New political parties file for approval, but have no candidates

OMAHA, Neb. —

At the beginning of July, the America First Party filed the initial paperwork to become an officially recognized political party in Nebraska, and now, only two weeks later, they’ve submitted their signatures for approval.

The Working People Party submitted their signatures on Tuesday, also seeking certification. If either of these parties gets approved, they could play a role in deciding races in the 2026 election.

To be approved, the parties need signatures totaling at least 1% of the total vote in the 2022 gubernatorial election. That would be just over 6,400 people from across the state’s three congressional districts.

America First is being championed by John Cartier, attorney general for the Omaha Tribe.

“Nebraskans are sick of political corruption, and they’re hungry for more options,” Cartier said.

Cartier told KETV NewsWatch 7 that America First submitted 15,500 signatures on Wednesday morning. A day earlier, the Working People Party submitted 8,000-12,000 signatures. Both of them are just waiting on approval from the Secretary of State’s office.

“Once we get that, we have 20 days ourselves to put together a constitution, bylaws, officers and send them addresses,” Cartier said.

Both parties are trying to get on the ballot for the general election in November, but the clock is ticking. The candidate filing deadline is Aug. 3, but Kevin Smith, a political science professor at UNL, said they’re both behind schedule.

“Political parties typically nominate their candidates through a primary election, and the primary election has already come and gone,” Smith said.

Despite the rapid push for signatures and certification, neither party has provided a candidate in any race.

“A political party can nominate candidates for more than one office, but what exactly that nomination process is or is going to be? I’m not sure at this point that anybody knows,” Smith said.

The professor did say that a third party has the power to sway the outcome of an election and could make the two major parties concerned.

“You only have to draw off a percentage point or two of the vote, you will not win the election, but effectively, you play kingmaker,” Smith said. “You decide who will win the election.”

Smith said while there’s no way of knowing who these parties will nominate, voters should keep a close eye on where the parties are getting their funding.