Nebraska Attorney General (AG) Jon Bruning announced his candidacy for Governor, confirming speculation that he might launch a late-hour bid for the office. Because AG Bruning was poised to seek a fourth term as AG prior to his announcement, the Nebraska AG race has now become an open contest.
AG Bruning enters a crowded primary set for May 13. He is running against five other candidates: Omaha businessman Pete Ricketts, current State Auditor Mike Foley, Omaha tax attorney Bryan Slone, and Nebraska state Senators Tom Carlson and Beau McCoy. Former University of Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Candidates who potentially will declare for the AG race by the March 3 filing deadline include former Congressional and Nebraska Secretary of State candidate Janet Stewart (D); state Senator Pete Pirsch (R); and Brian Buescher (R), Mike Hilgers (R), and Doug Peterson (R), all attorneys in private practice.
Nebraska is a significantly Republican-leaning state, meaning the winner of the Republican Primary is likely to become the next AG.
Jon Bruning has been AG since 2003, prior to which he was a state Senator. At the time of his election, he was the youngest AG in the country at 33 years of age. As AG, he helped establish Nebraska's Medicaid Fraud Unit and served as President of the National Association of Attorneys General, where he led a Presidential Initiative focused on preventing online fraud and crime targeted at children, the elderly, consumers, and businesses. AG Bruning has stood for election twice to the U.S. Senate. He withdrew from the Republican Primary in 2008 when former Governor and Mike Johanns entered the race and later won the General Election. AG Bruning lost the Republican Primary in 2012 to Deb Fischer, who staged a late-hour rally to win in a field of seven candidates before going on to triumph in the General Election.
With AG Bruning's announcement, there are now nine open AG races this year—Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Wisconsin. There are 22 additional races where the incumbent is seeking re-election, including a special election in Utah, where Sean Reyes, who recently was appointed by the Governor following John Swallow's resignation, is expected to run to fill the remainder of Swallow's term.
Check back with us in the coming months as we continue to track AG election developments.
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