Sen. Pete Ricketts wins Republican nomination in a landslide
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Sen. Pete Ricketts has punched his ticket to the general election.
Ricketts easily defeated retired Air Force Lt. Col. John Glen Weaver and Mac Stevens in the Republican primary on Tuesday.
The incumbent had 75% of the vote, as of 8:20 p.m.
The victory came despite Weaver being endorsed by the Nebraska Republican Party.
The state GOP said at the time that Nebraskans are “not seeing the Republican response they are looking for.”
In November, Ricketts will face Omaha activist Preston Love, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Ricketts has long sought a spot in the Senate.
He began his political career in 2006, taking on incumbent Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson. He lost by 28 percentage points.
SEE ALSO: Complete election results
But it was a different story in his two campaigns for governor. He won by 18-point margins in both 2014 and 2018.
One week after Ricketts left the governor’s mansion, Gov. Jim Pillen appointed him to replace Sen. Ben Sasse, who resigned to become president of the University of Florida.
Ricketts has said that if he wins the special election this year, he will run for a full six-year term in 2026.
