GRETNA — Voters of Legislative District 36 will choose between a retired U.S. naval officer and a retired manufacturing executive to represent one of the fastest-growing areas of the state.
State Sen. Rick Holdcroft, the Republican incumbent with a 28-year military career, wants to resume a quest for a safe haven “baby box” law, while challenger Darin Tompkins, a Democrat, wants to “protect” public education and raise the bar on business incentives. Both want to rein in property taxes.
“Service is really my forte,” said Holdcroft, 72, who has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in computer science. He touts fiscal and social conservative values and a pro-life stance, and he says his distaste for marijuana is based on the negative impact he saw on young sailors.
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On the side, Holdcroft, who lives in Bellevue, is a beekeeper — an interest over the past six years that helped inform recent proposed legislation that didn’t quite get off the ground but that he hopes to resuscitate if reelected.
Tompkins, 56, lives in Papillion and said his political debut stems from wanting more affordability and less “brain drain” of workforce talent. That includes his blended family of six kids, ages 24 to 34, five of whom live in Nebraska and another who’s studying in Iowa.
“One of the biggest things I’ve seen that has impacted my kids, future employees and people who want to retire here is our property tax,” Tompkins said, adding that reclaiming Nebraska’s financial stability is a top priority for him.
The South Dakota native was attracted to Nebraska 27 years ago by a position in the animal health products industry and now has a “hobby job” that involves testing water quality and improving aquarium displays for fish, coral and plants.
Holdcroft and Tompkins are vying to represent a district that covers parts of western and southern Sarpy County, including Gretna, Springfield and portions of Papillion and Bellevue.
High income, good life districts
Of Nebraska’s 49 legislative districts, District 36 has the second-highest median income, ranks fourth in educational attainment and is among the bottom three for childbirth rates, according to Nebraska’s Legislative Research Office.
It contains two of the state’s five “good life districts,” a designation established by lawmakers in 2023 to spur tourism-magnet campuses. Under that law, the state gave up half of the state sales tax within approved boundaries for up to 30 years, with that revenue to be steered toward developing the district.
About 31,300 of the 41,000 or so residents in District 36 are eligible to vote. The Legislature and its races officially are nonpartisan, and political affiliations are not included on the ballot. According to state records, Republicans are more than double the number of Democrats in the district, 16,113 compared to 6,590; 8,230 voters are registered nonpartisan.
Tompkins is not deterred, saying his history includes being a registered Republican and a nonpartisan. In the primary election, Tompkins garnered about 53% of the vote.
He turned to his past supervisory approach, saying that in the workplace he didn’t ask about party affiliation. Tompkins noted conversations initially driven by a Ph.D.-status manager that “completely flipped” when an employee doing the work weighed in.
“I don’t care where the idea comes from, I’m looking to make progress,” Tompkins said.
He said knocking on doors reinforced voter frustration that lawmakers aren’t “listening to them.” Tompkins cited pushback in the Legislature on voter-approved measures regarding medical marijuana, private school vouchers, minimum-wage increases and paid sick leave.
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Two years have passed since a majority of voters spoke in favor of medical cannabis, for example, and he said he hasn’t seen a sign of a product. Tompkins noted the Legislature’s resistance to immunity for doctors recommending medical cannabis.
Holdcroft, as chair of the General Affairs Committee, favored a more restrictive approach in 2025 to defining qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. He said overly broad guidelines lead to recreational use. That wide-ranging proposal, which included provider protections, did not pass.
Earlier this year, when the Legislature again considered immunity for practitioners recommending the medicine, Holdcroft was present but did not vote on the bill. That bill did not pass.
Despite his opinion that marijuana generally is an “addictive, terrible drug,” Holdcroft noted that 70% of Nebraska voters approved of cannabis for medical use. He said he respects the voters’ decision and looks forward to guidelines from the regulatory Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission.
“I don’t have a dog in the fight,” Holdcroft said. “I’m not planning on using medical cannabis or cannabis.”
Safe haven
Holdcroft and his wife of 50 years have five children, four who served in the military and one who still lives in Nebraska.
He highlighted the expansion of Nebraska’s safe haven law as among his legislative accomplishments. That 2024 measure gave Nebraska parents and caregivers more places and time (90 days from birth instead of 30 days) to surrender a child they’re unable to care for without facing prosecution.
If re-elected, Holdcroft said he’ll resurrect a related effort that would allow a more anonymous method of surrender — in temperature-controlled, wall-mounted safety devices some refer to as baby boxes. He said he found a funding source to pay for four fire station spots across Nebraska: unclaimed dollars from personalized “choose life” license plates.
“Most of my bills have to do with law enforcement and pro-life,” Holdcroft said.
After retiring from active duty, Holdcroft, a California native, said that for a decade he worked for an aerospace and defense company, building a Bellevue operation to support StratCom and later directing nationwide field offices. He wants to grow Nebraska’s economy, citing agriculture, biofuels and power production as areas of potential investment.
Holdcroft expects to continue working with counties to find a resolution to unfunded mandates, which are rules imposed by the state that can drive up local property tax bills.
Of the projected deficit, Holdcroft said he is concerned but believes that the state can find savings in administration and that the financial situation is “manageable.”
Nebraska’s current projected deficit is about $208 million by the end of the budget period that wraps up next June. If that is not closed, the deficit would grow to $846 million through the next biennium, which ends in June 2029.
Incentive check
Tompkins, who has degrees in microbiology and biology, said his work in the Legislature would be shaped by experience in private business. He grew from production manager to site executive director at Merck Animal Health, where he said he helped secure a $200 million facility built around 2020 that led new jobs into the Elkhorn area.
“If you see the projections of what’s going on, from a business standpoint … would you believe what promises have been told to you and invest here? Those are discussions that happen in the boardroom about stability,” he said.
Tompkins favors more state scrutiny on corporations receiving tax breaks and questions whether certain economic development incentives have delivered enough benefit to Nebraskans. He said he is wary of increasing sales taxes if it hurts working families.
Tompkins and Holdcroft diverge on state vouchers for private education. Holdcroft is supportive. Tompkins said his wife works in a private-school setting, his kids went to Gretna Public Schools and he does not support public vouchers for private education.
The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting is underway.
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
