Is it possible that the Nebraska Democrats have a gubernatorial candidate who might actually have a chance of winning?

No offense to Carol Blood or the other sacrificial lambs the Democrats have put up for office since Ben Nelson was term-limited out, but none of them had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the seat. For the last couple of decades, it was a forgone conclusion that the person who won the Republican primary would be the governor.

Could this time be different?

It will obviously be an uphill battle, but if our only other choices are Pillen and probably Herbster, she just might have a chance.

Walz is a Democrat who won the state senate seat from the Fremont area twice. Fremont and its surrounding rural communities are not known for being overly progressive. She is a Democrat who will be palatable to many Republicans and Independents.

The question, as I see it, is whether she will be palatable to Jane Kleeb and the Democrats. Will she be too conservative for the leaders of the state party to get excited about her campaign? Will she be able to raise enough money to compete with the deep pockets of Pillen or Herbster?

I don’t know if Lynne Walz can win, but I do know that she and people like her should be able to win.

And when I say people like her, I don’t mean Democrats. I mean decent people who can work across the aisle to solve problems. I mean people who know and respect how the legislative process works. I mean people who won’t sit on their hands and not speak up when the leader of their party calls for the execution of political opponents.

There’s a saying… “Tell us who you are without telling us who you are.”

And Pete Ricketts, Deb Fischer, Jim Pillen, Charles Herbster, Mike Flood, and almost every other Republican politician have told us who they are. They have remained silent after Donald Trump called for the deaths of six Democratic Senators. All these Senators did was remind soldiers of their Constitutional duty.

Only Congressman Don Bacon eventually spoke out against the president’s call for violence. Last Monday, Bacon put out a statement where he called the video “unnecessary and dumb,” but not illegal. He said that although he thought the video was dumb, the president’s response was even dumber.

It took Bacon a couple of days to put that out, but at least he did, which is more than what other Republican officials were willing to do.

Bacon isn’t running for reelection, which I guess lets him feel a little braver. Almost every other Republican who has spoken out against the president is no longer in office and doesn’t intend to run again.

People in office like Ricketts, Fischer, and Pillen are either too afraid of the president or agree with him that political opponents should be threatened with bodily harm.

Neither of those is a good look.

Which brings me back to Lynne Walz. Let’s let her tell us who she is without telling us who she is.

Lynne was born a farm girl from Fremont. She has been a schoolteacher, a member of the Fremont-Bergan School Board, and, of course, a state senator. Ms. Walz is married with 3 kids and 4 grandkids. She is focused on issues like inflation, education, property taxes, and not the trivial ones that seem to permeate so much of American politics these days.

While so many other Democrats who have run for statewide office have been easily dismissed, we need to take a serious look at her.

She has a solid background, knows how the Unicameral works, and will work with those on the other side of the aisle.

Pillen doesn’t listen to the voters, and Herbster seems to think that being a successful businessman who kisses Trump’s butt is enough to get him elected.

I really wish more people would stop looking at themselves as just Republicans or Democrats and think of themselves as Americans and Nebraskans first. Don’t dismiss Lynne Walz out of hand because she’s a Democrat, or, for that matter, blindly vote for her for the same reason.

It’s not going to be easy, and a lot can happen before next November, but this time it really is possible that Nebraska Democrats might have a gubernatorial candidate who has a real chance of winning.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.