Lt. Gov. Mike Foley on Tuesday endorsed Charles Herbster’s bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, opening a political split with Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is supporting Jim Pillen’s candidacy.
Foley delivered his formal endorsement at a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda, repeatedly pointing to Herbster’s pro-life views and suggesting that “he asks intelligent questions” about the governorship and state issues.
Lt. Gov. Mike Foley
“He is rock-solid pro-life,” the lieutenant governor said.Â
Foley’s endorsement triggered a sharp response from Ricketts and a news release from Pillen stating that he “turned down (Foley’s) request to be my lieutenant governor” when they met in Lincoln last summer.
Foley, in turn, said “the Pillen campaign reached out to me” at the time.
Ricketts told the Nebraska Examiner that he was “very disappointed with the lieutenant governor’s choice” and believes Herbster would be “a terrible governor.”
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“I think it’s incredibly poor judgment on (Foley’s) part,” the governor said.
Herbster opened the brief news conference at the Capitol with a prayer for the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia, then answered only a couple of questions before they were shut off. Â
Herbster
Sens. Tom Briese of Albion, Tom Brewer of Gordon, Steve Erdman of Bayard and Steve Halloran of Hastings stood with Herbster at the podium. A number of other senators watched the proceedings from outside the legislative chamber.Â
Herbster identified himself as a Christian who is focused on “faith, family and freedom” and warned that America may be “in the process of losing all three.”
His brief remarks ended with an expression of concern for the impact of “an open border” with Mexico that has triggered an outpouring of undocumented immigrants.
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Questioned briefly after the event, Foley said his political goal is to be elected once again as state auditor this November with his tenure as lieutenant governor coming to an end, but he said he would always remain open to other options.
Pillen claimed that Foley “was pretty unhappy when I turned down his request to be my lieutenant governor.”
Foley, he said, handed him a printed copy of the results of the 2014 Republican gubernatorial primary election when they met, demonstrating that he had attracted 42,394 votes; Ricketts won what was a six-candidate race with 58,671 votes.Â
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Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSdon
