LINCOLN, NEB. (AP) — Republican governor hopeful Jim Pillen scored the endorsement last week of the Nebraska Cattlemen, a top advocacy group for the state’s ranchers.
Pillen, a veterinarian and the owner of a hog farm operation, is running to replace current Gov. Pete Ricketts, a fellow Republican who leaves office in January because of term limits.
Brenda Masek, the chairwoman of the Nebraska Cattlemen’s political action committee, said Pillen has “walked in our shoes” as an agricultural producer and would be a strong advocate for the industry at the Capitol.
“Jim understands the concerns of the agriculture industry because he experiences them firsthand,” Masek said in a statement.
Pillen is running against state Sen. Carol Blood, a Democrat and former Bellevue city council member who was born and raised on a farm and has worked on various agricultural issues in the Legislature.
Pillen won Nebraska’s Republican primary last month out of a crowded field that included an opponent backed by former President Donald Trump. Before he won the primary, Pillen secured support from Ricketts and the Nebraska Farm Bureau.
