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Politics

Election Denier Upends Nebraska GOP Primary, Ousts Two-Term Secretary of State

Sarah Mitchell 0 comments 6 min read
Election Denier Upends Nebraska GOP Primary, Ousts Two-Term Secretary of State

Scott Petersen, an Omaha businessman, has pulled off a shocking primary upset in Nebraska, defeating two-term Secretary of State Bob Evnen by nearly 10 percentage points in Tuesday's Republican contest. With nearly all votes counted, Petersen held 55% to Evnen's 45% as of Wednesday morning.

The victory marks a stunning reversal for Evnen, who entered the race with formidable backing. Gov. Jim Pillen, both U.S. senators, and all five of Nebraska's Republican House members had lined up behind the incumbent. That slate of endorsements proved insufficient against Petersen's central campaign message: that Nebraska's election systems are inadequately secured.

Throughout the primary fight, Petersen hammered themes about voting integrity and ballot security, though his claims often rested on false or debunked election conspiracy theories. A particularly pointed thread he posted on X alleging that Nebraska's election system lacked proper verification and modern standards drew a sharp rebuke from U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, who called Petersen "the President of the TinFoil Hat Club."

The two candidates sparred repeatedly over concrete election policies. Petersen, a former Douglas County Republican Party chair, called for complete hand-counting of ballots statewide. Evnen countered that Nebraska already conducts hand-count audits on a random 10% sample of precincts after each election. Petersen also proposed eliminating mail voting except for those with disabilities, military service, or polling place distance concerns.

Evnen's defense centered on assurances that Nebraska maintains election practices at the "gold standard" of security. Yet his pitch for election confidence appeared to gain little traction with Republican primary voters hungry for more dramatic electoral overhauls.

In a reliably conservative state where Republicans dominate November ballots, Petersen is now the heavy favorite to become the next secretary of state. The primary loss marks a significant setback for Evnen despite his efforts to demonstrate his MAGA credentials, including complying with a Justice Department request to turn over voter registration data for every registered voter in Nebraska.

Notably, former President Donald Trump did not endorse Evnen during the campaign.

Author Sarah Mitchell: "Evnen's defeat reveals how potent election-skeptic messaging remains in GOP primary contests, regardless of how unfounded the underlying claims may be."

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