Walz highlights Republican endorsements as NRA makes Nebraska stop to endorse Pillen

Gov. Jim Pillen and Democratic challenger Lynne Walz each unveiled new endorsements Monday as the gubernatorial race heats up.

Pillen appeared at the 88 Tactical shooting range in Omaha alongside John Commerford, the chair of the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund. Though the NRA routinely endorses candidates in Nebraska, its representatives do not often travel to the state for endorsement announcements, since statewide offices have been held by Republicans for decades.

“We need four more years of Governor Pillen and his team in the statehouse,” Commerford said. “We need that true, solid leadership to continue expanding those Second Amendment freedoms and the freedoms of all Nebraskans.”

Meanwhile, Walz appeared on a Zoom meeting with three former Republican state senators whom she served with in the Legislature: Mark Kolterman, John Stinner and Tim Gragert. The three said Walz would work across the aisle to fix Nebraska’s budget woes.

Stinner, who said he has never voted for a Democrat before, said the state needs someone to bring “the appropriate management style in order to get us back on track.”

“We’ve had four years to look at what this administration has done,” Stinner said. “And what they’ve done is just cut property tax, cut revenue, cut revenue, cut revenue, and along with that, trying to run it like a business. Well, if I ran my business the way they’re running the state right now, I’d be bankrupt.”

Pillen said he isn’t concerned about the Walz endorsements.

“It’s a free country, and I respect it,” he said. “We don’t agree on everything. God forbid if every Republican agreed on everything.”

At Pillen’s press conference, former State Sen. Tom Brewer said he also became friends with Walz during their time in the Legislature together, and said she is a “really nice person.” But he said Pillen is better suited to lead Nebraska as it relates to the Second Amendment.

“As you’re looking at electing someone to be the governor of the state of Nebraska, you need to look at a lifetime of work,” Brewer said. “You need to look at what they’ve actually done and how that’s going to impact the state of Nebraska.”

Monday’s announcements are the latest in a round of recent endorsements for Walz and Pillen. The Nebraska Farmers Union PAC endorsed Walz on Friday. The National Federation of Independent Businesses Nebraska PAC endorsed Pillen last week.

Notably absent is an endorsement for Pillen from the Nebraska Farm Bureau PAC, which endorsed him in the 2022 election. This cycle, the PAC endorsed Republican candidates at the federal and state level, as well as Republican candidates for Legislature and the State Board of Education. But Pillen is not included in the lengthy list of endorsements.

Pillen and Walz are not the only candidates in the running. Brett Lindstrom, a former Republican state senator turned Independent, is running under the America First party after he failed to gather enough valid signatures to get on the ballot as an independent. Lindstrom came in third in a tight three-way Republican primary in 2022. He received about 26% of the vote.

Rick Beard is also in the running for the Legal Marijuana Now party.

Post-primary financial statements from the candidates are due on Oct. 5, which will shed some light on the money raised and spent in the race through September.