Susanne Shore, a candidate for the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and a former Nebraska first lady. (Courtesy of Shore campaign)
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OMAHA — The political divide between Nebraska’s Democratic former first lady, Susanne Shore, and her husband, Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a former two-term governor, has drawn attention for more than a decade.
Shore has said she and Ricketts regularly disagree on politics at the dinner table and come together as a family. But this week, the political odd couple finally agreed on a Nebraska Democrat running for office. Her.
Shore is seeking an Omaha seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. She says she wants to help NU heal from months of infighting and help stakeholders set a vision for its future.
She says she wants all NU campuses to learn from what others are doing well — at NU and elsewhere. She wants NU to use that data to innovate in learning, research and student experience.
She would like to see the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska at Kearney emulate the University of Nebraska at Omaha in studying what its students need to succeed.
UNO, she says, has learned that math preparation was a problem for many of its students and started offering more student-tailored coursework aimed at helping equip them to stay.
She wants every NU campus to emulate the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s focus on being a flagship academic medical center that sets the future it wants for itself.
Crowded field
Shore joins a field of at least five Democrats seeking to serve the final four years of former NU Regent Elizabeth O’Connor’s term in eastern Douglas County. O’Connor resigned after facing possible impeachment following an injury car crash that local prosecutors have alleged involved alcohol.
Among those already announced to run in the officially nonpartisan race are UNO employee Michael Skocz, current UNO Student Regent Drew Leisy, former UNL Student Regent Justin Solomon and perennial candidate Larry Bradley. All are Democrats.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican former NU regent, appointed former Husker fullback Joel Makovicka to the seat through the end of the year. He did not file to run for the job.
Shore, an Oklahoma State University and Creighton University grad, says she would press NU to step outside of traditional academic silos and work together more across subject areas.
Models to consider
Some of her models: Arizona State University, for adapting online and certificate programs to the needs of students and employers, and Purdue University, for how it supports science, technology, engineering and math students.
“We need leaders who are thinking in that direction,” Shore told the Nebraska Examiner. “That takes us back to being a 21st-century institution where we are doing the forward thinking.”
Shore said she wants to work with administrators to boost the number of internships and work-study jobs offered, including dorm work she said helped her afford to stay in school.
She worked at the University of South Dakota working for the Dean of Students in Residential Life and said that stint taught her to respect the unique challenges facing first-generation college students.
Shore did not directly answer whether that meant she might advocate for embattled diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which have been political targets in Nebraska and elsewhere.
To her, the more important issue is making sure students of all backgrounds — rural and urban — get the academic and social support to stay in school and graduate or earn the certificate they need.
“It’s not just about being able to get into school,” she said. “It’s being able to get out without being burdened by a massive debt … work-study programs and internships.”
She expressed empathy for students and faculty who have seen their academic programs cut, saying her potential service on the NU Board of Regents would prioritize education and research.
She also says she would work to revamp how NU approaches the Legislature and Congress for funds to resemble how it asks for money from private donors, with clear and measurable goals.
She recognizes that some relationship repairs are needed with NU donors and private partners on opposite sides of the fight over the governance of Nebraska Medicine.
The NU Board of Regents voted last month to let the university pursue buying out its longtime private partner in the hospital and clinic business, Clarkson Regional Health Services, for up to $800 million. A majority of the former Nebraska Medicine board, which included some heavyweight donors, objected.
Support at home
Shore knows some will question how she and Ricketts get through it. She says, “There’s lots of discussion, but it’s always respectful, and we always listen as much as we speak.”
She said Ricketts has been “nothing but supportive.”
“He’s told me what it’s like to run for office, and I’ve seen it firsthand,” Shore said. “It does feel different to be on this side, but so far it’s been amazing.”
Ricketts, in a statement, said Shore would be “an outstanding voice for the university.” He said Shore would join him in seeking to keep higher ed affordable and accessible.
“Her deep love for Nebraska is clear,” Ricketts said. “I usually vote straight Republican, but Susanne will be my one Democrat exception in 2026!”
Political family
Shore gives to Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. Ricketts and others in his family remain some of the state’s top funders of Republican candidates and ballot measures.
Their political donations have gone head-to-head in at least six recent races. Her two wins: the 2025 election for Lincoln mayor in 2023 and a 2024 race for Legislature in Bellevue in a district that sent a Democrat to Lincoln and President Donald Trump back to the White House.
Some Democrats have said they worry about the influence of her husband and his GOP political machine. But she hired her own Democratic political consultant and is running her race.
Ricketts has his own reelection to worry about, she said. He is running a 2026 bid against registered nonpartisan Omaha labor leader Dan Osborn, in a rare statewide race that appears competitive.
She pointed to her work as first lady on issues including child welfare and bringing people together for Nebraska’s 150th anniversary, as well as her work as a registered nurse and in higher ed, including in student life, as evidence she is her own candidate.
“I’ll be able to walk in and have legitimacy with anybody that’s in the room with me, a level of trust,” Shore said. “I … just value communication and solution-building.”
The top-two candidates in the May 12 primary will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Examiner reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report.
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
