Nebraska Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lynne Walz announces running mate

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lynne Walz on Tuesday announced who will be joining her on the November ticket as her lieutenant governor: Ben Steffen.

Steffen, 64, is a farmer and agriculture advocate from the Humboldt area in Richardson County.

“When I was thinking about who should walk side-by-side with me in the work ahead, I wanted a person who shares a vision for the future that I see," Walz said in a press release. "Someone who also has a deep love for Nebraska and the people who live here. Someone who is compassionate and understands the challenges and tough decisions that need to be made. I wanted someone who knows hard-work and has a proven record of serving others."

Steffen’s leadership in the agricultural community includes serving as Chair of the Richardson County Farm Bureau, former President of Ag Builders of Nebraska, former chairman of Nebraska Association of County Extension Boards and as board chairman for the Nebraska Rural Radio Association.

He has served in leadership roles in his community, chairing the Richardson County Planning Commission, the Richardson County Rural Water Board District 1, formerly served on his local school board and is director of his church’s choir at Humboldt United Methodist.

Steffen said in the release that he supports Walz’s thoughtful and compassionate approach at leading the state forward in a new direction.

“I want my governor to care enough, feel enough, to be human and relate to the people who she serves. I want her to know the pains and struggles we face,” he said. “I want a governor who knows how hard we work and a governor who treats everyone with respect.”

Steffen cited the challenges for working farmers as a factor in his decision to step into the political arena.

“Folks, we have big challenges ahead of us. We are dealing with higher groceries, higher gas, higher rent, you name it. It’s bad. Healthcare, senior care, and day care are getting harder to come by in our rural communities. The Farm Bureau is projecting that farmers will lose $167 for every acre of corn this year, and we have a lot of corn. Our business growth has slowed dramatically,” he said in the release. “Our state is broke. That’s hard to admit, but Nebraska is broke. In four years, we went from a $1.2 billion surplus to a $1 billion deficit that continues to grow every single month. Pillen continues to promise property tax relief but he couldn’t bring people together to get it done with a massive surplus. Everyone knows he can’t build a consensus to deliver on property taxes especially when we have a billion-dollar budget hole.”

The announcement comes three weeks after Walz released an outline of her major platform pillars as the general election approaches.

In an announcement earlier this month, Walz said her “Commitment to Nebraskans” prioritizes six key points, including addressing what she calls the "Pillen budget crisis" and fixing the state's "broken tax system." She didn't give specific information as to how she'll work on Nebraska's reoccurring budget deficit, but she said she would consult Nebraskans, economists and other stakeholders to form a unified approach.

But Pillen said Walz's platform is "political hogwash."

"I would call that somebody that doesn't have a clue what the facts are, doesn't have any ability to study and really learn what's going on and just trying to grab headlines," Pillen said.

Earlier this month, following a fourth month of lower-than-expected tax receipts, Gov. Jim Pillen issued an order to his cabinet and state agencies to continue to reduce spending. He implemented a hiring freeze; reduced the amount of money state agencies will receive each month by at least 5%; and directed agency leaders to submit a plan on how they will prioritize more “fiscal restraint.”

The Nebraska Legislature has faced several sessions now where lawmakers have had to cut state spending because of budget shortfalls. After lawmakers passed steep income and corporate tax rates, the state has continued to collect a decreasing amount of tax revenue.

A recent poll conducted by Walz's campaign showed that she was polling at 45%, just behind Pillen's 47%. The survey was conducted in April and had a margin of error of just over 3%. Walz’s campaign wrote in a release that the poll shows Walz is gaining ground over time and that Pillen’s support is crumbling.

The incumbent governor, though, has quite a bit of financial support. In late June, Pillen reported having $9.5 million in the bank. A spokesperson for the campaign said almost 6,000 donors have supported Pillen since he won in 2022, adding that 94% of those donors are from Nebraska.

“It should be no surprise that a far-left, east coast pollster best known for work with Joe Biden, Planned Parenthood, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez conjured up poll results like this," a statement from Pillen's campaign said. "The Walz campaign continues to align itself with socialist progressives who don’t understand the Nebraska values of life, agriculture, affordability, and freedom.”

Walz released a statement saying her campaign had outraised Pillen’s since the primary election in May. Her campaign claims to have raised more than $292,400 in the weeks since, compared to Pillen raising $163,700 over the same period.

Following the Tuesday announcement, Pillen’s campaign manager Taylor Sliva released a statement on the announcement, saying Steffen has ties to the “far-left ‘No Kings’ protests.”

“This pick further solidifies Walz’s liberal record on hiking property taxes, keeping boys in girls’ sports, and giving taxpayer subsidies to Big Tech data centers,” the statement said.