Pillen Wins Republican Nebraska Primary For Governor

NEBRASKA — Jim Pillen, a University of Nebraska regent and hog farmer, has won the Republican candidacy for governor of Nebraska and will likely be the next leader of the state, after edging out former President Donald Trump's pick, according to the Associated Press.

As expected by the Omaha World-Herald, the contest came down to Pillen, who was the choice of outgoing Gov. Pete Ricketts; the Trump-supported Charles Herbster, who is the CEO of Conklin Co.; and state Sen. Brett Lindstrom. Former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau trailed in fourth.

"Thank you Nebraska," Pillen said in a tweet late Tuesday. "You made this possible. Tonight, we will celebrate a great victory. Tomorrow, it's back to work in the fight to keep Nebraska great."

With all precincts reporting, Pillen led with about 34 percent of the vote. Herbster had roughly 30 percent. Lindstrom was not far behind with about 26 percent of the vote.

Patch will update with live results as they are reported:

Jim Pillen: 88,569

Charles Herbster: 79,068

Brett Lindstrom: 67,375

Theresa Thibodeau: 15,861

Before the polls closed Tuesday, Politico’s David Siders called the race between the leading three candidates “a toss-up,” while Zach Montellaro, also of Politico, referred to the election as “a proxy battle between former President Donald Trump and the outgoing governor.” Pillen's win deals Trump his first loss of the midterm elections, the Associated Press reported, after each of the 22 candidates Trump endorsed in the recent Indiana and Ohio primaries were victorious, Siders noted.

Another factor in Tuesday's race was the allegations that Herbster sexually assaulted eight women, including Sen. Julie Slama, whom he sued for defamation only to be countersued for battery, the World-Herald reported. On top of that, negative advertising has run rampant during the campaign to an extent “unprecedented in modern times,” according to the World-Herald. More than 70 ads ran on broadcast television nearly 40,000 times, excluding cable, Politico reported.

With the midterms over, Pillen will face off in November against state Sen. Carol Blood, according to the Associated Press. As of about 11:15 p.m., Blood had received roughly 89 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary.