Nebraska is gearing up for the 2026 gubernatorial race with the primary election on May 12. While there are only two Democrats putting their hat in, the Republican primary will be more competitive. Six Republicans have thrown their hats in the race, one incumbent and five challengers.
Any person who will be 18 by general election day, Nov. 3, is eligible to vote in the Nebraska primaries. They can register to vote online on the Nebraska government website.
Incumbent Gov. Jim Pillen is running for his second term after winning 59.9% of the vote in 2022 against Democrat Carol Blood. Pillen was a former University of Nebraska-Lincoln regent. In “The Pillen Playbook,” he outlines his big issues. These issues include to “fix Nebraska’s broken property tax system, grow our economy, and keep our kids here.”
Pillen has recently been navigating a scandal regarding a no-bid contract he gave to a lobbyist. He awarded a $2.5 million no-bid emergency contract to a lobbyist he knew and had traveled with as part of state delegations. This rushed contract was found by StateAuditor Mike Foley, who alleged that Pillen broke state law by not specifying the emergency that justified skipping the bidding step.
The contract was awarded to a business, GSD, with one employee, Julie Bushell. Bushell has ties to the agricultural and telecommunications business but also runs an agribusiness that uses sensors to connect farm infrastructure, like water, according to the Nebraska Examiner. It is also known that Bushell has accompanied Pillen on state trips to Japan, South Korea, Washington D.C. and Milwaukee. The governor’s office denied playing favorites in a response to the Examiner.
Pillen has the endorsement of President Donald Trump and announced his campaign has raised over $10 million going into the primary. Prominent Trump donor and former gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster, who ran a close race against Pillen in 2022, announced March 2 that he would not be running.
The second Republican who is in the race is Sheila Korth-Focken. Korth-Focken is another farm-raised candidate from Randolph in northeast Nebraska. She attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha and currently lives near her hometown in the Sandhills with her family. According to KOLN, Korth-Focken has previously served as a city administrator, city treasurer and clerk.
Per her campaign website, her top two issues are “Protect[ing] Nebraskans” and “Cut Spending and Lower Taxes.” In addition to these, other issues she highlights are respecting the will of the voter, reducing abortions in Nebraska, defending the SecondAmendment and enforcing laws to decrease crime.
According to the Cedar County News, Korth-Focken and her husband, Kurt Focken, who served as a city utilities employee, were “relieved of their duties” in April 2025. The Randolph mayor did not give any specifics on to why they were terminated, however “they had been recently dealing with a family emergency that required them to both be absent from work to attend court hearings in Omaha.”
Korth-Focken and her husband began dating in September 2024 while they were both holding their former positions and were married two months later, according to Cedar County News. Korth-Focken alleges the mayor, Dwayne Schutt, “started treating her differently once she confirmed she was pregnant.” The Fockens told CCN they were, “contemplating legal action against the city for wrongful termination.”
The third and final candidate is Jacy Todd. Born in Alliance and raised in Grand Island, Todd served three years in the Army as a combat medic before re-enlisting in the Nebraska National Guard. He is a 100% Service Disabled Veteran and because of that he is a major proponent of the legalization of medical marijuana. He currently lives in York with his family. Some of his biggest issues, according to his website, are “Support[ing] our veterans,” “No foreign land ownership” and “Legalizing Cannabis.”
On Feb. 25, Todd was found guilty on 23 counts of official misconduct and one count of making a false statement under oath related to his notarizing of medical marijuana petitions in 2024.
He was accused of notarizing petitions on behalf of a paid circulator while that circulator was not in his presence. Todd’s attorney told jurors, “Todd didn’t know at the time that the notary and circular needed to be in the same place for a signature and stamp on each petition page,” according to the Nebraska Examiner.
Todd maintains his innocence, saying in a news conference March 2, “While I absolutely continue to maintain my innocence, what was unquestionably clear that what the state presented was nothing more than a series of paperwork errors.”
He is asking Gov. Pillen, Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Secretary of State Bob Evnen for an “instant pardon,” writing “Governor Jim Pillen is on record stating that paper errors do not constitute criminal charges,” referencing the explanation by the governor’s office as to why a section of his emergency no bid contract was left blank.
Many other candidates put their names in on the deadline to register but have yet to create clear running stances and websites at the time of writing. These Republican candidates are Sal Holguin, Gary Rogge and John Walz.
The frontrunner for the Democrats is Lynne Walz, a former state senator from the 15th district, which covers Dodge County and northwest Douglas County. On her website, Walz says, “Over a week-long trip through Nebraska…I listened to hundreds of Nebraskans at town halls…I took notes on the issues that concern Nebraskans the most.” She then developed eight “common-sense plans.” Some of these plans include respecting the will of the voters, addressing affordability and protecting freedom.
Walz grew up on a farm in Dodge County to working class parents. After years as a caretaker, Walz attended Midland Lutheran College, earning her degree in education. She worked at Fremont Public Schools and was elected to Nebraska’s Unicameral in 2016, defeating a Republican incumbent. She was re-elected in 2020 and left office in Jan. 2025.
The other Democrat running is United States Air Force veteran Larry Marvin. Marvin previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2020.
