Walz Adopts Populist Tone in Bid for Governor
by Matt Johnson
OMAHA – With the filing deadline now passed, the Nebraska governor’s race will likely come down to a match between incumbent Republican Jim Pillen and former state Sen. Lynne Walz, a Democrat.
Walz held a town hall event in downtown Millard on Tuesday, speaking to a room of about 40 people and listening to concerns from local voters. As a Democrat running for statewide office in a heavily Republican state, Walz has positioned herself in a nonpartisan frame but with a populist tone.
“It is not Republicans versus Democrats, guys,” Walz said to the crowd. “It is the top 1% of corrupt people who are buying our politicians—and I know that because I’ve seen it—buying our politicians so they can control the agenda and control our lives.”
Concerns about ICE
Walz introduced herself to the crowd, briefly describing her early life growing up on a hog farm before listing her various jobs over the years, which included executive director for a nonprofit serving people with disabilities, a real-estate agent, a school teacher, and, most recently, a Nebraska state senator.
The event was the launch of her “Grow Nebraska Tour” across the state, with guests able to share their concerns in an open-ended forum after her introduction.
Questions regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dominated the discussion.
“What are you going to do with the ICE detention center that they built?” one man asked. “What are you going to do about these guys who’ve been arrested and the people who are locked in there unconstitutionally?”
Walz criticized the lack of transparency. “There has been no transparency about this at all. We still don’t have an idea who’s being kept there. And where are they being kept?”
She then pivoted to immigration reform. “Our federal delegates are doing nothing about immigration, and that should make us really upset,” Walz said. “This is an issue that I, again, think is meant to divide us. And that’s why we’re not working on it.”
Other comments were more intense. One woman blamed ICE agents for the death of Dr. Linda Davis, a special-education teacher in Savannah, Georgia, who was struck and killed by a Guatemalan national during a high-speed chase.
“They left her trapped for 25 minutes in that car without any aid at all,” the woman said. “They left that teacher to die.”
Another woman called for the arrest of ICE agents: “If they bust your door down without a warrant, if they do not give you due process, will the Nebraska State Patrol or the city police arrest them?” she asked.
The crowd applauded. Walz tried to dial down the temperature.
“That’s the piece that’s missing: the fact that we do need to work with our local law enforcement before that happens,” Walz said. “We need to make sure that we are working with them.”
Walz Blames Partisanship for Property Tax Crisis
While property tax is routinely a front-burner issue for candidates knocking on doors this year, it was not mentioned by any of the guests at Walz’s town hall. The Plains Sentinel asked Walz afterward what she would do regarding property-tax relief.
“One of the things that I really look forward to as a leader is bringing all stakeholders together and coming up with a strategic plan to reduce property taxes,” Walz said.
Walz cited two bills she and Republican Sen. Brett Lindstrom sponsored in 2022—LB 890 and LB 891—that the pair described as a “power package” to ensure stable school funding while delivering property-tax relief. Both bills were indefinitely postponed on April 20, 2022, and did not become law.
Walz blamed partisanship. “I believe it was because of political reasons. I was a Democrat, and I don’t think they wanted Democrats to get a win. So as a leader, my main goal is to make sure that I don’t care if it’s a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent who brings me a piece of legislation to reduce property taxes.”
Culture War Should Not Be the Focus
Walz said the contentious 2023 legislative session was the catalyst for her decision to run for governor.
“We were pretty much forced into spending taxpayer money and a whole legislative session on these socially divisive issues,” Walz said. “And that’s when I decided that the only way we’re going to be able to change that—the only way we’re going to be able to focus on what really matters to Nebraskans—is if we change the leadership.”
The Plains Sentinel asked Walz specifically about the Let Them Grow Act, introduced by Sen. Kathleen Kauth in 2023, which dominated much of that session’s debate.
“That was a piece of legislation that really shouldn’t have been the focus of our session that year,” Walz said. “And obviously, if you look at where we’re at today and the $1.2 billion that’s gone and the fact that we’re $670 million in the hole, we should have been spending that time on issues like economic development, bringing new business into Nebraska, making sure that we have a strong workforce, and retaining the people who live here.”
The budget deficit remains an issue. When asked how she would address it—by cutting spending, raising taxes, or something else—Walz replied:
“First of all, I would not propose a 10% cut across the board. I think that’s a lazy and irresponsible way to budget,” she said. “What I think a leader should do is not think they have all the answers and control everything, but bring in stakeholders in education, in business, in agriculture, in transportation … and then at the same time, we need to laser-focus on economic development, rural and urban, and bringing more business into our state and growing our state.”
The Importance of Listening
As Walz heard concerns from the audience, a staff member wrote the topics on a large paper pad at the front of the room—a staple of her listening sessions across the state. She emphasized how important it is for voters to feel heard.
“People are so hungry to be heard. And that’s sad, honestly. That’s sad,” Walz said. “I think our government should be more respectful of what the people of Nebraska are asking for. We should not be afraid of our government. Our government should be more afraid of us.”
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.
