Jim Pillen and Carol Blood run for Governor of Nebraska
The race for the office of Nebraska’s Governor will appear on the November ballot. Pete Ricketts held the office for eight years and will be replaced after his second term ends in January 2023. There are three candidates running for the office: Republican Jim Pillen, Democrat Carol Blood, and Libertarian Scott Zimmerman.
Jim Pillen lives in Columbus, Nebraska and works as a livestock producer and is the founder and chairman of Pillen Family Farms and DNA Genetics. He grew up on a farm in Platte County and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and a doctor of veterinary medicine from Kansas State University.
Pillen’s platform is based on education, reforming the tax code, lowering property taxes, supporting agriculture, and protecting Nebraskan values. On his website, Pillen identifies as Christian conservative which is reflected in his stances on certain issues. He expresses his support for law enforcement, wishes to ban critical race theory from K-12 schools and the University of Nebraska, protecting life through a ban on abortion, supports the protection of the Second Amendment, and advocates for fighting socialism.
Carol Blood was born in McCook, Nebraska. She was raised on a farm and raised her family on a farm in Clay Center. She served on the Bellevue City Council as the city-wide representative for eight years and was elected as a representative on the Nebraska Legislature in 2016 and reelected in 2020.
Blood’s platform is based on four pillars: gaining prosperity for all Nebraskans, investing in Nebraska’s infrastructure, maintaining public safety and improving public health, and encouraging education. To provide prosperity for Nebraskans, she wants to address property taxes, education, and attracting and retaining talent for the Nebraskan economy. For public safety and health, Blood advocates for the availability of resources and training for law enforcement officers and planning for natural and man-made disasters. She wants to address the deterioration of infrastructure through projects to maintain Nebraska’s bridges and roads. Finally, Blood wants to support an education finance system that will foster quality, fairness, and equity.
Scott Zimmerman was born and raised in Nebraska. He has a master’s degree in elementary education and currently teaches fifth grade in Omaha Public schools. Zimmerman’s platform is focused on tax reform, creating an efficient education model, protecting the Second Amendment, increasing relevant career opportunities within the state, and creating a more equitable criminal justice system. Zimmerman is personally pro-life, but he is against medical mandates and wants to focus mass education efforts and making over the counter birth control more accessible as opposed to criminalizing abortion. He believes in the importance of personal choice, personal responsibility, and giving power back to the people.
The governor of Nebraska has a powerful role in the state’s government. They serve as Nebraska’s chief executive officer and present the legislature with a complete budget for all of the state’s regular business. The governor has the power to approve or veto bills passed by the Legislature. They also appoint individuals to certain positions and can fill vacancies in state offices and serve as the commander-in-chief of the Nebraska Army National Guard and the Nebraska State Guard.
By: Aubrey Benton