Brett Lindstrom and a Review of Nebraska Independent Gubernatorial Bids
Three independents have won double-digit support in elections for Nebraska governor since statehood
Former State Senator and 2022 GOP candidate for governor Brett Lindstrom announced this week he will make an 11th hour bid to collect enough signatures to qualify for the 2026 gubernatorial election as an independent.
To be nominated by petition, Lindstrom needs to gather 4,000 valid signatures by the soon-approaching August 3rd filing deadline.
Nebraska, which once boasted strong third party showings in gubernatorial elections during the 19th and early 20th Centuries, has been in a long drought since a non-major party candidate had an impact on a race for governor.
Since the first gubernatorial election in 1866, independent candidates have qualified for the general election ballot eight times, but only twice during the last 70 years.
The best showing was turned in by former York County Judge and York Mayor Arthur Wray in 1920.
Wray, who had the backing of the progressive and Farmer-Laborites but ran as an independent, placed third out of four candidates with 23.5 percent of the vote in an election won by incumbent Republican Samuel McKelvie.
Two other independents managed to garner double-digit support in gubernatorial races.
- 1874: Richardson County farmer Jonathan Gardner won 11.6 percent in a race won by GOP State Representative Silas Garber
- 1938: Former three-term Democratic Governor and Lincoln Mayor Charles Bryan filed as an independent for his eighth gubernatorial bid and won 15.4 percent as Democratic Governor Robert Cochran notched a plurality victory
Only one other independent candidate for governor has received one percent of the vote. In 1956, former Nebraska Men’s Reformatory superintendent George Morris won 5.6 percent as Republican Governor Victor Anderson cruised to a double-digit victory.
The remaining four independent candidates for governor are:
- 1934: Omaha druggist Ralph Madison won 0.8 percent
- 1934: Alliance farmer John Schefcik won 0.6 percent
- 1936: Peter Mehrens of Omaha (backed by Farmer-Laborites) won 0.96 percent
- 2006: Omaha businessman Mort Sullivan won 0.6 percent
Third party or independent candidates have appeared on the general election ballot 66 times across the 65 gubernatorial elections conducted since 1866. However, 59 of these candidacies occurred prior to 1940.
That number includes eight by People’s Independent (Populist) nominees from 1890 through 1904. Populists won the governorship three times (Silas Holcomb in 1894 and 1896 and William Poynter in 1898) and placed second in the remaining five and frequently ran on fusion tickets with the Democratic Party.
The Prohibition Party ran 19 nominees over the decades, with 10 for the Socialists, four each for the Greenbacks and Progressives, two each for the Libertarians, Nebraska Party, and Socialist Labor Party, and one candidate each for National Union, Labor, Silver, National Democratic, Midroad-Populist, Social Democratic, and American parties.
Three write-in campaigns have also been launched with State Representative Ernie Chambers winning 5.4 percent during the 1974 cycle.
If Lindstrom qualifies for the November ballot, he will join Republican Governor Jim Pillen, Democrat and former State Senator Lynne Walz, and Legal Marijuana NOW nominee Rick Beard.
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– Former Republican Lindstrom, current Republican Bob Krist, or any other candidate seeking any partisan statewide office as a nonpartisan candidate must gather no fewer than 4000 (valid) signatures – with *at least 750 from each of the three House Districts*.
– Lindstrom may ultimately choose not to pursue a GUV bid as a nonpartisan candidate, but is gathering signatures to keep his option open (per NE Examiner).
It is an open question as to whether that was a ‘saving face’ measure when launching his campaign in case it fizzles out or whether he is truly undecided about whether he wants to run.
Something interesting I just noticed about OK: they have a complete open seat fiasco and I mean that literally, appointed senator Alan Armstrong, and schools superintendent Lindel Fields are not seeking full terms. AG Gentner Drummond is running for Governor. Gov. Kevin Stitt, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, state aud. Cindy Bird, Ins. comm. Glen Mulready, Labor comm. Leslie Osborn, and Corp. comm. Todd Hiett are all term limited and state treas. Todd Russ lost renomination.
That is crazy. So you’re saying Brad Henry might have had a chance!
– One of the open offices already has been decided. Republican Melissa Capps is the Auditor & Inspector-elect, as the only candidate to have filed for that position! (Is the Sooner State the only one of the 56 states and territories with a separate *treasurer, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner, and auditor/comptroller/controller*?)
– All of the term-limited officeholders in the state first had been elected in 2018, a midterm cycle with a Republican at 1600 PA Avenue, but nevertheless resulted in no Democratic gains there – something also true in Tennessee, Wyoming, and several other inland states.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._statewide_elected_officials
Unrelated;
Two states (so far) will have US Senate elections with so-called replacement nominees this year, the Democrats in ME (by Monday 27) and the Republicans in SC (no later than 25 of August). A history of do-overs in the past 3 decades leaves with just 2 wins, the NJ Democrats in 2002 – a former US senator – and the AR Republicans in 1996 – a House member; with the lieutenant governor resigning his Senate nomination upon ascension to the office of governor rather than resigning the lieutenant governor office in order to continue with the Senate bid.
If the odds against substitute nominees continue, the Republicans will hold their seat in the Pine Tree State (“Concerned” Collins) – and the Democrats will win in the Palmetto State (Anne Lintzenich “Annie” Andrews) !