Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series with Nebraska gubernatorial candidates about their pivot from the May 12 primary election to the Nov. 3 general election.
LINCOLN — As former state Sen. Lynne Walz looks ahead to November in her bid to unseat a sitting Republican governor, she says she feels “really encouraged” despite what has been an uphill climb for Democratic candidates for nearly three decades.
In a one-on-one interview with the Nebraska Examiner a few weeks after the May primary, Walz, a lawmaker from Fremont who served from 2017 to 2025, said she continues her goal to get out to more Nebraska communities and meet as many Nebraskans as possible, including those across the aisle.
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“I’m really excited about the opportunities that we have to bring to Nebraskans and change this environment from an environment of being in scarcity to an environment of people becoming abundant again,” Walz told the Examiner.
One of Walz’s top priorities, if elected, is economic development and growing the state and local communities. She said doing so would include uplifting affordable housing, accessible healthcare, affordable and accessible childcare, good jobs with good wages, investments in public education and upholding the “will of the people of Nebraska.”
“We are not going to be able to do a whole lot more until we see more revenue in our state, and that’s been pretty obvious over the last couple years,” Walz said.
Walz will face Republican Gov. Jim Pillen of Columbus and Legal Marijuana NOW Party candidate Rick Beard of Omaha, a wine professional and private chef. She could also face former state Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha, who served with Walz for six years and has launched a petition drive to appear as a registered nonpartisan candidate for governor on the Nov. 3 ballot. His signature deadline is Aug. 3.
Of why she’s the right candidate, Walz said she’s a “person of honesty and integrity” who will bring people together.
“I love being able to collaborate with Nebraskans,” Walz said, “and building a strategy and a plan to move Nebraska forward in the future together.”
State spending
In early June, Walz pledged as governor not to cut spending by a certain amount without asking others for their opinions. A month later, Pillen told state agencies to cut 5% from their budgets and directed appointees to withhold funds to accomplish that goal. Walz blasted Pillen’s directive as “irresponsible and lazy leadership” in a social media post last week.
Walz said she would always consider how cuts affect people in services, such as to to the University of Nebraska or the developmental disabilities community, where individuals and caregivers have worried about state cuts.
“You cannot just decide to cut 10% or 15% out of an organization and not know the long-term effects,” Walz said.
Pillen has described opposition around Medicaid cuts as coming from a “small vocal minority voice,” namely those who he said were “getting paid for delivering services they didn’t do.” Individuals receiving the services and their caregivers have told Walz that isn’t true.
Walz argued Pillen isn’t looking at what happens down the line and that by talking to others, she can find the “very best, responsible, intentional ways to cut” without “damaging people’s lives.”
“They’re looking at what happens today, how can we save money today,” Walz said. “But it’s going to bring about really bad outcomes in the future if we’re not being thoughtful and responsible on how we’re making those cuts.”
Walz said Nebraska education, from K-12 schools to state colleges and the University of Nebraska, has also been “under attack,” which she pledges to stop. One example she cites is cuts to NU, which reports a $10-$16 return on investment for each $1 from taxpayers. Pillen served as an NU regent for 10 years before becoming governor.
“They [voters] know how important education is to growing our state, and they know how important the university is to making sure that we have kids coming to Nebraska to go to college and that we have kids staying in Nebraska,” Walz said.
Vision for Nebraska
For decades, property taxes have been a priority in the statehouse, and Walz said there have been many opportunities to pass “very good, responsible, intentional legislation” but that lawmakers haven’t had the “political will to get it done.”
She worries the state won’t be able to get much accomplished with property taxes, which only local governments can assess, unless Nebraska grows, too.
“But I think I would be the type of governor who would be able to work with people across the aisle,” Walz said.
“I don’t care whether you’re a Republican or Democrat,” she continued. “Our goal will be to work together, and regardless of who brings a bill to reduce property taxes, as long as it’s responsible, intentional and doesn’t hurt services, we’re going to get it passed.”
