Nebraska governor names Pete Ricketts to fill U.S. Senate seat vacated by Ben Sasse

In one of his first acts as Nebraska’s governor, Republican Jim Pillen named the previous governor on Thursday to fill the state’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Pillen surprised no one in naming fellow Republican Pete Ricketts to the seat vacated Sunday by Ben Sasse, also a Republican, after Ricketts helped Pillen get elected in November.

The governor said 111 people had applied for the vacant seat.

“I don’t believe in placeholders. I believe that every day matters. … Placeholders don’t have any accountability to the people,” Pillen said.

Ricketts said he would fight for conservative values and a strong national defense, and would work to hold leaders in Washington accountable for waste and fraud. He also promised to continue Sasse’s vocal criticism of the Chinese Communist Party, saying he would work with GOP colleagues in the Senate to reduce China’s geopolitical influence.

Ricketts’ appointment came after some fellow Republicans expressed reservations about Pillen selecting his benefactor.

Pillen was elected in November in large part due to Ricketts’ backing, which included more than $100,000 of his own money contributed directly to Pillen’s campaign. Ricketts also gave nearly $1.3 million this year to the political action committee Conservative Nebraska, which ran a slew of attack ads against Pillen’s primary opponents, including the candidate endorsed by former President Trump, Charles Herbster.

The Republicans’ reproach was repeated Thursday by state Democrats.

“Gov. Pillen appointed Pete Ricketts in order to pay him back for buying the governor’s seat,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb said in a statement. “This is the most blatant pay-to-play scheme we’ve seen in our state, and it’s happening right in front of us all. Nebraskans deserve a Senator who will work for them, not someone who buys elections as a hobby.”

Pillen rejected criticism that his selection of Ricketts amounted to backroom dealing.

“Anybody who knows me knows that’s just not in my DNA,” Pillen said, adding that he had “way too much respect for Nebraskans” to select anyone he didn’t believe would be elected by the majority of voters.

Pillen handily defeated Democrat Carol Blood in November in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat as governor since 1994. But the GOP primary was much closer, with Pillen squeezing past Herbster to win the nomination in a nine-person race.

Ricketts will serve two years before a special election is held in 2024 for the last two years of Sasse’s term. Ricketts could then seek reelection in 2026 for a full six-year term.

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Sasse announced in the fall that he would be leaving the Senate just two years into his second six-year term to take a job as president of the University of Florida. Sunday was his last day as a senator.

Ricketts steps into his new role as one of the richest members of the Senate, with a reputation for using that wealth to back conservative causes and candidates. He put his net worth at about $50 million when he ran for a second term as governor in 2018.