OMAHA, Neb. (AP) 鈥� Republican voters in Nebraska picked Jim Pillen as their nominee for governor on Tuesday, siding with the University of Nebraska regent backed by the state鈥檚 outgoing governor over a rival supported by former President Donald Trump and accused of groping multiple women.
Pillen, a hog farm owner and veterinarian, defeated eight challengers, including , a businessman , and , a state senator and Omaha financial adviser who was generally viewed as a more moderate choice.
鈥淲e live in the greatest place on the planet, right here in Nebraska,鈥� Pillen said in a victory speech late Tuesday as a crowd cheered and chanted, 鈥淟et鈥檚 go, Jim!鈥� He said his opponents had called to concede.
While Trump-endorsed candidates on Tuesday, the statewide loss in Nebraska was a . He has issued hundreds of endorsements and staged his signature campaign-style rallies in support of his preferred candidates, including Herbster, all in an effort to bend the GOP in his direction ahead of another possible presidential run in 2024.
Herbster's loss raises the stakes on other high-profile races this month in Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Trump has also intervened in campaigns.
In this Republican stronghold, Pillen will be a favorite in November鈥檚 general election against his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Carol Blood. Nebraska hasn鈥檛 elected a Democrat as governor since 1994.
Pillen was endorsed by many top GOP leaders in the state, including , former Gov. Kay Orr, and renowned former University of Nebraska football coach and congressman Tom Osborne. Ricketts was prevented by term limits from running again.
In Nebraska, the allegations against Herbster, a longtime supporter of Trump, didn鈥檛 stop the former president from holding a rally with him earlier this month.
鈥淚 really think he鈥檚 going to do just a fantastic job, and if I didn鈥檛 feel that, I wouldn鈥檛 be here,鈥� Trump said at the rally at a racetrack outside Omaha.
Herbster alluded to the allegations in a concession speech late Tuesday.
鈥淭his is one of the nastiest campaigns for governor in the history of Nebraska,鈥� and may have affected the results, Herbster said, adding that it was 鈥渋n God鈥檚 hands.鈥�
Lindstrom congratulated Pillen on his victory and said he would support him in the general election.
interviewed six women who claimed Herbster had groped their buttocks, outside of their clothes, during political events or beauty pageants. A seventh woman said Herbster once cornered her privately and kissed her forcibly.
One of the accusers, Republican state Sen. Julie Slama, said Herbster reached up her skirt and touched her inappropriately at the Douglas County Republican Party鈥檚 annual Elephant Remembers dinner in 2019. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they choose to come forward publicly, as Slama has done.
Herbster filed a defamation lawsuit against Slama, saying she falsely accused him in an effort to derail his campaign. Slama responded with a countersuit against Herbster, alleging sexual battery.
Some voters said the allegations didn鈥檛 dissuade them from backing Herbster.
As she voted at an elementary school in northwest Omaha on Tuesday, Joann Kotan said she was 鈥渦pset by the stories, but I don鈥檛 know if I believe them.鈥� Ultimately, the 74-year-old said, she voted for Herbster 鈥渂ecause President Trump recommended him.鈥�
Lindstrom faced a barrage of attacks as well, with third-party television ads funded by Ricketts that portray him as too liberal for the conservative state. One digitally altered ad shows Lindstrom standing in front of a rainbow flag with a coronavirus mask superimposed over his face.
Devon Leesley said he backed the 41-year-old Lindstrom because 鈥渋t鈥檚 time to hand over the politics to the next generation.鈥� Pillen and Herbster are both in their 60s.
The 45-year-old Leesley, who lives in Omaha, said he didn鈥檛 pay much attention to the various endorsements in the race.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 trust any politician talking about any other politician. It鈥檚 all dirt,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e would never vote for anybody if we listened to their opponent.鈥�
Carol Bruning, 59, of Omaha, said she went into Election Day debating between Pillen and Lindstrom, but went with Pillen because of his age and experience. She said she liked that Ricketts and Osborne endorsed Pillen. The fact that Trump endorsed Herbster may have even been a little bit of a turn-off at this point, Bruning said, even though she had voted for Trump.
The allegations against Herbster weren鈥檛 much of a factor, she said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what to believe. That鈥檚 the hard part,鈥� Bruning said.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, a Republican who also won renomination on Tuesday, predicted that 35% of registered voters would cast ballots in the primary, the highest percentage since 2006, based on what he had seen so far.
Nebraska Republicans and Democrats also picked their candidates for the seat previously held by Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned from office and ended his reelection bid in March after he was convicted of federal corruption charges.
State Sen. Mike Flood, a former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, won the Republican nomination, while state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks won the Democratic nod. Flood will enter the race as a strong favorite in the Republican-heavy 1st Congressional District, which includes Lincoln, small towns and a large swath of eastern Nebraska farmland.
Despite Trump鈥檚 loss in the Nebraska governor鈥檚 race, his influence , which also held primary elections Tuesday. In a race pitting two Republican incumbents against each other, Trump鈥檚 candidate, Rep. Alex Mooney, defeated Rep. David McKinley, who had angered Trump by voting for President Joe Biden鈥檚 bipartisan infrastructure package and the creation of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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Associated Press writer Josh Funk contributed to this report.
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Grant Schulte, The Associated Press
