Brett Lindstrom, in a long-shot, last-minute run for governor with the new America First Party, spoke to Jewish community members at an Omaha event co-sponsored by B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).
Lindstrom highlighted parts of his legislative career, including phasing out Nebraska’s state income tax on Social Security benefits, helping expand sales-tax turnback incentives for multi-purpose sports complexes, and working with then-Sens. Patty Pansing Brooks and Tom Brewer on problems related to alcohol sales near the Pine Ridge Reservation.
His campaign focus is largely fiscal. He wants to address the projected budget shortfall with a 2.5% cap on state budget growth and rebuild the reserve to about 14.5% of the budget. He also wants to stabilize property taxes by setting valuations to a rolling seven-year average to avoid sharp spikes, a concept outlined in his Nebraska Doctrine.
Most of all, Lindstrom emphasized governing toward what he sees as a largely ignored 80% middle ground between political extremes on the right and left:
“I would argue that having leaders … build a coalition and a team around coming through the middle and pushing the extremes out, is the only way to do it.”
Political Loyalty
Lindstrom switched his party affiliation from Republican to nonpartisan in February and cited pressure for loyalty to either the party or to a “person” as the primary reason.
“I think the Republican Party has now gone down the path of loyalty instead of the institutional platform, and this goes both ways,” Lindstrom said. “I’ve been to enough of those party meetings now that you don’t see them talking about getting Republicans elected. You see them talking about basically loyalty to a person.”
The Plains Sentinel asked if Lindstrom was referring to President Trump as that “person.” Lindstrom said no, not specifically.
“I don’t feel that loyalty to a person is a good thing,” Lindstrom said. “I believe in institutions, because those have been tested, and they’re true, and they sustain. And so we all know humans can fail, and oftentimes do.”
In July 2025, speaking to the Sarpy GOP, Lindstrom had said he would endorse opponent Brinker Harding if Harding won the nomination for Nebraska’s 2nd District.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Lindstrom said at the time. “We’re able to articulate our message, meet voters, and at the end of the day, we need to build a strong coalition to make sure that we’re all on board to defeat the Democrats in November.”
After dropping out of that race earlier this year, Lindstrom had a change of heart.
“I told him I couldn’t support him because it violates the [Nebraska] Doctrine,” Lindstrom said. “I had coffee with him, and he asked if I’d endorse him, and I said I won’t because the day after I suspended the race, he took a bunch of endorsements that he could have just run as himself talking about those things.”
Petition Fraud
Lindstrom’s first attempt at ballot access was as a nonpartisan candidate via petition. That attempt failed when a substantial number of signatures turned out to be fraudulent. Lindstrom said he was warned the night before his petitions were due:
“I was supposed to give them to the Secretary of State’s office, and they go, ‘We have a problem.’ I said, ‘What’s the problem?’ He said, ‘We had two individuals that were doing yours [petitions] that may have done some fraudulent signatures.’”
Out of 5,734 signatures, 1,563 turned out to be fraudulent—by two people, Lindstrom said.
“I’m guessing two of them sat in a hotel room with some voter files and filled out all of them. And that’s where we’re at,” Lindstrom said.
The Plains Sentinel asked whether paying petitioners by the signature created a pervasive incentive for fraud and whether he supported Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s suggestion to prohibit that kind of payout. Lindstrom said he agreed with Evnen.
“Sure. For this type of fraud, and any changes there that Secretary Evnen laid out, I think is a good thing,” Lindstrom said.
Pillen Polling Still Appears Solid
Lindstrom still faces a steep climb to Election Day, about six weeks away. Incumbent Gov. Jim Pillen remains strongly favored, with polls showing a lead of 8–17% and a “Solid R” rating from the Cook Political Report. A four-way split with Democrat Lynne Walz and Legal Marijuana NOW candidate Rick Beard could divide the vote, but it appears unlikely for now to change the race in a meaningful way.
