Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts to seek US Senate appointment - KETV Omaha

BACK TO YOU. OKAY, THANKS, BILL. WELL, NEBRASKA GOVERNOR PETE RICKETTS SAYS HE WANTS THE STATE’S OPEN U.S. SENATE SEAT AN OUT. ANNOUNCEMENT COMES ONE DAY AFTER SENATOR BEN SASSE HANDED IN HIS FORMAL RESIGNATION SO HE CAN LEAD THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. KETV NEWSWATCH 7 SHAW. MCKINNEY JOINS US LIVE WITH RICKETTS DECISION AND THEN REACTION FROM BOTH PARTIES. SEAN BILL AND JULIE BEN SASSE WILL GO ON TO BE PRESIDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. MANY THOUGHT SINCE PETE RICKETTS TIME AS GOVERNOR IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE, HE MIGHT THROW HIS NAME IN FOR THE EMPTY SEAT. GOVERNOR PETE RICKETTS CONFIRMS WHAT MANY EXPECTED. HE WANTS TO STAY IN NEBRASKA POLITICS AND WANTS THE U.S. SENATE SEAT. BEN SASSE IS GIVING UP. I THINK THIS IS YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS OBVIOUSLY, I’M BEING TURBULENT OUT HERE AS A GOVERNOR OF NEBRASKA. I LOVE THE STATE AND I LOVE TO LOOK FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO BE ABLE TO HELP THE PEOPLE IN NEBRASKA. AND THIS MAY BE ONE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. NEBRASKA DEMOCRATS CAME OUT WITH A BITING RESPONSE AS PARTY CHAIR JANE CLUB IN A STATEMENT, CALLS IT THE STATE’S MOST OBVIOUS PAY TO PLAY CASE, SAYING, QUOTE, RICKETTS BOUGHT THIS U.S. SENATE SEAT HE TRIED TO WIN AGAINST SENATOR BEN NELSON WITH HIS PARENTS MONEY IN 2006, AND THE VOTERS REJECTED HIM 2 TO 1. RICKETTS CONTRIBUTED. $100,000 TO GOVERNOR ELECT JIM PILLEN CAMPAIGN, AND PALIN WOULD BE THE ONE TO APPOINT RICKETTS TO THE SENATE. FOR NOW, PALIN SAYS, QUOTE, I’LL BE LOOKING TO APPOINT SOMEONE WHO EMBODIES THE COMMONSENSE CONSERVATIVE VALUES OF NEBRASKA. THE NEBRASKA GOP IS GIVING THE GO AHEAD TO PALIN TO APPOINT WHOEVER HE SEES FIT, SAYING, QUOTE, WE TRUST THAT GOVERNOR ELECT PALIN WILL SELECT THE BEST CANDIDATE TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE OF NEBRASKA IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. DR. RICHARD WITMER, A POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR AT CREIGHTON, SAYS RICKETTS AND SASSE ARE BOTH AT THE CONSERVATIVE END OF THE PARTY. YOU’RE GOING TO GET PRETTY MUCH THE SAME VOTES OUT OF RICKETTS THAT YOU HAD OUT OF SAS. YOU KNOW, THESE GUYS ARE BOTH SORT OF THE MAINSTREAM CONSERVATIVES THAT WE’VE SEEN FROM NEBRASKA. HE’S NOT SORT OF IN THE TRUMP MOLD. RIGHT. SO WE SAW THAT IN THE PRIMARY WHEN HIS SUPPORT FOR PALIN WAS KIND OF IN OPPOSITION TO THE TRUMPIAN CANDIDATE, RICKETTS. RICKETTS ALWAYS SAID HE WANTED NEBRASKA’S NEXT GOVERNOR TO MAKE THE PICK FOR WHO WILL TAKE THE SEAT. SO THAT WILL FALL ON REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR ELECT JIM PILLEN SASSE. HIS RESIGNATION GOES INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY 8TH. BACK TO YOU. SEAN, THANK YOU. AS WE MENTIONED, BEN SASSE WILL BE MOVING ON FROM POLITICS TO TAKE THAT PRESIDENT JOB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. THE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCED HE WAS THE ONLY FINAL CANDIDATE BACK IN OCTOBER. AT THE TIME, SASSE CALLED USF THE MOST INTERESTING UNIVERSITY IN THE COUNTRY. HE WAS CONFIRMED BY THE SCHOOL’S BOARD OF GOVERNORS IN NOVEMBER, WITH HIS RESIGNATION COMING AS SHAWN SAID, JANUARY 8TH. SO DOES PLAN TO FINISH OUT THIS CONGRESSIONAL SESSION. HE WAS ELECTED FIRST IN 2015 AND IS NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS SECOND TERM. APPLICATIONS FOR THAT OPEN U.S. SENATE SEAT ARE DUE BY DECEMBER 23RD. IT’S YOU WANT TO BE CONSIDERED. YOU HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT OF NEBRASKA. IT ALSO ASKS ABOUT PARTY AFFILIATION, PAST EMPLOYMENT AND DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS. AN ALASKA DOT GOV SLASH APPOINTMENT TO FILL IT OUT OR TO GET A PRINCIPAL VERSION, YOU CAN MAIL IT IN. YOU CAN SEE ALL OF OUR COVERAGE OF SENATOR SASSE, HIS RESIGNATION, AND THE OPPOSITION HE HAD FROM FLORIDA STUDENTS TO TAKE THAT PRESIDENCY