night tally.

He will take on state Sen. Carol Blood who effortlessly picked up the Democratic nomination over Roy Harris, a little-known primary candidate who didn’t actively campaign.

“We are the only campaign that has come out of the gate with solutions, not more us versus them rhetoric,” Blood told supporters following her primary win. “Solutions to make Nebraska a better place to live, no matter who they are, where they live, what they look like or how they identify.”

The GOP race was marred by a barrage of attack ads both for and against the top three candidates, which included Charles Herbster, the Trump-endorsed farmer from southeast Nebraska and State Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha. Pillen, a hog farm owner and veterinarian, was backed by Gov. Pete Ricketts and much of the top Republican leadership in the state.

“We have to keep working hard,” Pillen told 10/11 following his victory speech. “We’ll take a couple days and regather and start putting our plans together. We’ll stay with the same grassroots strategy, earning the rest of the Republican vote.”

Immediately following his loss, Lindstrom announced his support for Pillen in a speech to supporters gathered at his watch party in Omaha.

“I want to say congratulations to Jim Pillen,” Lindstrom said. “I made the call to him several minutes ago and and told him congratulations. I will be endorsing Jim to take on Senator Carol Blood in the general.”

Herbster stopped short of publicly backing Pillen, but he did remain optimistic, “We have to try and unite the Republican party and Nebraska.”

“It’s going to take some work, and we’re going to have to band together,” Herbster said. “But I would just share we have to do that, it’s necessary.”

The six other GOP candidates in the race received 6% or less of the vote.

Pillen and Blood will be joined by Libertarian Scott Zimmerman on the November ballot.

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