Lindstrom Close to Announcement, Working on 'Manifesto' to Address Chaos and Instability in State Government

by Matt Johnson

(Picture credit Matt Johnson)

OMAHA — Brett Lindstrom has been publicly floating the idea of jumping into the Nebraska governor’s race as a nonpartisan candidate. He has given interviews to multiple Nebraska media outlets in recent weeks saying he is strongly considering the possibility.

This past week, Lindstrom spoke with The Plains Sentinel, revealing more about the motivation behind a potential run and when voters can expect a decision on whether he will enter the race.

The Lindstrom ‘Doctrine’

This year, Nebraska has seen several candidates enter races as Independents, including Austin Ahlman in Congressional District 1 and Dan Osborn in the U.S. Senate race. Other candidates, such as Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek for the State Legislature and Brent Comstock for University of Nebraska Regent, have emphasized registering and running as independents or nonpartisan candidates—even in races that are already nominally nonpartisan.

For Lindstrom, partisan infighting—evident in contentious primary battles in Texas, Kentucky, and even Nebraska’s Second District—is a symptom of the chaos and instability in government. This is one reason he stepped away from any party affiliation.

“You can’t move forward if you’re so focused on the politics. And that’s why I chose to remove myself from that environment,” Lindstrom said. “If I remove myself from that world in a sense, it allows me the freedom to be focused on solutions, versus getting caught up in the game within the game.”

Lindstrom is now working on a white paper outlining solutions—a document that some are calling a “manifesto,” but which Lindstrom refers to as a “doctrine.” Its primary goal is to serve as an antidote to the current dysfunctional chaos in a Legislature paralyzed by partisan gridlock.

“If we create stability in Nebraska, it will create opportunity,” Lindstrom said. “My job is to reestablish transparency and trust in that. And then creating these policies—tax code, property tax, infrastructure, energy, housing, connectivity, workforce—it’s about 15 different categories, but all through the lens of stability and opportunity.”

Part of Lindstrom’s potential run for governor will likely involve presenting this white paper to the public as something akin to a campaign platform.

Logistics of an Independent Run

While Lindstrom has not yet officially decided to run, many political insiders think its more likely than not that he ends up running, particularly if the dynamics of the race continue to shift away from Governor Jim Pillen.

Lindstrom, who briefly considered a second run in the Republican gubernatorial primary, has side-stepped a costly primary fight with his potential nonpartisan run, which has also given him more time to have conversations with supporters and interested parties. It was these conversations that led to the development of his white paper.

An Independent run would require 4,000 signatures (750 across three districts) to get his name on the ballot—a task sources close to Lindstrom suggest would be easy, even this late in the game.

Lindstrom will likely look to the third district to choose a running mate, specifically one with a nonpartisan affiliation already, though this is not required by law.

Four years ago, David Wright ran as an Independent candidate for governor and chose Republican Tom Dierks as his running mate. At the time, the Secretary of State’s office said they could find no existing law to prevent this, and when The Plains Sentinel spoke with them again on Thursday, they confirmed no applicable law has been passed since.

Lindstrom would still face an uphill battle to pull votes from Republicans and Democrats who may be afraid of splitting the vote in a three-way race.

At the same time, polls, released by Democratic challenger Lynne Walz, show the gap between Pillen and Walz shrinking dramatically over the past year. It is now as tight as 2% according to one recent poll—unheard of in a state Donald Trump carried by nearly 60%. Pillen won his race for governor by nearly the same margin four years ago, and his campaign has dismissed Walz’s recent polls as a “misrepresentation of reality.”

Knowing Soon

Nebraska won’t have much longer to wait for a decision, as the August deadline to submit signatures is approaching quickly. While Lindstrom didn’t have a specific date set for an announcement, he said it would be coming soon.

“I’ll probably know more in the next two weeks what that looks like. But I’m sure everybody will hear about it if and when it happens,” Lindstrom said. “I mean, you’ve got to give yourself a little bit of time, and summer’s a good time to do these things—with parades and county fairs and all those things.”

Summer parades are a popular time for local politicians to make appearances, so in early June, voters should watch for Brett Lindstrom among them.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.