She has not yet announced a specific plan to address property taxes or improve economic development, but she and her campaign expect to release more details this summer. Walz said she’s bringing together Nebraskans to collaborate and strategize for that effort.
Previous lieutenant governor pick
Walz was the lieutenant governor pick for then-Democrat Bob Krist who sought to unseat then-Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, in 2018.
It’s different running at the top of the ticket, Walz said, not just in the expectations but also in the challenges facing Nebraska. She said the past few years have been defined by a “state of chaos and disorganization and no vision” as she narrows her criticisms of Pillen.
She said Nebraska is “really suffering right now” and has a governor, Pillen, who wants to “control Nebraskans, who has not been able to balance our budget, who has not focused on things that Nebraskans want him to focus on”
“No goals for how we move forward in the future,” Walz said.
Walz has not yet selected a running mate — her deadline is Sept. 1 — but she described it as a “really key position for me” that will require someone who desires statewide opportunities.
“I want to make sure that whoever it is is somebody who’s going to be empathetic and respectful and making sure that they are representing the entire state, not just the urban areas and not just the rural areas,” Walz said in an earlier interview. “It’s going to take a special person.”
Recent governors, including Pillen, have sometimes had bills introduced on their behalf, almost as a de facto 50th senator. But Walz said that would change with her, as she’d let the 49 state lawmakers come together and decide the top five to 10 priorities for the state and move on those.
“I don’t think I necessarily have to be the person who’s controlling legislation and controlling debates on the floor,” Walz said.
Challenges for a Democrat
Lindstrom had said he might jump into the governor’s race because, while he wants a change in leadership, he was worried about the “math” for Walz as a Democrat.
But Walz said the voter registration divide between Republicans and Democrats — roughly 49% Republican voters statewide to 26% of Democrats — isn’t a concern for her.
“I don’t think it’s something that Nebraskans across the state are concerned about either,” Walz said. “We’re focused on this campaign and winning this election, and I think that the people that we visit across the state are focused on the same thing.”
Walz has pointed to internal polling showing she is closing in on Pillen, including the latest one within the margin of error. The governor’s campaign team has downplayed the polls as coming from an “East Coast pollster” who has worked with former President Joe Biden, Planned Parenthood and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Walz also faces a different challenge than past Democrats: Pillen raised more than $12.8 million since he took office and had a record $9.5 million in available campaign funds as of June 16.
Walz, too, has broken records for Democratic candidates for governor up to this point, raising the most at least since 1998. She raised $1.48 million through mid-June and spent almost $809,000. She had about $674,000 in her available funds as of the last report.
She said she feels good about her financial situation and each time gains a “little momentum” and more support statewide. She outraised Pillen in the two reporting cycles between April 8 and June 16, a first for Democratic gubernatorial candidates this century.
Nebraska’s last Democratic governor was Ben Nelson, who served between 1991 and 1999 before he went on to the U.S. Senate for two terms. Nelson is also the last Democrat to win a statewide race, which was his reelection campaign for Senate in 2006.
‘Let’s come together’
Walz has pitched herself as a unifying candidate and said division from the “extreme left” or “extreme right” is “not getting us anywhere.”
She said that was readily apparent in her second-to-last legislative session, in 2023, a session in which conservative lawmakers united to pass a slew of priorities around concealed carry, abortion, income taxes, gender care for minors and more. It was also Pillen’s first year in office.
Walz has also voiced concern about public officials not following voters’ wishes around medical cannabis, minimum wage, paid sick leave and in not diverting public dollars to private schools, and she said she would “immediately take heed to and uphold the will of the people” if elected.
“When the people of Nebraska speak and they vote on things, it is not me to control or decide what’s good for the people here,” Walz said. “It’s up to them, and they’ve told us time and time again what it is that they want to see in Nebraska.”
If given the chance, Walz said she would “absolutely” debate her fellow candidates and is looking forward to the path to November.
“It’s really important that we stop thinking about Republican versus Democrat and start thinking about really what’s right and what’s wrong,” Walz said. “Let’s come together and work together and move this state forward and do the best that we can for the people who live here.”
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
