It was a picture-perfect autumn day at the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park in Nebraska City for the sixth annual Nebraska Steak Fry. This was the first such event since the shake-up in party leadership at the NEGOP state convention in July, which led to the resignation of several Ricketts’ stalwarts.
The crowd for this year’s steak fry was smaller this year, around half of the attendance seen in 2021. In years past, the Nebraska Steak Fry has drawn guest speakers such as Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Gov. Kristi Noem, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. This years’ guests were South Carolina’s two US Senators, Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham, and their presence (particularly Graham’s) seemed to mark a decided shift toward the “establishment” wing of the Republican Party.
Both Scott and Graham specifically mentioned completing “the wall” on the southern border, a testament to Donald Trump’s lasting impact on the Republican party. Much of Graham’s talk, however, was in the mold of a neo-conservative “war hawk” — with numerous references to September 11, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. “You may be tired of fighting them but they’re not tired of fighting you,” Graham said. “The best way to stop them is to kill them over there before they get here. And that’s what happened with Afghanistan. We pulled the plug, and everybody on the bad side is on steroids, and everybody on the good side doesn’t know what to do next.”
Tim Scott stepped off the stage to walk close to the audience, telling his personal stories about growing up, as well as touching on fiscal issues. “There’s no such thing as debt cancellation,” Scott said. “You can transfer it from households making $250,000 a year down to my mama who makes $20 an hour.”
There was also, of course, special focus on the next election from both Senators. “They [democrats] have the new district attorneys all across America letting the criminals go free,” Scott said. “It’s an embarrassment. it’s un-American. And we can stop it by winning the majorities and firing Nancy Pelosi.”
Graham was more direct about his concerns of a Democrat majority in 2022. “I fear that they will pack the Supreme Court,” he said. “They’ll make DC and Puerto Rico states to give them four more votes [in the Senate]. I fear that they will create a national election board to do away with State elections and implement ballot harvesting as a national policy. You know why I fear that? Because that’s what they’re going to do.”
Just a few days before this year’s Steak Fry, news came that Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse would be stepping down to become University of Florida’s next president. The opens the door for Gov. Ricketts either to name a replacement if this happens before his term ends, or — perhaps more likely — be nominated himself if and when his hand-picked successor, Jim Pillen, takes office.
Sen. Lindsey Graham seemed to openly endorse this idea. “There may be a senate opening here soon in Nebraska,” Graham said. “I wish Ben [Sasse] well in Florida. He’s been a good friend, but I think the governor ought to consider maybe moving to Washington for a few years.”
With less than a month to go before the midterm elections, the Republicans may end up taking the majority in the Senate, with perhaps a former governor joining the ranks as the new junior Senator from Nebraska.
