Walz concedes Nebraska governor’s race to Gov. Jim Pillen

FREMONT, Neb. — Former Democratic state Sen. Lynne Walz conceded the governor’s race shortly after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday to Republican Gov. Jim Pillen.

Walz, in a statement, said she called Pillen “to congratulate him on a hard-fought campaign and wish him well as he continues to serve Nebraska.” 

She gave a Republican gubernatorial candidate their toughest run since the 1990s — Democrat Ben Nelson unseated Republican Gov. Kay Orr in 1990 by just 4,030 votes, which Walz had sought to emulate. Nelson handily won reelection in 1994, and Republicans have won since 1998. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000.

Pillen won in 2022 by 23 percentage points. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, he led Walz by 11 points. The Associated Press called the race for Pillen just before 2 a.m. Wednesday.

“This isn’t the result we hoped for, but this campaign was always about bringing Nebraskans together, and that work doesn’t end today,” Walz said Wednesday morning. “Nebraskans will be watching to make sure our leaders in Lincoln deliver, and I’ll be right there with them.”

Nebraska Democrats have not won a statewide race since 2006, when Nelson won a second term in the U.S. Senate. 

Walz served in the Nebraska Legislature representing the conservative Legislative District 15. She defeated a Republican appointee in 2016 and won reelection in 2020. Both times, Dodge County heavily favored President Donald Trump.

In 2021, Walz, a former teacher, narrowly won the support of her colleagues to chair the Legislature’s Education Committee.

In her year of campaigning, Walz said, she and her running mate, Humboldt farmer Ben Steffen, an ex-Republican, spoke with Nebraskans of “all walks of life, and heard the same thing: families are working harder than ever before and are still falling behind.”

“That shared struggle is a reminder that what unites Nebraskans runs far deeper than anything that divides us, and it’s the foundation we’ll keep building on in the months ahead,” Walz said.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen wins reelection

Pillen, at his Lincoln watch party, praised his supporters and said he looks forward to his next four years. Nebraska bucked a blue wave nationwide, and Pillen said that “when Nebraska wins, we all win.”

“You chose a leader, not a politician, and I will never forget that trust,” Pillen told a cheering crowd in Lincoln.

National pundits, pollsters and figures, including Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, had not initially placed Nebraska on the map. But over time, Pillen and Walz faced a closer-than-expected matchup. 

The Republican Governors Association had given Pillen $2 million in the last month, and the Democratic Governors Association, which Beshear chairs, gave Walz more than $500,000.

Walz thanked her family, Steffen and his wife, and all campaign supporters. Walz said she and Steffen are proud of their campaign and “even prouder” of those who stood with them.

“The best days for Nebraska are still ahead of us,” Walz said. “Thank you, Nebraska, for opening your doors to me this year. My family and I are truly grateful.”