On Saturday night last week, Brett Lindstrom had a “victory rally” at his family’s farm in Oakland, Nebraska, which is about 60 miles north of Omaha. Around 75-100 guests came to meet Lindstrom and his running mate, Dave Rippe and have pulled pork and beef brisket. Former state senator Paul Schumacher and Oakland Mayor Ted Beckner introduced Rippe, who in turn introduced Lindstrom, who gave a brief stump speech to his guests.
After this, guests were invited to head outside for a hay rack ride around the family farm, driven by “Uncle Bob,” who drove the tractor and pointed out such things as the barn where great grandpa Lindstrom used to milk cows and the center-pivot irrigation system. One youngster got to take a turn driving the tractor around a bit afterward before Lindstrom and Rippe came out to take the hay rack for another ride as the sun went down.
The following Tuesday was day of the primary election. That evening, Lindstrom held an watch party at “A View on State” in northwest Omaha. Brett and his family stayed “backstage” most of the evening as guests gathered and election results came in. Brett was up about eight thousand votes to start, but that gap closed quickly as Pillen and Herbster caught up and took first and second place, respectively.
It was a lively crowd for the most part, despite the disappointing end. I also got to see Brett’s mom and dad again as they watched their son give a teary-eyed concession speech. When all the vote were counted, Lindstrom came in third behind both Jim Pillen and Charles W. Herbster. After a long, hard-fought campaign, however, he had the distinct advantage of having lost without getting into the mud-slinging that had become such a regular part of the other two campaigns.
