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LINCOLN — Former Omaha State Sen. Brett Lindstrom’s political hiatus after leaving the Republican Party may prove short-lived. He cracked open the door this week for a nonpartisan governor bid during an interview with the Dan Parsons Show, a political podcast based in Lincoln.
Lindstrom, a former GOP congressional candidate this year in the Omaha-based 2nd District, said he hasn’t made a decision on running for governor but that he sees a path to run as a nonpartisan. The Omaha financial adviser finished third in a competitive GOP gubernatorial primary race in 2022 to Gov. Jim Pillen and multistate agribusinessman Charles Herbster.
Lindstrom dropped out of the congressional race in January, saying he no longer wanted to deal with the divisiveness of modern politics. Lindstrom shed his Republican label in March. Some at the time speculated that it might open the possibility of an independent bid for governor, because he would need to be a registered nonpartisan by the filing deadline to qualify.
During the congressional primary in late 2025 and early 2026, some GOP donors pressed him to consider competing with Pillen in the governor’s GOP primary.
Parsons asked him on Monday why he left the Republican Party. Lindstrom said, “I believe, right now … We are at about as polarized a position politically as we’ve been in some time, and I just didn’t feel comfortable participating in that type of philosophy.”
Lindstrom said the possibility of running for governor as a nonpartisan wasn’t on his radar at the time when he left the GOP.
“I dug into [it] a little bit … mathematically it can work, but I haven’t made a decision on that yet,” Lindstrom said.
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Pillen expects to cruise through the GOP primary. He faces Sheila Korth-Focken, Jacy Todd, Sal Holguin, John Walz, and Gary L. Rogge. In the general election, he will likely face Democratic former State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont.
Some view Pillen’s second term as inevitable without a well-funded GOP challenger, pointing to a 2-to-1 registration advantage for Republicans over Democrats in Nebraska. However, Pillen has faced numerous controversies, and polling indicates he is among the nation’s least popular incumbent governors.
Former State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, who said he was leaving politics, abandons Republican label
As a state senator from 2015 to 2023, Lindstrom was often a swing vote on controversial issues, including casting a vote to help repeal the death penalty that voters reinstated. He helped push for eliminating the state income tax on Social Security. As a congressional candidate in 2025-26, he touted a “pragmatic” approach focused on “real results, not partisan fights.”
For Lindstrom to run as a nonpartisan, he or someone on his behalf would have to collect at least 4,000 signatures. About 750 of those signatures must be collected from registered voters in each of the state’s three congressional districts. The deadline for filing those signatures with the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office is Aug. 3. Lindstrom said he hasn’t made any efforts yet to petition But if he does, he said that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s running.
Also on Wednesday, Omaha Attorney Bryan Slone, a registered nonpartisan who some have mentioned as a possible gubernatorial prospect, told the Examiner he would not be running for public office this election cycle.
The former CEO of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry said he is not ready to say never. But he said for now he is enjoying other professional and personal projects. The Examiner spoke with him as he was headed to a piloting lesson.
Early voting for Nebraska’s May 12 primary election has already started. The general election is Nov. 3.
Nebraska Examiner Senior Reporter Cindy Gonzalez contributed to this report.
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- 4:53 pmEditor’s note: This story has been updated to include comment from Bryan Slone.
