Independent Austin Ahlman Sees Path to Victory in Last-Minute Bid for Congress
by Matt Johnson
(Picture credit Austin Ahlman Instagram)
Just two days after Nebraska’s primary elections ended, a new candidate emerged to challenge both Mike Flood and Chris Backemeyer in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District.
Austin Ahlman, a registered Independent, said he plans to file with the Secretary of State’s office right away to begin petitioning for the general-election ballot. He needs to gather 2,000 signatures by August 1. The Plains Sentinel spoke with Ahlman about his candidacy on Thursday.
“I have a big old family,” Ahlman said. “Most of them are Republicans, and they have all made it clear that they will march to every door in this district to get me on the ballot.”
Following his announcement, reaction from the left and right was swift, with many viewing Ahlman as a “spoiler” candidate. Nebraska Democratic Party state chair Jane Kleeb posted on Twitter: “Austin has no shot. He’s a spoiler. He’s not been involved at all in local or state politics. The real question is who is funding his campaign? This is a winnable seat this cycle and seems to have GOP fingerprints on it.”
A Flood spokesperson said Ahlman is “a far-left Elizabeth Warren donor” who is “trying to sabotage the campaign of a Kamala Harris advisor because the Democratic Party is in shambles.”
Ahlman pushed back against the criticism. “I think it’s a pretty unfortunate form of partisan politics meant to scare people,” he said. “I am taking on the establishment of both parties here. I get that. I didn’t think it was going to be easy. But the establishment is fighting back.”
In contrast, State Sen. Megan Hunt — who identifies as a progressive but is a registered Independent — posted on Twitter: “This is a campaign in Nebraska that I’m really excited about.” Ahlman received similar praise from dozens of mostly progressive journalists and media figures across the country, which helped his launch video go viral with nearly 2.5 million views.
Ahlman Takes on Populist Mantle
Ahlman described himself as a populist in the tradition of Nebraska’s Gilded Age populists, including Congressmen Omer Madison Kem and William A. McKeighan, as well as U.S. Senator William V. Allen.
“It was Nebraskans, first and foremost, that shattered the Gilded Age,” Ahlman said. “We sent independents of all kinds to Congress. And we scared both party establishments until they were forced to take our issues seriously again.”
His platform shares notable similarities with independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist — including Medicare for All, making billionaires pay their “fair share,” and breaking up monopolies.
Ahlman says he sees himself as an “anti-monopolist” and eschews the term “socialist,” democratic or otherwise.
“I am an anti-monopolist, first and foremost, and so I have a deep respect for markets,” Ahlman said. “And the thing that I have the most expertise in is how you distribute power to make sure that there’s not one actor that can dominate a market and get rid of competition and put on a form of corporate socialism.”
In the past, Ahlman has donated to left-leaning candidates like Elizabeth Warren. He has also donated to Republican Thomas Massie.
“I may not agree with him on everything, but he’s one of the only people in Congress that stands up for what he believes in and holds beliefs accountable, even if it’s going to put his own personal political standing at risk,” Ahlman said.
One reason Ahlman jumped into the race was his belief that neither Republicans nor Democrats gave voters a meaningful choice on issues like foreign wars, such as the current conflict in Iran.
“There is absolutely a big uniparty problem where it doesn’t matter who’s in office or who you pull the lever for,” Ahlman said. “Things are exactly the same, and somehow we just have another war that we have to go fight or somebody else’s war that we have to go pay for.”
Ahlman views corporate dollars and special interests as a major problem on both sides of the aisle. He said “Mike Flood has to go,” citing Flood’s reliance on corporate PACs and large donors. He also criticized the Democratic nominee in the 1st District.
“The current nominee, I tend to believe, parachuted in with a bunch of lobbyists and defense contractor money,” Ahlman said. “And he bought the primary.”
Ahlman was also critical of Denise Powell’s victory in District 2.
“I’d like to think I was pretty prescient when I saw how that race was going to go,” Ahlman said. “I watched a lot of things happen that led me to believe big money is going to win again. And damn it, this time, after everything that we have been through, I can’t let that happen again.”
During his time as a reporter as a journalist at the Intercept, a left-wing nonprofit news organization, Ahlman aimed much of his criticism at the Democratic establishment over its handling of Middle Eastern affairs, support from AIPAC, and ties to corporate money.
In an article from 2022, Ahlman said President Joe Biden’s decision to freeze money to Afghanistan was “tantamount to mass murder.” Later that year, Backemeyer joined the Biden State Department to work, in part, on Middle Eastern affairs.
Despite his criticisms, Ahlman says he plans to keep most his fire trained on the incumbent. “My Dem opponent, a former Biden-Trump DC State Department official, just described me as someone who’s ‘never had to solve real-world problems,’” Ahlman said. “I’m focused on my GOP opponent, but boy, I think I’m more in touch with the problems Nebraskans face than you’ll ever be.”
Path to Victory
To fund his own campaign, Ahlman has turned to family and associates from the legal world.
“I have called almost everybody on the plaintiff’s side in the monopoly world that I could find that’s willing to donate,” Ahlman said. “These are the people that sue the corporations for taking advantage of smaller firms and regular people.”
He launched his campaign with a $15,000 video produced by Omaha agency Creative Olsen and is using yard signs printed by Goldenrod Printing, a union print shop in Lincoln. Keeping the campaign local is central to his platform.
“All of that was cheaper, all of it was easier, and so you didn’t have to call a whole bunch of people for a whole bunch of money,” Ahlman said. “You’re taking a little bit of money from a lot of people who believe in you and putting it into the hands of Americans who actually live here.”
And instead of being a “spoiler,” Ahlman sees himself as a viable alternative when the two-party system doesn’t offer a real choice.
“I don’t know anybody that is not excited to have something to vote for and not against,” Ahlman said. “I am focused solely on demonstrating that I am viable and that I am fighting for people and that I am the choice that will actually give them something different for a change.”
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.
Bernie Sanders and Elizibeth Warren are doing enough damage to this county without adding a clone in the form of Austin Ahlman. Those parroting the overused socialist line "Fair Share taxes on billionaires" appeals to those who aren't. The vast majority of the extremely wealthy are unappreciated. They employ tens of thousands and likely hundreds of thousands. Think Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, Facebook and Apple. You may not use all of these companies' services, but we'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't use one of more of them. America excels because some entrepreneurs took risks and some became extremely successful. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs, isn't American.
I agree we different choices. But Ahlman is not a different choice. He's a different face for the same socialists / authoritarian we now have. Sure he says he donated to Massie but he doesn't agree with him on many things. He also donated to Warren and did not make the same caveat. Warren should just have Pfizer emblazoned on her forehead. Democrats have moved to the corporate side while some Republicans have moved away. Did not see any real issues like theft er taxes discussed, any of the rights that are being violated by both parties. In particular the 2nd. Nothing on the permission slips necessary to buy, sell, own or provide a service to people like haircuts. The only thing here is hey I dont like the other twos brand of authoritarianism so I'll put mine out. Nothing on forced jabs. Their are endless subje ts to tap, yet we get the same one stuff. My brand of control is better than noise guys. He denounced powells money. Not a word on her crazy? Not a word on supporting people here illegally being funded by taxpayers that involves threats of violence to collect said money from those taxpayers.