Brett Lindstrom to run for Nebraska governor as independent

The Nebraska governor’s race just got a lot more interesting.

Former state Sen. Brett Lindstrom, who finished third in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary, is planning to enter the race as an independent via petition.

The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office confirmed that Lindstrom has submitted a petition to get on the ballot as a nonpartisan candidate. He will have to collect at least 4,000 signatures, including 750 from each of the state’s Congressional districts, by Aug. 3 to qualify for the ballot.

In a statement posted to his campaign Facebook page, Lindstrom said he sees the state as being at a "turning point."

"The choices we make right now -- about our budget, about our economy -- will decide whether our kids and grandkids get to build their lives here or watch the door close behind them," the statement said. "Nebraskans work hard and play by the rules. They deserve leaders who answer to them -- not to two parties, and not to politics as usual."

Lindstrom’s candidacy definitely changes the calculus of the governor’s race, which currently includes Republican Gov. Jim Pillen and Democratic former state Sen. Lynne Walz. Legal Marijuana Now candidate Rick Beard is also in the race.

Walz’s campaign in a statement called Lindstrom a “lifelong conservative Republican who recently switched after an unsuccessful Congressional campaign.”

Pillen campaign manager Taylor Silva said in an emailed statement that "there's no path forward for a career politician like Lindstrom."

"In the past four years, he lost a Governor’s campaign, applied to be a U.S. Senator, quit a congressional race, switched parties, and is now scheming up a workaround to see his name on the ballot once again," Silva said.

Lindstrom had briefly thrown his name in the ring to run for the Republican nomination for the 2nd Congressional District, but he dropped out in January. He also ran for the seat in 2012, losing a primary challenge to Lee Terry.