Nebraska
R held
Not calledGOP +4.7closes 9:00 PM ET
25% in · Walz +20
Lean R
Who's running
Jim PillenRIncumbent
37.2%25% inTrailingJim Pillen was born in Columbus, Nebraska. He played football for the Cornhuskers in the 1970s and became a veterinarian. He built Pillen Family Farms into a large hog farming company. He served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents for about ten years. He was elected governor in 2022 by 23 points. Trump endorsed him for a second term, and he won the May 12 primary with 75 percent.
What they say they'll do
- His agenda in four words: "kids, taxes, agriculture, values."
- Close the budget gap with agency cuts, not by undoing income tax cuts.
- Expand school vouchers.
- End Nebraska's split electoral vote.
Lynne WalzD
57.1%25% inLeadingLynne Walz is from Fremont, Nebraska. She was a teacher and later a realtor, and she served on a local school board. She won a seat in the Nebraska Legislature in 2016 and served until 2025, where she chaired the Education Committee. She ran for lieutenant governor in 2018 and lost. She won the May 12 Democratic primary with 91 percent.
What they say they'll do
- A first-day executive order legalizing medical marijuana.
- An independent audit of state government.
- Tax relief for everyone, not just the wealthiest.
- Says the state went from a $1.2 billion surplus to a $750 million deficit under Pillen.
The tea ☕
- The state auditor, a Republican, said in January that a $2.5 million no-bid contract from Pillen's economic development department may have shown favoritism at the governor's recommendation. Lincoln police investigated for months. On October 28 they told the attorney general the governor's office was not implicated in a crime, and the AG opened his own review. Walz wants the full file released before the election.
- Pillen used the slur "libtards" over and over on a January 2026 telephone town hall and never answered questions about it.
- In September, The New York Times and Flatwater Free Press reported that at least 20 of Pillen's hog farms employed undocumented immigrants.
- Pillen is refusing to debate Walz.
- Cook moved this race toward Democrats twice in October, ending at Lean R. A YouGov poll had it Pillen 44 to 43, but the final NYT/Siena poll had Pillen up 13.
- Former state senator Brett Lindstrom quit the GOP and is running on the America First line. One poll had him taking 9 percent of registered Republicans.
Sources
- https://www.multistate.us/elections/governor-race/nebraska-2026
- https://www.wowt.com/2026/10/30/lincoln-police-investigation-25m-no-bid-contract-finds-no-criminal-wrongdoing-by-governors-office-ags-office-says/
- https://thecookpoliticalreport.substack.com/p/two-governors-race-ratings-move-in
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Nebraska_gubernatorial_election
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Pillen
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Walz
- https://apps.npr.org/primary-election-results-2026/governors.html