Former Nebraska governor and current U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts is throwing his support behind a Democrat in a statewide higher-education race his wife, Susanne Shore in a move that places a high-profile Republican behind a member of the opposing party in an officially nonpartisan contest.
According to Breitbart, the announcement confirmed that Ricketts will back Shore as she campaigns for an Omaha-area seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Shore, a Democrat and the states former first lady, is seeking to serve out the remaining four years of a term vacated by former Regent Elizabeth OConnor.
Ricketts praised his wifes candidacy in notably warm terms, calling Shore an outstanding voice for the university. He further said she would join him in seeking to keep higher education affordable and accessible, adding, Her deep love for Nebraska is clear and, I usually vote straight Republican, but Susanne will be my one Democrat exception in 2026!
Shore has openly acknowledged that she and her husband frequently disagree on politics but ultimately place family above partisan divides. She said Ricketts has been nothing but supportive and admitted that while running for office feels different from serving as first lady, the experience has thus far been positive.
Determined to run as her own candidate, Shore has hired a Democrat political consultant and is operating an independent campaign structure. She has emphasized that Ricketts is concentrating on his own 2026 reelection race, where he is expected to face Omaha labor leader Dan Osborn, underscoring that their political paths are formally separate.
Breitbart reported that 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. That omission is likely to raise questions among conservatives, given the ongoing national debate over DEI and its role in public institutions.
Shore instead framed her priorities around student success and financial burden, saying her focus would be on ensuring that students from both rural and urban communities receive the academic and social support necessary to complete their degrees or certificates. Its not just about being able to get into school, she stated, stressing that Its being able to get out without being burdened by a massive debt work-study programs and internships.
Ricketts endorsement of a Democrat for a key university post comes after years of public clashes between him and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln over diversity initiatives and critical race theory. In 2021, as governor, he condemned UNLs Journey for Anti-Racism and Racial Equity, arguing that while the University has repeatedly denied that their plan includes Critical Race Theory, their own records reveal that the consultant behind their efforts is a critical race theorist.
At the time, he warned that the plan would inject critical race theory into every corner of campus and blasted it as legally questionable, intellectually flawed, and politically charged. In a separate December 2021 interview with Breitbart News, Ricketts asserted, Critical race theory is talking about resegregation, and labeled it a betrayal of the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King.
Ricketts also made parental rights and curriculum transparency central themes of his tenure, holding town halls across Nebraska in 2021 to brief parents on what was actually in the sex education standards and the gender ideology. He denounced some of the material as crazy stuff and described it as the sexualization of our children, insisting that to make real change, we have to replace those people on the school board with people who believe the parents are responsible for a kids education, and arguing that to change the policy, you have to change people.
The regent race itself is crowded, with at least five Democrats competing in the primary, including University of Nebraska at Omaha employee Michael Skocz, current UNO Student Regent Drew Leisy, former UNL Student Regent Justin Solomon, and perennial candidate Larry Bradley.
Under Nebraskas nonpartisan system, the top two finishers in the May 12 primary will advance to the Nov. 3 general election, setting up a contest that will test whether voters prioritize ideological alignment on issues like DEI and critical race theory, or accept Ricketts unusual one Democrat exception in a state that has long leaned Republican.
Login